Traditionally, a Christmas carol is hymn or song whose lyrics have a Christmas theme, sung in the period before Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The popularity and accessibility of Christmas carols helped ensure their survival through centuries of Christmas religious turmoil.
Christmas Carols Traced to Medieval Ages
The word 'carol,' is traceable to ancient Greek drama, which means to dance in a ring. Therefore, it was associated with dancing. However, the frivolity of dance was frowned upon by the medieval church. Today, many carols have retained verses or titles that celebrate dancing as part of an appropriate manifestation of Christianity.
By the 14th century, carol singing was firmly established throughout Europe. In England the carol's popularity mirrored that of the narrative ballad. Not even complaints from the clerics seemed to stop people from adding new carols and variations to the ever increasing content or lyrics of song.
Carols as Folk Melodies, not Ecclesiastic Chants
Since the traditional carols developed independently of the church at first, carol melodies grew out of popular folk songs rather than the ritual ecclesiastic chants. As many sets of words could be attached to a single melody, lyrics then could be paired with quite different regional tunes. The folk melodies and the form of the cyclic verse-chorus have survived despite revisions.
Carol singing was not originally limited to Christmas. New Year, Easter, saints' days, planting and harvesting times were among the holidays that generated their own carols.
Carol-Singing in England
The history of carol-singing in England has seen some dark times. Like the Middle Ages when strolling carolers at Christmas went begging for food and drinks to seek alms, in England these similar serenaders known as "waits" were rewarded by getting invited to enter a warm house with a cup of wassail, which consisted of hot spiced ale or wine. The waits were originally a town crier or timekeeper who played on a pipe and, in some places, bands of waits musicians who played in the streets.
The first versions of today's many Christmas carols were written after the explosion of their popularity in the 16th century. As the church struggled against the influences of the Pagan customs, the Puritan Parliament of 1647 officially abolished Christmas, other related festivals, and the singing of carols.
Carols continued to be an underground activity for generations even when eventually Christmas was again observed after Cromwell's demise. Almost no new carols were published in England during the following 150 years.
Many significant changes were about to take place when Queen Victoria took over as the reigning monarch in the 1830s. One important change was the reinvention of the Christmas Carols.
Readers may want to check out this related article: The Christmas Carols in the Victorian Era.
Source:
Bailey, Olivia. Victorian Songs & Music: Empire of the Song. London: Caxton Publishing Group, 2002
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