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The meaning of the Christmas season is personified in the old Christmas carols that have been cherished for centuries. The Nativity story is gloriously regaled in music that we enjoy at this most blessed time of year. Christmas pageants enliven the holiday as they proclaim the birth of Jesus, the beloved saviour. Many of the old Christmas carols tell tales of Good King Wenceslas and the Three Kings that travelled great distances to give honour to the babe. The definition of the word carol can mean many different things. One version is a Christmas song, sung in a joyous manner. However, if you take the definition from the French it means a dance in a circle. The Greeks also have reference to a dance, but they have musical accompaniment which is why carol may have come to mean a song. Oliver Cromwell thought the use of old Christmas carols may have been tied to pagan rituals so he tried to remove them forever. When others realised that this was his intention Christians worked to save the old Christmas carols. The tradition of carolling became an integral part of charity and giving. You will not find old Christmas carols that speak of Santa Claus per se. They may have spoken about Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas, but not of today’s jolly old man. Many of the songs that we think of as old Christmas carols have come from the medieval times. Travelling troupes would go from place to place entertaining throughout the year. They may have started the tradition of the carols. There were men that kept watch over these cities as well as shepherds that may have introduced some of the music we still hear today. These were sung as a gift for the people, and this is still true.
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