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| Christmas Carolers |
The first Carols were sung in early Europe, but they weren't specifically for Christmas. There were carols for all four seasons, but only the ones for Christmas are still popular today. The word carol means a dance or song to praise or joy, and original carols were pagan songs, sung at Winter Solstice celebrations. Christians took these Pagan songs and changed the words to what the Christians believed in. All over Europe, composers wrote these carols, but most were sung in Latin, a language the average person didn't understand. In 1223 St. Francis of Assisi created Nativity plays in Italy, and "canticles," or songs that narrated the plays, were performed. These canticles were sung in more common languages, and these new carols quickly spread. When the Puritans came to America, carols were hardly sung, only quietly in secret. In Victorian times, William Sandys and Davis Gilbert collected old Christmas carols from English villages. There were official carolers called "waits" who only sang on Christmas Eve. New Christmas carols were written and this tradition became popular, as it is today. What is your favorite Christmas Carol?
2 comments:
Laura, your research on this project is outstanding! I've so enjoyed learning about the origin of Christmas trees, Santa, and Christmas Carols! Learning about the history of the actual celebration of Christmas day is facinating. I've celebrated Christmas all my life (that's a lot of years!) and I never knew it had such a questionable (and turbulent) beginning. Your blog is a fabulous read (and very creative too). Mrs. A.
I find it interesting how there used to be carolers for every season. Also, I wonder if the songs were similar to the ones people sing today.
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