Holidays

Christmas Carols

Holidays
Christmas Carols
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Did you know? Many think Joy to the World is about the Nativity, but it was actually written to celebrate the Second Coming of Christ. elaborate

Fact 1 of 26

26 facts about Christmas Carols

  1. 1
    Deep in the 17th century, the Puritans in England and America actually banned the singing of Christmas carols, considering them to be too frivolous and festive for a solemn holy day.
  2. 2
    The carol God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is often sung with a comma in the wrong place, changing the meaning from God keep you happy to a request for God to grant rest to merry gentlemen.
  3. 3
    Many people believe that the song We Three Kings of Orient Are describes the historical arrival of three men at the manger, but the Bible never actually specifies that there were three of them.
  4. 4
    In the Middle Ages, Christmas carols were often performed by groups of people dancing in a ring while they sang, as the word carol shares its etymological roots with the French word for dancing.
  5. 5
    The famous song Silver Bells was originally titled Tinkle Bells, but the songwriter changed it after his wife pointed out that the word tinkle had a different, unintended meaning.
  6. 6
    During the Christmas Truce of 1914, soldiers from opposing sides of World War I put down their weapons and sang Silent Night together across the trenches.
  7. 7
    The song Silent Night was composed in a hurry because the church organ in a small Austrian village had broken down, forcing the priest to write a melody that could be played on a guitar.
  8. 8
    Many think Joy to the World is about the Nativity, but it was actually written to celebrate the Second Coming of Christ.
  9. 9
    Many carol traditions include the use of bells because they were historically thought to ward off evil spirits during the dark winter months.
  10. 10
    Singing Christmas carols door-to-door is known as carolling, a tradition that evolved from the ancient practice of wassailing.
  11. 11
    It is estimated that White Christmas is the best-selling single of all time, with over 50 million copies sold.
  12. 12
    The carol Good King Wenceslas is not about a king at all, but a Duke who was posthumously honored as a saint.
  13. 13
    Deck the Halls is based on a Welsh melody that was originally a New Year's song called Nos Galan.
  14. 14
    The word carol originally referred to a circle dance accompanied by singing.
  15. 15
    In the 1800s, it was common for Christmas carolers to be paid in food or small coins as a form of begging.
  16. 16
    The song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was based on a department store character created to help sell coloring books.
  17. 17
    The Carol of the Bells is based on a traditional Ukrainian folk song that was originally meant to celebrate the New Year, not Christmas.
  18. 18
    The Christmas carol I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus was banned in some towns when it was released because parents were worried it would confuse children about Santa being their father.
  19. 19
    The phrase Yuletide comes from the Germanic word Jol, which refers to a period of time rather than just a single day.
  20. 20
    Many people believe The Little Drummer Boy is an ancient song, but it was actually written in 1941 by an American composer.
  21. 21
    The song Twelve Days of Christmas originated as a memory game where players had to repeat verses and add their own to avoid a forfeit.
  22. 22
    During World War I, soldiers on opposing sides sang Silent Night together during the 1914 Christmas truce.
  23. 23
    Silent Night was written by a priest because his church organ broke, forcing him to write a song that could be played on a guitar.
  24. 24
    The song Jingle Bells was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.
  25. 25
    The song God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is one of the oldest carols still in use, with its roots dating back to the 15th century, and the punctuation in the title is actually supposed to be a comma after the word rest, meaning it is a wish for the gentlemen to be kept in a merry state.
  26. 26
    In the 1600s, Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans banned the singing of Christmas carols in England, declaring them sinful and a distraction from religious devotion.
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