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Christian Christmas carols have carried the message of Christ’s birth across centuries, cultures, and continents. They remain a constant favourite to sing in homes and churches, sometimes by candlelight.
These hymns are cherished for a reason, because each time we hear them they remind us again and again of the constant hope, joy and light of Christ’s coming to this dark world.
Each carol has its own interesting story that adds to the joy of singing them. Here are a few to enjoy this Christmas:
1. “Silent Night”
The lyrics for Silent Night were written in 1816 in the small Austrian village of Oberndorf. While the hymn itself is all about peace, it actually emerged from something of a panic.
According to tradition, the organ at St Nicholas Church had broken just before Christmas Eve 1818, meaning there would be no music for the service.
The organ may have been out of action but the church’s resourceful young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had the idea of asking the church’s musician, Franz Xaver Gruber, to set a poem of his to guitar music instead. The two performed Silent Night for the first time during the Christmas Eve midnight mass in 1818, with Mohr on the guitar, and all was calm and bright once again.
From those humble beginnings, Silent Night has since been translated into more than 300 languages and is especially popular with children’s choirs.
2. “O Come, All Ye Faithful”
The origins of this triumphant classic are a little mysterious. The earliest known manuscript comes from the mid-1700s and has long been attributed to John Francis Wade, an English Catholic layman exiled to France after the failed Jacobite rising of 1745, although some scholars believe the melody may have older roots.
At the very least, Wade is widely credited with bringing the carol to print. Originally produced in Latin, it later gained traction in Anglican churches after an English translation began to spread in the 19th century.
Today it is a popular anthem of joy and invitation to Christians of all denominations as they celebrate the coming of their Saviour.
3. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
This beloved carol started life as an 18th-century hymn by Charles Wesley, the brother of Methodist founder John Wesley and a prolific hymn writer.
The opening line that we all know and love today was not what Wesley originally wrote. His original opening was actually “Hark, how all the welkin rings!” – “welkin” meaning “the heavens”.
In 1753, preacher George Whitefield changed this to give us the memorable and slightly more singable line that we sing today: “Hark! The herald angels sing.”
The lyrics were not set to the now famous melody until 1855, when musician William H Cummings adapted the second chorus of Felix Mendelssohn’s Festgesang.
4. “O Holy Night”
Like so many hymns and carols, this timeless beauty is the work of more than one person – and was not without some controversy when it first appeared.
Back in 1847, a French parish priest asked poet Placide Cappeau to write a Christmas poem. His creation was then set to the music of composer Adolphe Adam.
All well and good surely? Well, not exactly, as it turned out that Cappeau was not particularly religious, while Adam was a Jew. And this did not go down well with French Church leaders at the time. Despite the Church officially distancing itself from the hymn, this couldn’t dampen its popularity.
The carol is not only historical, it has itself helped to make history, being part of the first ever radio broadcast by Reginald Fessenden in 1906.
5. “Joy to the World”
Though Joy to the World is now a Christmas favourite, it wasn’t actually written about Jesus’ birth at all. Isaac Watts wrote the lyrics in 1719 as a paraphrase of Psalm 98 and intended to be a celebration of God’s kingship and the coming reign of Christ, not the Nativity.
The tune most of us know today came much later, being arranged by Lowell Mason in 1839. Mason adapted motifs from Handel’s works, giving the hymn a bright and regal tone.
Over time, Christians embraced it as a Christmas hymn because its triumphant theme hailing that “the Lord is come” fit naturally with the joy of Christmas and the Incarnation. It reminds us that Christmas is not only the story of Christ’s arrival in the manger, but the promise of His coming reign over all creation.
