We are 2 weeks away from Christmas and
it is the festive season everybody waits for. Decorations in every house, jolly
emotions and the time when Christmas Carols become the main music. In this
blog, for a change, instead of discussing music, instruments or performances, is
going to giving you some really cool facts about Christmas Carols to put you in
a jolly mood! So here are your 7 Christmas Carol facts:
1. Carols were
first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas
Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as
people danced round stone circles.
2. The word Carol originally meant to dance to something.
3. Carols used to
be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing
them at Christmas has really survived.
4. Most
Carols from this time and the Elizabethan period are untrue stories, very
loosely based on the Christmas story, about the holy family and were seen as
entertaining rather than religious songs. They were usually sung in homes
rather than in churches!
5. Before carol
singing in public became popular, there were sometimes official carol singers
called ‘Waits’. These were bands of people led by important local leaders (such
as council leaders) who had the only power in the towns and villages to take
money from the public (if others did this, they were sometimes charged as
beggars!). They were called ‘Waits’ because they only sang on Christmas Eve
(This was sometimes known as ‘watch night’ or ‘wait night’ because of the
shepherds were watching their sheep when the angels appeared to them.), when
the Christmas celebrations began.
6. New carols
services were created and became popular, as did the custom of singing carols
in the streets. Both of these customs are still popular today! One of the most
popular types of Carols services are Carols by Candlelight services. At this service,
the church is only lit by candlelight and it feels very Christmassy! Carols by
Candlelight services are held in countries all over the world.
7. What is the
most common sound that remind you of Christmas? It is that subtle ringing of
bells that goes on forever and are very well used in a lot of Carols. Those
instrument are called “Sleigh Bells” and are known to be used by every Santa
Claus.
Interesting, isn’t it?
Well, we hope you enjoyed those fun facts about Christmas Carols. Here’s
wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy holidays!
BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools.
The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.
Sources of this
information:
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