Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way;
Oh! what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.’
Who doesn’t know this popular song which is played and sung all through Christmas? While all of us associate it with Christmas, the original song which was written in 1857 doesn’t even have any lyrics pertaining to Christmas at all! Story goes that the original song was sung around Thanksgiving and due to its popularity repeated at Christmas. What then is Christmas music all about? Well, the modern definition of Christmas music is any music and songs that are developed and sung in Christmas season.
Originally Christmas music was primarily religious songs. One also began associating Christmas carols as part of the celebrations. Carol singing can be dated back to the 13th century. Carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was later that they were associated with Christmas and were sung in church. In fact most of the popular carols weren’t even sung in church till the 19th century. Some of the popular carols include "Silent Night", "Away in a Manger", "Hark The Herald Angels Sing", “Deck the halls” and “Twelve days of Christmas”. Traditionally carols are sung in church and groups of people also go caroling from door to door.
Over the years, the definition of Christmas music has also changed drastically. The UK music charts are a great example of this change. Every year record companies battle it out for the number one spot because of the immense media coverage and high sales during the season. These songs aren’t necessarily associated with Christmas but they are created around that season. Some of the songs that have been on top include Michael Jackson’s "Earth Song", Spice Girls’ "Too Much", Westlife - "I Have A Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun", Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman’s "Somethin' Stupid".
Over time, there have been reality shows which have been created to get the winner to compete for the Christmas number one single. Due to this there have been many number two songs that have been more popular like ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham and Mariah Carey's ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’. The Beatles have been the only artistes to have four number ones on these charts.
Christmas music is forever evolving and this year saw the globalisation of this genre. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan has composed yuletide music on the sarod for the season. Aptly titled ‘Breaking Barriers’ the album apparently is supposed to be his interpretation of the popular Christmas hymns and carols. With christmas music moving away from the piano to the sarod and becoming more about the spirit of the season than being restricted to religion, it seems like it’s time for the season of peace and giving.
