Christmas carols

It’s generally accepted that one of the first Christmas carols ever to be recorded was the 129 AD ‘Angels Hymn’, according to The New Daily. Around this time, Christianity-themed hymns started taking over the previous pagan songs celebrating Winter Solstice. More and more slow, solemn hymns started to emerge in the fourth century, and by the 12th, songs referring to Nativity themes and creatures had emerged.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, one of the oldest printed carols is the ‘Boar’s Head Carol’, which dates from 1521. Apparently, it was traditionally heard annually at Queen’s College, Oxford as Christmas lunch was carried in. ‘Coventry Carol’ is a Medieval carol that endures in today’s Christmas programmes; and Renaissance composer, Victoria’s ‘O magnum mysterium’ remains popular.

In addition, ‘Hark! The Herald’ – an 1840 tune from Mendelssohn. ‘Silent Night’? Composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. ‘Good King Wenceslas’? – 1853 lyrics set to an older tune. The list goes on…

The first Christmas carols were likely created in the 4th century, after the Christian church began celebrating Christmas on December 25th. These early carols were probably simple hymns that were sung during church services to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Some of the earliest surviving Christmas carols date back to the 9th and 10th centuries, and they are written in Latin. These early carols were often quite religious in nature and focused on the themes of the nativity, the Virgin Mary, and the life of Jesus.