Have you ever thought about the words of Christmas, like Noel, Hallelujah, Glory, or songs like Hark The Herald Angels Sing-1739, O’ Holy Night-1847, Silent Night-1818, Away In A Manger-1868, Deck The Halls-1862, The First Noel-1823, Joy To The World-1719, O’ Come All Ye Faithful-1841, just to name a few.
Christmas carols have their origins in about the fourth century, when Latin hymns were being sung in Rome. But for the English speaking world it began in about 1426, when John Awdlay, a Shropshire Chaplin who listed twenty five carols of Christmas, which was probably sung by a group of singers called wassailers, going from house to house singing these songs of joy and wonderment.
The word wassail was used as a toast and it comes from the old Norse “ves heil”, which means, be well and in good health. In Victorian times-1837-1901, the wassailers went about their town’s singing songs of Christmas, and they would be rewarded with a hot, spiced drink known as a wassail, which was made from hot mulled cider, ale or wine and spices.
Then along comes Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans when he came to power in England in 1647, and he banned the celebrations of Christmas and the singing of Christmas carols, as it was judged to be just a pagan festival. But, as everyone knows when someone tries to do away with something they deem as bad, it only makes the rest of us say, what? You can’t do that, and the people of England did just that. They sang them in their homes secretly.
Several hundred years later along comes Queen Victoria, born 5-21-1819, and she brought about the Victorian Era-1837-1901, when she died on 1-22-1901. During this time two Cornish men, William Sandys and David Gilbert, began to collect the old Christmas celebration music from all around the country of England. Together these gentlemen published over 100 Christmas carols with lyrics and music.
This created quite a stir in their homeland as people began to once again start singing carols in public, and it created a “carol resurgence.” New songs like Good King Wenceslas-1853, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen-1760, We Three Kings-1857, and many others that we love to sing today. In 1871 a man by the name of Henry Ramsden Bramley published a book called “Christmas Carols, Old And New” which made the singing of carols even more popular.
A few notes of interest are the words of the carols and their music sometimes were written years apart. One tune called “ Ding Dong Merrily On High” dates to around the mid 1500s, and the words were not written until the 1800s. Good King Wenceslas was a popular dance tune from the 1200s, but the words were written in 1853, by John Mason Neale.
Englands oldest surviving Christmas carol is “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night,” was a 16th century tune but 17th century lyrics, and the two were not put together until the 19th century. One of my favorite carols is Jingle Bells, and it was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, and he originally called it the One Horse Open Sleigh.
One of my fondest memories of my childhood during the Christmas season, was to go out after our Christmas play at Church and sing Christmas carols with the young adults who drove cars and we went to all the older members of our church that we called the shutin’s, and we sang a few carols at each home.
What a wonderful memory that is to me. I can still see my grandma and grandpa coming to the door and standing there crying as they listened to us singing in the snow filled night. Then when we had visited everyone on our list we all went back to Chester Nelson’s home to warm up and have hot chocolate and goodies.
Our country has forgotten how to do this wonderful tradition, and I believe it is time to rekindle such a wonderful gift to those who are getting older and often feel left out in our modern technological society. Not everyone who gets old winds up in a death warehouse. Some still live in their homes and would love to hear someone sing to them.
I hope this small look at the words of Christmas songs has been fun for you to read. You may want to start your own “New Old Tradition” by getting together with your own church family, and go to the older family members who don’t get out at night anymore, and sing to them as they remember their own youthful days of times past.
Merry Christmas to each and everyone who reads the words this old priest writes. I also want to thank all the people on the WWW that I glean this information from. It’s educational to me and I hope you all enjoy what I write. Remember, you will make it, just don’t give up.
Merry Christmas
In His Service As Kilted Priest
The Kilted Priest 