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Christmas carols have their beginnings in the Christian church. The choirs were the first to perform these beautiful songs for the public. During medieval times the church ruled the state affairs as well as their own, and if there had not been approval for the carols they may have drifted into obscurity. It was in the twelfth century when St. Francis of Assisi began having the choir sing Christmas carols. However, they were not the traditional chants full of gloom and joylessness. These melodious carols celebrated the wonder of the season with great joy. When England separated from the Catholic church and started the Protestant church, Oliver Cromwell prohibited Christmas carols. Unfortunately they wouldn’t become popular again until the Victorian era. Many of the carols had been irrevocably lost by then. The history of the modern Christmas carols saw a change from a religious theme to more worldly topics. When the radio, movie theatres and television were more widely used the thoughts of the people moved their musical selections away from strictly religious compositions. Music is composed by many people without backgrounds in religion today, whereas the old traditional carols mainly came from the clergy. The internet is even involved in the composition of music in the twenty first century. The common thread of ancient carols followed a distinct pattern. The verse would be sung followed by a refrain and then it would be repeated until the song ended. The modern carols while still using this method diverse themselves of using only this format. They strayed from wholly religious stories of the birth of the Christ child or saints. Today you can hear songs about Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or the humorous Grandma got run over by a Reindeer. The history of Christmas carols has been changed since they were introduced and it is up to the listener to decide if the changes are worthy. One thing is certain, though, Christmas carols will live on because it celebrates a wondrous time of the year.
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