Just as the Christmas tree has become a tradition during the Christmas season, another wonderful custom is the singing of lovely and happy songs that captivate our hearts and help to make the season happier and brighter. We sing these songs at church and in homes. We enjoy forming groups of singers and going around our neighborhoods sharing these lovely melodies. We buy CDs and listen to them at home or in our cars as we travel. We have holiday shows on television that feature our popular singers performing our favorites. Movies have been made that revolve around these songs, such as the famous production of White Christmas. I cannot remember a year when I did not spend many hours during the holiday season enjoying these very special songs and singing along with them. These songs are called carols. Let us examine this musical art form in greater depth. 
Word Origin
The word carol or carole is a medieval word of French and Anglo-Norman origin, believed to mean a dance song or a circle dance accompanied by singing. Broadly defined, carols express religious joy and are often associated to the Christmas season. Carols are also used to describe late medieval English songs on various subjects with a verse and refrain. Often the verse and refrain (also called burden) alternates.
History of the Christmas carol
It is unclear when the first carol was written, but it is believed that circa 1350 to 1550 is the golden age of English carols, and most of the carols followed the verse-refrain pattern. During the 14th century carols became a popular religious song form. The theme often revolved around a saint, the Christ child or the Virgin Mary, at times blending two languages such as English and Latin. By the 15th century the carol was also considered as art music. During this time, elaborate arrangements were made, and carols were considered an important contribution to English medieval music. The Fayrfax Manuscript, a court songbook featuring carols, was written by the end of the 15th century. The songs were written for 3 or 4 voices, and themes were mostly on the Passion of Christ. By the 16th century though, the popularity of carols faltered almost disappearing entirely if not for the revival that happened by the middle of the 18th century. Most of the carols we know today were written during this period. Today,an important feature of Christmas carols is that they are only nominally about Christmas. Listeners faced with the full canon might distinguish between sacred songs (those that make some mention of Christ’s birth) and secular ones (Santa Claus, snowmen, mistletoe, “cheer,” and all manner of wassailing. 
My Personal Favorites
Below is a list of my favorite religious Christmas carols. As you can see, the list is quite long, but each year I try to listen to as many of these joyous melodies as possible.
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks – Nahum Tate
What Child Is This? – William Chatterton Dix
We Three Kings of Orient Are – Rev. John Henry Hopkins
We Wish You a Merry Christmas- English traditional
Silent Night – Franz Xaver Gruber
Little Town of Bethlehem – Phillips Brooks
Holy Night – Placide Cappeau de Rouquemaure
The Little Drummer Boy – Katherine K. Davis
Joy to the World – Psalm 98
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear – Edmund Hamilton Sears
Heard the Bells on Christmas Day – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Charles Wesley
Go Tell It on the Mountain – John W. Work
The First Noel – English traditional
Away in a Manger – First two stanzas by an unknown author, third stanza by John McFarland
The Twelve Days of Christmas – English traditional
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – English traditional
Come, O Come Emmanuel – Unknown
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – English tradition
Good King Wenceslas – John Mason Neale
Deck the Halls – Unknown
My secular (non-religious) favorites include these great songs:
Jingle Bells and Jingle Bell Rock
Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
Here Comes Santa Claus and Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Winter Wonderland and White Christmas
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Oh Christmas Tree and It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas 
There are many more old songs and newer ones that have been written to celebrate the Christmas season. More songs have been written for Christmas than any other holiday because we never get tired of these songs and always want and need more. Why do people like me enjoy them so much? I think it is because they bring us closer to God and to Jesus. They are also beautiful and fun to sing. We all know the words so singing them brings us together in a very special way during this important religious season. Thus, every year the day after Thanksgiving, I dust off my Christmas CDs or turn on the radio and begin the Christmas season with a happy carol. 
Randi D. Ward
December 17, 2013
One Response to Sing a Christmas Song