JOIN USOne of the best parts of Christmas is carol singing. We always envied our Christian neighbours who would have a big group of people from their church visiting them late in the night around Christmas and singing carols, every year. Melodious and meaningful, carols have a way of ringing in the Christmas spirit.
However, not many of us know that the word carol may have originated from the French carole or the Latin carula, meaning dance, or a song of praise. The history of carols is almost 1,000 years old, its origins going to Europe. Back then, they were very different, not at all like the carols we get to appreciate nowadays.
And, most people didn’t enjoy singing them as they were all written and sung in Latin, a language they didn’t understand.
The earliest carol dates back to 1410, which narrated the story of Mother Mary and Jesus meeting different people in Bethlehem. Though almost all the carols from this period told stories about the holy family, they were hardly based on the Christmas story, and hence sung only at homes. And, whenever travelling singers sung them, they altered the lyrics to suit the place they were singing them in.
For some time, especially when Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans ruled England in 1647, public singing of carols was stopped altogether, though people continued singing them in private, within the four walls of their homes. Things changed for the better in Victorian times when people wanted Christmas songs to sing, and efforts were made by some individuals to revive carol singing by visiting villages in England to collect the music and lyrics of carols. It was during this period that several new carols were also written and set to tune.
And, thank heavens for that. Today, somehow, Christmas seems incomplete without the accompanying carols. They not only narrate the story of Christmas, but also spread cheer.
It is also interesting to note that each and every country has a carol-singing tradition of its own. For instance, in Australia and New Zealand, they have the tradition of organising carols by candlelight concerts in the days leading up to Christmas, across small towns and cities alike, wherein renowned singers lead the singing while the audience joins in by holding lit candles. And in Greece, on Christmas Eve, children go from house to house with triangles in their hands and sing carols, when they are given sweets, treats and gifts.
While many carols are regional, there are some carols that are popular throughout the world. Like ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’, and ‘Jingle Bells’, whose translations are as popular as their originals. Merry Christmas!