Greek tradition calls for children to go out with triangles from house to house on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and Epiphany Eve, and sing the corresponding folk carols, called the Kalanta or Kalanda or Kalanta Christougenon, the word deriving from the Roman calends). There are separate carols for each of the three great feasts, referring respectively to the Nativity, to St. Basil and the New Year, and to the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan, along with wishes for the household. In addition to the carols for the winter festive season, there are also the springtime or Lenten carols, commonly called the "Carols of Lazarus", sung on the Saturday before Palm Sunday as a harbinger of the Resurrection of Christ to be celebrated a week later. Similar to ‘The Holly And The Ivy’, Sans Day Carol uses the holly as a symbol for Christ. It hails from Cornwall, and was collected in the 19th century from the singing of Thomas Beard. The most famous setting of the text was published by John Rutter in 1969. The Christmas classic that everyone knows – even if they haven’t read it. It's quite short, and at some levels quite an easy read, but there is plenty of depth, so I think it's worth reading it in a thoughtful and slightly leisurely way.

Although the tune of this regal advent carol is thought to be very old, its origins are unknown. The text is the final O Antiphon which is traditionally sung on the 23rd December; the final day of advent in Western Christian traditions. This 'urban legend' says that the song was written at a time when Roman Catholic worship was illegal in England and Catholics had to find covert ways of communicating their faith. This carol was written by Edward Caswall in 1858, who was also the translator of many popular hymns. The music Humility was written by John Goss in 1871. O Holy Night The villancico (or vilancete in Portuguese) was a common poetic and musical form of the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol". Important composers of villancicos were Juan del Encina, Pedro de Escobar, Francisco Guerrero, Gaspar Fernandes and Juan Gutiérez de Padilla. Popular Spanish villancicos include "Los pastores a Belén" and " Riu, riu, chiu: El lobo rabioso" and "Los peces en el río". This passage really got to me, and I started to cry. In February, I started an experimental treatment, and I was able to walk again. When I go to church, there are usually no seats left except in the front. As part of my genetic defect, my body can’t process protein. There are extremely high levels of protein in my blood including my brain, and it makes me unbearably tired.Many carols which have gained popularity were printed in Piae Cantiones, a collection of late medieval Latin songs which was first published in 1582. Early, Latin forms of carols such as " Christ was born on Christmas Day", " Good Christian Men, Rejoice" and " Good King Wenceslas" can be found in this book. [5] " Adeste Fideles" ("O Come all ye faithful") appears in its current form in the mid-18th century, although the words may have originated in the 13th century. The origin of the tune is disputed. The words are set to the 16th century French tune Branle De L’Official which was originally a stately dance. Nowadays, thanks to the addition of a soaring Gloria from George Ratcliffe Woodward, it has become one of Christmas’ most rousing sings. Whilst it is a book whose unhurried and detailed descriptions of Christmas are the epitome of the season (“ apoplectic opulence”), it is a book of great contrasts: humbug/festivities, hot/cold, company/solitude, poverty/wealth, worthy poor/wastrels, past/future etc. The haunting melody accompanies even more haunting subject matter, taken from the gospel of Matthew, which recounts the ‘Massacre of the Innocents’ when King Herod set out to kill the infant Christ. The minor mode of the original melody still transfixes congregations and choirs alike. Chanéet, G. S. de; Voight, Louis (12 March 1898). In the cathedral: song. London: Cary & Co – via Trove.

It has been suggested that it is a surprisingly secular book, but we live in a less religious society and so don’t always notice religious symbolism and allegories unless they’re spelt out. The whole story is a parallel of the Christian gospel, and the fact it’s set at Christmas emphasises that. The main message of Christianity is that no sinner is beyond salvation if they genuinely repent, and that is also the story of Scrooge. Christmas, remembering the birth of Jesus, then started to be celebrated at the same time as the solstice, so the early Christians started singing Christian songs instead of pre-Christian/pagan ones. In 129, a Roman Bishop said that a song called "Angel's Hymn" should be sung at a Christmas service in Rome. Another famous early Christmas Hymn was written in 760, by Comas of Jerusalem, for the Greek Orthodox Church. Soon after this many composers all over Europe started to write 'Christmas carols'. However, not many people liked them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language that the normal people couldn't understand. The tradional story about a broken organ at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf is fiction from a story published in the U.S. in the 1930s.

The Best Traditional Christmas Carols

In the 13th century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed. [3] Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of ' wassailers', who went from house to house. [4] The songs now known specifically as carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols began to be sung in church, and to be specifically associated with Christmas. It is a simple tale of how a normal man turns cold-hearted and mean and how, when confronted with memories of his past and the possible outcomes of his actions and inactions, he is redeemed by making positive changes to his life and thus that of others.

A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French origin. [1] Christmas carols may be regarded as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music. Giuseppe Cacciatore (1960). "Alfonso Maria de Liguori, santo". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani. Vol.2. Treccani.

Origin

Silent Night is one of the world's most popular Christmas carols. Read about its history Hark the Herald Angels Sing Dial-a-Carol: Student-run holiday jingle service open 24/7". USA TODAY College . Retrieved 24 February 2016. Though Scrooge is a bit hesitant of this deal, he is ultimately given little choice on the matter, and those three visits comprise the unforgettable spine of this book. The " Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. [39] Finland [ edit ] This uplifting Advent carol was a relatively recent addition to the canon of Christmas music, written by Roman Catholic composer Bernadette Farrell in the early 1990s. It describes the waiting for Christmas as a journey through darkness towards light.

The 19th-century "Cantique de Noël" (also known as "Minuit, chrétiens", adapted as " O Holy Night" in English) is another classic.Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pre-Christian/pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations. The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, usually taking place around 22nd December. The word Carol actually means a dance or a song of praise and joy! Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.