History Of The Christmas Carol

Revelers not singing celebratory songs would usually dance around stone circles.

History of the christmas carol. Franz gruber wrote to music authorities in berlin saying that he had composed the tune but no one believed him and it was thought that haydn mozart or. However the original opening line as it appeared in his. Be it in a church door to door or just a knees up and a sing song in the local pub the joyous sound of carols is one that is synonymous with winter festivities. But a christmas carol s seemingly timeless transcendence hides the fact that it was very much the product of a particular moment in history its author meaning to weigh in on specific issues of.

The earliest incarnation of this carol was a poem penned in 1739 by charles wesley brother of john wesley the founder of methodism. The history of christmas carols carols were first sung in europe thousands of years ago but these were not christmas carols. The history of christmas carols. Charles dickens s idea for a christmas carol originated in the north of england when he traveled to speak at the manchester athenaeum a sort of philanthropic organization for the working poor a population that was largely uneducated powerless exploited by factory owners and ignored by everyone else.

Coventry carol for example is believed to have originated from medieval coventry mystery plays traditionally performed in the middle of the summer. The story goes that on christmas eve everybody in truro would get disgustingly drunk and that the. Pagans would cite it as a dance to something. Interestingly some carols throughout history seem to celebrate a period outside the christmas season.

Singing holiday songs goes hand in hand with baking christmas treats and learning the story of santa claus and rudolph the red nosed reindeer. The carol was sung during the christmas truce in the first world war in december 1914 as it was a song that soldiers on both sides knew. The history of christmas carols in europe goes back to pagan winter solstice celebrations. They were pagan songs sung at the winter solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles.

In its original form the word carol had several meanings.