History Of The Marvellous Christmas Carols

Most of us have memories coming from Christmas songs that we cherish since our childhood.  When we were children, we learned these things, loved them and would never ask ourselves questions about them.  The New Testament states that the first Christmas hymn dates from Jesus' birth. That is well over 2,000 years ago, can you imagine?  However, it is only during the 1200's that St Francis of Assisi made Christmas songs written in a language understandable and spoken by average people instead of Latin.

Coming from Italy, Christmas songs arrived in England where they have been associated with dances and became the popular Christmas carols. Over the centuries, the tradition changed: carolers also sang to raise funds for charity, receive gifts or a wassail bowl.  For decades, American Christian culture grows by the addition of Christmas carols from various parts of the world.

During the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg conceived the printing press; which enabled publishers to print things in a very short period of time. And so the words and lyrics to the Christmas carols could be copied and distributed all over the countries; which contributed to their great popularity.

Around this same time, Christianity was the greatest part of everyone's life and thus, Christmas was also very important time.  Sadly, the year 1649, Cromwell abolished all Catholic customs in England, including Christmas. When in 1661 Charles II restored these traditions, singing carols became one of the most popular traditions.

The largest part of the most famous Christmas carols were written from the mid-1700’s to the early 1800’s and are still popular today.  For instance, Frederich Handel performed his famous "Messiah" for the first time at a charity event in 1742.

As for "Silent Night", it has been written in 1818 by the Austrian priest Father Joseph Mohr and its original title was "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht".  Here is the story of this  Christmas carol: the organ of his church had broken and he wanted to write a song that did not require the use of this instrument but that could be accompanied by a guitar.

It is easier today to make a Christmas carol than it used to be centuries ago: when the holiday season arrives, artists as well as Hollywood produce their Christmas hymn. But we still have a preference for the atmosphere and the sounds of the old Christmas songs. Every one of us tends to stick to traditions and even if we appreciate new carols none of them would ever take the place of oldies such as We Wish You a Merry Christmas or Jingle Bells.  While the number of Christmas carols we listen to is very large, almost none of them is a recent one. 

The secret to a successful Christmas celebration is to gather around and sing songs with your relatives and friends.

Have a very Merry Christmas and happy New Year!