"A Merry Christmas, uncle! God save you! cried a cheerful voice. It was the voice of Scrooge's nephew, who came upon him so quickly that this was the intimation he had of his approach.
"Bah!" said Scrooge, "humbug"
As the pages turn in this delightful story written by Charles Dickens there is the written sound of a Christmas Carol:
"God, bless you. merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!"
"Silent Night'', "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Joy to the World', "Away in the Manger', and other beautiful carols are the Christmas songs we know. Although a carol was a special form of song, today the name it is used for most Christmas songs.
The word ' carol came from the Ancient Greek word 'chorus', meaning 'to dance', or a similar word meaning 'to accompany the dance on the pipes and flutes'. The Christmas carol (also called a 'noel' in French and 'villancicos' in Spanish) is a song or hymn whose lyrics are on the Christian theme and are traditionally sung during the Christmas season. The tradition of Christmas carols stems far back as far as the thirteenth century; they are based on medieval chord patterns, which give them their uniquely characteristic musical tone. .
The earliest carols celebrated any happy event or season, and not all were of a religious nature. The dance was dropped after a time. The carols told a story and sung by minstrels or by wandering musicians; they sang their verses and stanzas and their audiences joined in on the burden (the burden was like a refrain). It was only at a later period that carols became closely tied to religion and sung in churches written to tell the Biblical story and to be specifically associated with Christmas.
Most churches have special services at which carols are sung, generally combined with readings from scripture about the birth of Christ. Tradition has it that Christmas carols were introduced into church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 12th century. In the 19th centuries and onwards the popularity of Christmas carols grew in religious observances in the United States spreading their good faith. Composers like Sir Arthur Sullivan helped to popularize the Christmas carol, and it the nineteenth century, and it is in this period that gave rise to the favorite carols, "Good King Wenceslas" and "It Came upon a Midnight Clear". There is also a tradition that gave rise to performances of serious music relating to Christmas including Handel's 'Messiah' and the 'Christmas Oratorio' by Bach.
It's difficult to imagine celebrating Christmas without the music of the season. Whether we're listening to the traditional strains of Silent Night or contemporary tunes such as the 'Little Drummer Boy', speak so much of the joy and wonderment of the season as does music.
Today carols are sung by individual singers, but are also often sung by larger groups, including professionally trained choirs. In England, and some other countries there is a tradition of Christmas carolling (earlier known as wassailing), in which groups of singers travel from house to house, singing carols, for which they are often rewarded with varied favours including money (all monies contributed to charity).
We express the joy in our faith at the coming holiday season through the singing of carols. You too can join in the singing of carols on Christmas eve, either in your church, with your friends, or at home with your family. If you are not sure of the words log on 'www.christmas-carols.net' or 'www.carols.org.uk' .
"A Merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge. With and earnestness that could not be mistaken,
as he clapped him on the Back. "A Merry Christmas, my good fellow..."
NOTES:
1) Perhaps the best known Christmas carol is 'Silent Night', written in 1818 by an Austrian assistant priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be repaired in time for Christmas Day. Saddened, he sat down to write three stanzas that could be sung by choir to guitar music.
2) Secular songs such as "I'll be Home for Christmas" , "Jingle Bells", "We Wish you a Merry Xmas" are not true Christmas carols, though they are also popular in the period before Christmas, and should therefore be considered to be Christmas songs.. The most popular of the present day Christmas songs is "White Christmas", which was written by Irving Berlin in 1942 during the Second World War. It was made famous by Bing Crosby.
3) Some Easter carols were written, but little by little carols came to associated with the Christmas season.
4) Many Christmas traditions are relatively recent such as Santa Claus with his team of reindeer riding through the sky bear no relation to Christmas carols.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/99699/christmas_carols_the_history_of_these.html?page=3&cat=33
"Bah!" said Scrooge, "humbug"
As the pages turn in this delightful story written by Charles Dickens there is the written sound of a Christmas Carol:
"God, bless you. merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!"
"Silent Night'', "Oh Come All Ye Faithful", "Joy to the World', "Away in the Manger', and other beautiful carols are the Christmas songs we know. Although a carol was a special form of song, today the name it is used for most Christmas songs.
The word ' carol came from the Ancient Greek word 'chorus', meaning 'to dance', or a similar word meaning 'to accompany the dance on the pipes and flutes'. The Christmas carol (also called a 'noel' in French and 'villancicos' in Spanish) is a song or hymn whose lyrics are on the Christian theme and are traditionally sung during the Christmas season. The tradition of Christmas carols stems far back as far as the thirteenth century; they are based on medieval chord patterns, which give them their uniquely characteristic musical tone. .
The earliest carols celebrated any happy event or season, and not all were of a religious nature. The dance was dropped after a time. The carols told a story and sung by minstrels or by wandering musicians; they sang their verses and stanzas and their audiences joined in on the burden (the burden was like a refrain). It was only at a later period that carols became closely tied to religion and sung in churches written to tell the Biblical story and to be specifically associated with Christmas.
Most churches have special services at which carols are sung, generally combined with readings from scripture about the birth of Christ. Tradition has it that Christmas carols were introduced into church services by St Francis of Assisi in the 12th century. In the 19th centuries and onwards the popularity of Christmas carols grew in religious observances in the United States spreading their good faith. Composers like Sir Arthur Sullivan helped to popularize the Christmas carol, and it the nineteenth century, and it is in this period that gave rise to the favorite carols, "Good King Wenceslas" and "It Came upon a Midnight Clear". There is also a tradition that gave rise to performances of serious music relating to Christmas including Handel's 'Messiah' and the 'Christmas Oratorio' by Bach.
It's difficult to imagine celebrating Christmas without the music of the season. Whether we're listening to the traditional strains of Silent Night or contemporary tunes such as the 'Little Drummer Boy', speak so much of the joy and wonderment of the season as does music.
Today carols are sung by individual singers, but are also often sung by larger groups, including professionally trained choirs. In England, and some other countries there is a tradition of Christmas carolling (earlier known as wassailing), in which groups of singers travel from house to house, singing carols, for which they are often rewarded with varied favours including money (all monies contributed to charity).
We express the joy in our faith at the coming holiday season through the singing of carols. You too can join in the singing of carols on Christmas eve, either in your church, with your friends, or at home with your family. If you are not sure of the words log on 'www.christmas-carols.net' or 'www.carols.org.uk' .
"A Merry Christmas, Bob!" said Scrooge. With and earnestness that could not be mistaken,
as he clapped him on the Back. "A Merry Christmas, my good fellow..."
NOTES:
1) Perhaps the best known Christmas carol is 'Silent Night', written in 1818 by an Austrian assistant priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be repaired in time for Christmas Day. Saddened, he sat down to write three stanzas that could be sung by choir to guitar music.
2) Secular songs such as "I'll be Home for Christmas" , "Jingle Bells", "We Wish you a Merry Xmas" are not true Christmas carols, though they are also popular in the period before Christmas, and should therefore be considered to be Christmas songs.. The most popular of the present day Christmas songs is "White Christmas", which was written by Irving Berlin in 1942 during the Second World War. It was made famous by Bing Crosby.
3) Some Easter carols were written, but little by little carols came to associated with the Christmas season.
4) Many Christmas traditions are relatively recent such as Santa Claus with his team of reindeer riding through the sky bear no relation to Christmas carols.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/99699/christmas_carols_the_history_of_these.html?page=3&cat=33
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