What Is A Christmas Carol ?

Fr. Paul Lelen Haokip *

A Christmas Carol singing in Imphal in December 2010

Introduction:

It may be strange to someone to see people going around with guitars, drums and singing songs on such cold winter nights prior to proper Christmas. Before we can answer the question of the first or earliest Christmas Carol, we need to deal with some preliminary questions. What is a carol? What is a Christmas carol? None of these questions are trivial.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "carol" as "a ring-dance with accompaniment of song" or "a song; originally, that to which they danced" or "a song or hymn of religious joy". The later definition hits the mark most closely. Is "Jingle Bells" really a Christmas carol? The best evidence is that the song was composed for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.

And what about "Do you hear what I hear?" This was written in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis. If you read the lyrics with any care it becomes obvious that the imagery is about missiles not Christmas: "A star, a star, dancing in the night with a tail as big as a kite." However, both songs appear to have become seasonal standards, regardless of their original meaning.

Origin of the word 'carol':

The word carol or carole is a medieval word of French and Anglo-Norman origin, believed to mean a dance song or a circle dance accompanied by singing. The word carol comes from the ancient Greek "Choros" which means 'dancing in a circle' and from the Old French word 'carole' meaning 'a song to accompany dancing'. Over the years, the word 'carol' changed its meaning, referring only to certain kinds of songs, the word carol became known as Christmas. Broadly defined, carols express religious joy and is often associated to the Christmas season. Carols are also used to describe late medieval English songs on various subjects with a verse and refrain. Often the verse and refrain (also called burden) alternates.

Why were Christmas Carols written?

Many Christmas carols were written for a special purpose, often to accompany performances of religious dramas dating from medieval times. In the medieval Ages, carols were dances accompanied by singing. It is thought that these dances were introduced to England from France.

What is Carol singing?

Carol singing or Caroling, is singing carols in the streets or public places. It is one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, going back to the Middle Ages when beggars, seeking food, money or drink would wander the streets singing holiday songs.

People today still go carol singing. People go from house to house singing carols and collecting money for charity. The traditional period to sing carols is from St. Thomas's Day (21 December) until the morning of Christmas Day.

The story of SILENT NIGHT Carol:

It was written in 1818, by an Augustrian priest Fr. Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the Church organ was broken and would not be repaired in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sing by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night) for the first time.

Some of the Christmas carols and when they were composed:

1843 - O come all ye faithful, 1948 - Once in Royal David's City, 1851 - See Amid the Winter's Snow, 1864 - O Little Town of Bethlehem, 1883 - Away in a Manger.

History of Christmas Carols:

It is unclear when the first carol was written but it is believed that circa 1350 to 1550 is the golden age of English carols and most of the carols followed the verse-refrain pattern. During the 14th century carols became a popular religious song form. The theme often revolved around a saint, the Christ child or the Virgin Mary, at times blending two languages such as English and Latin. By the 15th century the carol was also considered as art music.

During this time, elaborate arrangements were made and carols were considered an important contribution to English medieval music. The Fayrfax Manuscript, a court songbook featuring carols, was written by the end of the 15th century. The songs were written for 3 or 4 voices and themes were mostly on the Passion of Christ. By the 16th century though, the popularity of carols faltered, almost disappearing entirely if not for the revival that happened by the middle of the 18th century. Most of the carols we know today were written during this period.

The first specifically Christmas hymns for Christians that we know of appear in fourth century Rome. Latin hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium, written by St. Ambrose, Archbishop of Milan, were austere statements of the theological doctrine of the Incarnation in opposition to Arianism. Corde natus ex Parentis (Of the Father's love begotten) by the Spanish poet Prudentius (d. 413) is still sung in some churches today.

In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Christmas "Sequence" or "Prose" was introduced in North European monasteries, developing under Bernard of Clairvaux into a sequence of rhymed stanzas. In the twelfth century the Parisian monk Adam of St. Victor began to derive music from popular songs, introducing something closer to the traditional Christmas carol.

In the thirteenth century, in France, Germany, and particularly, Italy, under the influence of Francis of Assisi a strong tradition of popular Christmas songs in the native language developed. Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, a Shropshire chaplain, who lists twenty five "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of 'wassailers', who went from house to house. The songs we know specifically as carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. It was only later that carols begun to be sung in church, and to be specifically associated with Christmas.

Carols gained in popularity after the Reformation in the countries where Protestant churches gained prominence (as well-known Reformers like Martin Luther authored carols and encouraged their use in worship), this was the consequence of the fact that the Lutheran reformation warmly welcomed music.

Adeste Fideles (O Come all ye faithful) appears in its current form in the mid 18th century, although the words may have originated in the thirteenth century. The origin of the tune is disputed. The first appearance in print of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "The First Noel", "I Saw Three Ships" and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" was in Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833) by William B. Sandys. Composers like Arthur Sullivan helped to repopularize the carol, and it is this period that gave rise to such favorites as "Good King Wenceslas" and "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", a New England carol written by Edmund H. Sears and Richard S. Willis.

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 (which is sung during drinking or while requesting ale), but is described in the British Library's Cottonian Collection as a Christmas carol.

Episodes described in Christmas carols

Several different Christmas episodes, apart from the birth of Jesus itself, are described in Christmas carols, such as:
o The Annunciation, for example Gabriel's Message
o The Census of Quirinius, a rare subject, but touched on in On a Day When Men Were Counted by Daniel Thambyrajah Niles (1964)
o The Annunciation to the shepherds, for example While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
o The Adoration of the shepherds, for example the Czech carol Nesem Vám Noviny (translated into English as Come, All Ye Shepherds)
o The Star of Bethlehem, for example, Star of the East
o The journey of the Magi and the Adoration of the Magi, for example We Three Kings
o The Massacre of the Innocents, for example the Coventry Carol
In addition, some carols describe Christmas-related events which are of a religious nature, but not directly related to the birth of Jesus. For example:
o Good King Wenceslas, based on a legend about Saint Wenceslaus helping a poor man on December 26 (the Feast of Stephen)
o Ding Dong Merrily on High and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, reflecting on the practice of ringing church bells at Christmas

Conclusion:

It is hard to give an extensive description about the Christmas Carols on just few pages. One thing is clear, the Christmas Carols are harbingers of peace just as the farmer waits the monsoon for cultivation, the lover waits the cuckoo's sound of music and Manipur waits for the birth the Prince of Peace. The evil forces are getting stronger by the day, the rational denizens of Imaleipak need to face the darkened forces and cultivate Peace which is the longing of every heart and soul.

Peaceful Christmas to you all.