So, so many carols… Jingle Bells, Silent Night, Noel…
- Christmas carols are also known as a noël.
- Christmas carols have themes to do with Christmas or winter and are traditionally sung in the Christmas month of December.
- The first Christmas carols were Christian hymns, originating from 4th century Rome.
- Christmas carol singing in church on Christmas Eve was established in 1880 at the Truro Cathedral in Cornwall.
- 500 Christmas carols have been discovered from the period of 1350 – 1550 AD.
- In Australia and New Zealand, concerts, called Carols by Candlelight, are held by community groups that invite people to come and have fun, have time together and listen to and sing carols.
- One of the oldest known Christmas carols from the middle ages still sung today is “Good King Wenceslas”.
- Christmas carolling is the tradition of going door to door singing Christmas carols and bringing good cheer to the neighbourhood during the Christmas season.
- Carolling was not originally associated with Christmas, nor going door to door, and Christmas carolling as we know it today is a relatively recent tradition starting in the 1800s.
- Before public Christmas carolling was popular, people called ‘Waits’ would take money off people and carol on the streets.
Bibliography: Christmas Carol 22 December 2012, Wikipedia, <;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_carol>;
