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Christmas Carols
Carols may have the longest history of all the customs practiced during the holidays. Some imagery in carols has pagan roots from when they were sung at Winter Solstice celebrations as the people danced round stone circles. "The Holly and The Ivy," is one example. Both these plants were originally part of the Roman Saturnalia Festival and decorating one's doorway with holly and ivy at the solstice was so clearly linked with ancient beliefs that the Church tried furiously to end the practice, but to no avail. And so eventually the Church adopted the imagery and translated it into Christian terms
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun,
And the running of the deer,
The playing of the merry organ,
Sweet singing in the choir.
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Savior.
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good.
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas day in the morn.
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
Other carols have their origins in folk music where you'll often find the same tune with different words. Many times Christmas words were laid on top of the tune later. The carol "What Child Is This?" is an example of just such a case. The melody is from the old Tudor tune "Greensleeves," which had nothing whatsoever to do with the holidays. In 1865, William Dix, an Englishman, wrote "The Manger Throne," of which three verses evolved into "What Child Is This?"
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"What Child Is This"
What child is this, who, lay to rest,
on Mary's lap, is sleeping
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
while Shepards watch are keeping
Chorus:
This, this is Christ the King
whom Shepards guard and angels sing
Haste, Haste, to bring him laud,
The babe, the son of Mary
Why lies he in such mean estate
where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christian, fear; for sinners
here the silent Word is pleading
Chorus
So bring Him incense, gold, and myrrh,
come peasant, King, to own him;
The King of kings salvation brings,
let loving hearts enthrone Him
Chorus
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"Greensleeves"
Alas, my love, you do me wrong,
To cast me off discourteously
For I have loved you well and long,
Delighting in your company
Greensleeves was all my joy
Greensleeves was my delight,
Greensleeves was my heart of gold,
And who but my lady greensleeves
Your vows you've broken, like my heart,
Oh, why did you so enrapture me?
Now I remain in a world apart
But my heart remains in captivity
I have been ready at your hand,
To grant whatever you would crave,
I have both wagered life and land,
Your love and good-will for to have
If you intend thus to disdain,
It does the more enrapture me,
And even so, I still remain
A lover in captivity
My men were clothed all in green,
And they did ever wait on thee;
All this was gallant to be seen,
And yet thou wouldst not love me
Thou couldst desire no earthly thing,
but still thou hadst it readily
Thy music still to play and sing;
And yet thou wouldst not love me
Well, I will pray to God on high,
that thou my constancy mayst see,
And that yet once before I die,
Thou wilt vouchsafe to love me
Ah, Greensleeves, now farewell, adieu,
To God I pray to prosper thee,
For I am still thy lover true,
Come once again and love me
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Another is "I Saw Three Ships".The tune of this carol is a traditional English folk song and the words of this carol (of which there are several versions) were written by wandering minstrels as they travelled through the country. In the original version of the carol, the Three Ships were the ones taking the supposed skulls of the wise men to Cologne cathedral in Germany. However, since the Middle Ages when it was first written, there have been many different lyrics with different Bible characters being on the ships. The most common lyrics used today are about Mary and Jesus travelling to Bethlehem.
I Saw Three Ships
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I saw three ship come sailing in,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
I saw three ship come sailing in,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And what was in those ships all three?
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And what was in those ships all three?
on Christmas Day in the morning.
Our Saviour Christ and His lady,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
Our Saviour Christ and His lady,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And where they sailed those ships all three?
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And where they sailed those ships all three?
on Christmas Day in the morning.
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All they sailed in to Bethlehem,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
All they sailed in to Bethlehem,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the angels in heaven shall sing,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the the angels in heaven shall sing,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And let us all rejoice again,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And let us all rejoice again,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
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As the church struggled against the influences of pagan customs, the singing of carols was barred from sacred services. Saint Francis of Assisi is credited with bringing carols into the formal worship of the church during a Christmas Midnight Mass in a cave in Greccio, in the province of Umbria in 1223. The music this night was more like what we know as carols than hymns. Carols continued to grow in popularity when they were used in the mystery plays of the Middle Ages.
In the distant past, wandering minstrels traveled from town to town performing carols. In later years, villages had their own bands of waits, or watchmen, who patrolled th streets of the old walled cities singing out the hours of the night. During the holidays, they included carols for the people along the way and eventually the term was used to describe musicians who sang for various civic events during the Chrismas season.
The stories behind some of the carols are often as familiar as the songs themselves. "Silent Night" is an example.
According to legend, the carol was written on Christmas Eve, 1818 in Oberndorf, Bavaria. The church organ was broken and the town was snowbound. Church vicar, Joseph Mohr, wrote the lyrics on the spot and handed them to organist Franz Gruber, who composed the original melody for two voices and choir with guitar accompaniment, just in time for midnight mass.
The original words of the song were in German and translated into English went:
Silent night, holy night,
Bethlehem sleeps, yet what light,
Floats around the heavenly pair;
Songs of angels fills the air.
Strains of heavenly peace.
Soon the words were translated into many languages and altered a bit. By 1955, "Silent Night" had become the most recorded song of all time....
Silent night! holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon virgin mother and child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace!
Silent night! holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from heaven afar,
heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Silent night! holy night!
Son of God, love's pure light
radiant beams from thy holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at they birth.
(midi playing - controls at top of page)
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The Twelve Days of Christmas
In 1558, King Henry VIII of England had a falling out with the Catholic Church and began his own 'Protestant' Church (the Church of England). From 1558 to 1829, it was illegal to practice Catholicism in private or in public and even owning a Catholic Bible could have you thrown in prison. Catholics therefore had to worship in secret.
‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ was written in England at the beginning of this time. Some people believe that it was written to teach Catholic children their religion. Because it could not contain anything that had obviously Catholic instruction, the entire song is written with symbols and hidden meanings.
The 12 Days of Christmas refer to the twelve day period that starts with Christmas day and ends on Epiphany (6th January). The song begins, On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me... The ‘true love’ represents God, the true love of the world. The ‘me’ in the carol is the Christian man or woman who receives these presents. The meaning of all of the 12 Days are below:
The ‘partridge in a pear tree’ is Jesus who died on the cross. In ancient times a partridge was often used as mythological symbol of a divine, sacred king.
The ‘two turtle doves’ are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible - another gift from God. Doves also symbolize peace.
The ‘three French hens’ are faith, hope and love — the three gifts of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 13). The French hens can also represent God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The ‘four calling birds’ are the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible.
The ‘five golden rings’ are the first five books of the Bible also called the Books of Moses or the Torah.
The ‘six geese a-laying’ are the six days of creation.
The ‘seven swans a swimming’ are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:10-11)
The ‘eight maids a milking’ are the eight beatitudes, Jesus’ teachings on happiness. (See Matthew 5:3-10)
The ‘nine ladies dancing’ are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22)
The ‘ten lords a-leaping’ are the Ten Commandments in the Bible. (See Exodus 20)
The ‘eleven pipers piping’ are the eleven faithful disciples of Jesus.
The ‘twelve drummers drumming’ were the twelve points of the Apostles’ Creed.
"Holly and the Ivy" courtesy of The Woodshed
"Silent Night" courtesy of Spider's Christmas Gifs
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" courtesy of Liberty Music
"Greensleeves" courtesy of Bear's Midis
"I Saw Three Ships" courtesy of Fastdesign.com
There is a great site that has lots of Christmas midis
with lyrics in several languages. Just follow the link to
Midi Files Of Christmas HERE
Though I love nearly all of the Christmas Carols,
there are two that are particular favorites.
The Carolers below will take you to that page
or follow the links to the rest of the site.
HOME SITE MAPHOLIDAY PAGES INDEX
the graphics on this page are my own creation
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