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Dec 22, 2016 · This illustration from 1873 shows a group of miners gathering round a fire on Christmas Eve to enjoy singing together. Many people couldn't read or write, so they learnt their carols by heart ...
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Dec 23, 2021 · Carols were being collected and printed widely by the 19th century. And in 1880, it’s believed the Christmas carol service was invented in Truro by an Edward White Benson, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury. Many of today’s most popular carols are dignified 19th-century offerings with tuneful melodies, rich harmonies and ...
Dec 22, 2016 · Getty Images. This illustration from 1873 shows a group of miners gathering round a fire on Christmas Eve to enjoy singing together. Many people couldn't read or write, so they learnt their carols ...
The idea of Christmas caroling brings to mind jolly bands of churchgoers, dressed in shawls and top hats, going door-to-door, also known as wassailing -- an Old Norse term -- to spread the spirit of Christmas through hymns. Whether it's "Deck the Halls," "Joy to the World" or "Silent Night," Christmas carols provide the soundtrack to the holidays.
- Sam Abramson
- Why Do We Sing Christmas Carols?
- What Are The Origins of Carol Singing?
- What Are The Origins of Carol Services?
- What Is The Oldest Christmas Carol?
We sing Christmas carols because they are a way of telling the story of the nativity and the birth of Jesus Christ. As well as explaining what happened around Jesus’s birth, the songs enable us to encapsulate and express the joy, devotion and awe-inspiring scenes of the nativity. As well as telling the nativity story, Christmas carols spread joy an...
In the Middle Ages, groups of ‘wassailers’ went from house to house singing for the purpose of joy-spreading and entertaining throughout the winter period. There would have been pagan songs for Winter Solstice that predated Christian hymns but, over time, Christmas carols began to be heard more and more in the wintertime. In the 17th century, Olive...
The modern carol service is thought to have been invented by Edward White Benson in 1880, at Truro Cathedral in Cornwall. The cathedral was newly complete but, the story goes, its erection wasn’t particularly popular due to a popular old church and homes being demolished in its wake. In an attempt to appease his parish in the winter months, and kee...
One of the first carols recorded is ‘Angels Hymn’, which is from 129 AD. By the 12th century, history records nativity themed carols being performed widely to celebrate the birth of Jesus. And one of the oldest printed carols is the ‘Boar’s Head Carol’ (listen above), which dates from 1521. It’s believed to have been heard annually at Queen’s Colle...
Dec 22, 2021 · The Herald Angels Sing. EB: Charles, the brother of Methodist founder John Wesley, penned as many as 9,000 hymns and poems, of which this is one of his best-known. It was said to be inspired by the sounds of the bells as he walked to church one Christmas morning and has been through several changes.
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Dec 20, 2016 · You see, before this, Christmas carols hadn’t been sung in the church, they’d been sung in the pub. Carols were folk songs; originally they were folk dances (that’s what ‘carol’ meant ...
