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I heard the bells on Christmas Day
their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-1863—
And so was coined a popular Christmas carol
that was put to music in 1956 by none other than American songwriter Johnny
Marks famous for his own iconic song written for Gene Autry, Rudolph The Red
Nosed Reindeer.
What’s Christmas without the very essence
of Christmas, The Christmas Carol. The most beautiful medium of exaltation and
praise in commemoration of the birth of the Christ child. The Christmas carol
holds a special place in the heart of every person irrespective of religion as
a means of a celebration of the most heartwarming festival of mankind,
Christmas!!
The First Christmas Carol
While researching on material for this
article on the history of the Christmas carol I came across one of the earliest
carols written by a Canadian Jesuit missionary Jean De Brebeuf in 1643. As he
lived among the Huron’s in Canada, the song was called the Huron carol or Twas in the moon of wintertime. It is
regarded as Canada’s oldest Christmas song.
Although the earliest known Christmas hymns
date back to the Roman era of the 4th century, it wasn’t till the post
Franciscan period that the trend of Christmas caroling got underway. The tradition
of Christmas carols was influenced by St Francis of Assisi when he began organizing
nativity plays in Italy in the year 1223. The new trend grew in popularity and
spread throughout Europe. By 1426, the tradition of plays soon evolved into
groups of people visiting homes and singing Christmas songs where the term
carol was used in a publication titled Caroles
of Cristemas published in the same year by an English chaplain John Awdlay.
SILENT NIGHT, The most famous Christmas carol of them all was composed in 1816
In 1816, a German Catholic priest Father
Joseph Mohr of Oberndorf, Salzburg Austria wrote the lyrics of a song which
required to be set to music. He wanted it sung at Christmas Eve and so took the
help of the organ and choirmaster Franz Gruber who composed one of the most
beautiful pieces in the history of Christmas carols. The lyrics were written in
German but were translated to English forty years later by An American Episcopal
priest John Freeman Young. SILENT NIGHT
HOLY NIGHT!! the most famous of all Christmas carols was born. Its original
name was Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!”.
I have listed two versions of the song sung most beautifully by the Kings College Cambridge
O Come All Ye Faithful, 1852
In 1852 another book called the Piae Cantiones
was published which Listed Latin versions of popular Christmas carols still
sung in churches today. One of them which we all know was Adeste Fideles Or O come all ye faithful. Although the words of Adeste Fideles originated in the 13th
century, it evolved into its current form in the 18th century. Heres a unique take on the hymn by Pentatonix.
O Little Town of Bethlehem, 1865
Cut to 1865 and one of the most spiritual
carols was born reflecting truly the joyous aspect of the nativity enshrouded
by the humble town of Bethlehem. O little
town of Bethlehem was created by Phillip Brooks an Episcopalian preacher
who taught at Yale. In 1865 Brooks actually took part in a journey on horseback
from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. He had also participated in a five-hour nativity
celebration on Christmas Eve. His experience and journey were so profound that
it inspired him to write down the carol whose first public performance was conducted
in 27th December 1868 and sung by the children’s choir of his own church. Who better than Nat King Cole for this one
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, 1918
Perhaps the most beautiful tradition of
Christmas carols were epitomized in the Christmas Eve service of the Festival of
nine lessons and carols held at King’s College Cambridge. Although I reside in India,
I still hold this service dear to my heart as it induces an emotional sense of
nostalgia. In my teens, I was a huge fan of the BBC service broadcasted on
shortwave radio and at Christmas the BBC would also broadcast the live service of
the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols,
I would make sure I heard it with the radio stuck to my ears at night when all
were asleep.
The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols introduced in 1918 celebrates
the birth of Jesus, the fall of humanity and the promise of the coming messiah.
It is conducted through readings from the old and new testaments interspersed
with the singing of hymns and carols. Take a look at the King’s College Cambridge
singing Once in Royal David's City
The Carol of the Bells, 1914
In 1914 another popular Christmas
theme was created into a carol. It was called the Carol of the Bells and was composed
by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych. The lyrics were written by Peter
Wilhousky. If you haven't heard of Celtic Woman, then here's the time to hear them now.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, 1944
By the 20th century, Christmas
carols soon influenced popular Christmas songs that appeared on Broadway and Hollywood
musicals. Perhaps the most popular and beautiful rendering of a Christmas song
was sung by the iconic Judy Garland in the movie Meet Me in St Louis produced
in 1944. How many love hearing Have Yourself
A Merry Little Christmas, a true heart warmer also made famous by Frank Sinatra.
The song itself was written by composer Hugh Martin and Lyricist Ralph Blaine.
Silver Bells, 1950
By 1950, one of the most popular Christmas
songs gained instant popularity. All of you reading this will recognize this
song best in the baritone voice of Jim Reeves. However, the song itself
was first performed by Bob Hope in the motion picture Lemondrop. The very first studio recording of Silver Bells was sung by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1850 and
released by Decca records. The song was an instant success.
A White Christmas
Perhaps the most loved aspect of
modern Christmas carols could be attributed to the 1950s era when several hits
were born from Hollywood musicals. One of these was everyone’s favourite, White Christmas which was the title song
of the movie by the same name in 1954. It starred Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and
Vera-Ellen. The song was composed by none other than Irving Berlin and holds
the Guinness world record as the highest-selling single of all time crossing
100 million copies.
Since Jim reeves already feature here,
I can’t think of anyone better than to feature the king signing his version of White Christmas.
The list of Christmas cheer is
endless. When reminiscing about the good times one realizes how times have
changed where every person in Kolkata (then Calcutta will know) that though Christmas
caroling is a much more organized affair by churches of today, it was much more
fun in the days gone by, when groups of boys and girls went door to door caroling
all in hopes of making some pocket money for Christmas, me included.