Would Jesus Have Downloaded Christmas Carols?
This holiday season, the Web will have an abundance of free Christmas music available for downloading. This includes many different types of songs written for the mid-winter celebration. Christmas songs that are traditional, but do not have religious content, are called carols. Some of the more popular Christmas carols include “Deck the Halls” and. “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Songs like “O Come All Ye Faithful” that do express religious sentiments are known as hymns. There are also songs written for movies that do not have specific Christmas themes, but are thought of as Christmas songs because they are associated with the mid-winter festivities. These include songs like “White Christmas” and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” Of late, there are even songs that parody the traditional Christmas music that has become so well-known to all of us.
Music has been a major feature of the Christmas holiday since ancient times. According to Christmas song historian Bill Petro, the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic was treated in a style that was familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England, everywhere retaining its simplicity, fervor, and mirthfulness. Music in itself has become one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and includes