Christmas Carols

Posted on 30. Oct, 2009 by Arun in Santa!

Christmas is a holiday for Christians to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Christmas is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. Gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians.

Christians may celebrate the festival by singing Christmas carols in church. Carols may also be called noel, song or hymn. The lyrics are based on the theme of Christmas.

The tradition of Christmas carols hails back as far as the thirteenth century, although carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols were  sung in church, and were specifically associated with Christmas.

Today, carols are regularly sung at Christian religious services. Some compositions have words which are clearly not of a religious theme, but are often still referred to as “carols”. For example, the sixteenth century song “A Bone, God Wot!” appears to be a wassailing song, but is described in the British Museum’s Cottonian Collection as a Christmas carol.

It is often difficult to draw a distinction between a Christmas carol and a Christmas song. The Concise Oxford Dictionary is more generous, as it defines a carol as a “religious song associated with Christmas”.

Almost all the well-known carols were not sung in church until the second half of the 19th century. Hymns Ancient and Modern 1861–1874 included several carols. Isaac Watts, the “Father of English hymnody”, composed “Joy to the World” which has become a popular Christmas carol even though it is widely believed that Watts did not write it to be sung only at Christmas.

Charles Wesley wrote texts for at least three Christmas carols, of which the best known was originally entitled “Hark! How All the Welkin Rings”, later edited to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”. In 1840, Felix Mendelssohn wrote a tune in a cantata; William H. Cummings adapted this tune to fit Wesley’s words and this combination first appeared in “Hymns Ancient and Modern” in 1861.

“Silent Night” comes from Austria; the first English translation was in 1871 where it was published in a Methodist hymnal.

Christmas Gifts: Most of people celebrating Christmas exchange gifts on this occasion as a sign of love. We all want our gifts to be special. Cards, flowers, chocolates, unique show pieces, clothing, jewelry, toys, watches, etc. are examples of the gifts people choose to give to their loved ones. A bottle of wine is also a good option to be presented as a gift.

Christmas Tree: An artificial or a living Christmas tree is decorated and it is a popular tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally, an evergreen or a pine tree is brought into a home or used in the open.

A Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colorful ornaments during the days around Christmas. An angel or star is often placed at the top of the tree, representing the host of angels or the Star of Bethlehem from the Nativity story.

The earliest that a pine tree was ever used and decorated for Christmas was in 1521 in Germany. In some accounts, Martin Luther is credited with adding lights and decoration to fir branches traditionally hung from ceilings.

The United States’ National Christmas Tree is lit each year on the South Lawn of the White House. Today, the lighting of the National Christmas Tree is part of what has become a major holiday event at the White House. Many cities, towns and department stores put up public Christmas trees outdoors.

Merry Christmas!

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Tags: christmas carol, Christmas Gift, christmas song, Christmas tree, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Merry Christmas, Santa, Silent Night, singing christmas carols