by Jacquelyn Cook

"Joyful hearts must sing, and what more joyous songs can there be than Christmas carols? But where did these carols originate? What conflicts and struggles brought them down to our times?

Authorities differ and say that the actual origin of caroling as part of the Christmas celebration is really unknown. Several countries have claimed to be the birthplace of the custom. From the first, music of some kind was a part of church festivals honoring Jesus’ birth. Historians of France say that Bishop Telesphorus of Rome introduced Christmas songs about 129 A.D. Carols were used in the fifth century, according to the writings of St. Jerome.

For centuries, the church did not approve many of the carols because some were danced as well as sung. The word comes from the Italian "Carolare", a medieval ring dance accompanied by singing; and the word carol, meaning a song of joy or praise, was associated with dancing until the fourteenth century. Some carols, of pagan origin, were adopted by Christians and given new words. But as Christ began with the sinners where they were, and showed them the true way, the early church used pagan rites and dates to point to Christ.

The first Christians thought it insulting to keep Christ’s birth because of the wild orgies held when rulers of the time became a year older. As these revels diminished in the pagan world and Christianity spread to every civilized country, the church authorities decided to research the date of the Nativity.

Writing in the fourth century, St. John Chrysostom tells that Julius, the Pope of Rome from 337 to 352, commissioned St. Cyril to investigate and determine the day and month of Jesus’ birth. He learned that Western churches were unanimous in celebrating Christmas on December 25. Eastern churches were in disagreement. Some kept January 6 as both Christ’s birth and his Epiphany to the Magi. It is thought that Pope Julius, in 350 A.D., established December 25 for the festival in Rome. In pagan Rome this date was celebrated as the birthday of Mithras, a prophet of the sun worshipers. At the end of the fourth century, St. Chrysostom wrote, "on this day also the Birthday of Christ was lately fixed at Rome in order that while the heathen were busy with their profane ceremonies, the Christians might perform their sacred rites undisturbed. They call this the Birthday of the Invincible One (Mithras); but who is so invincible as the Lord? They call it the Birthday of the Solar Disc, but Christ is the Sun of righteousness." So it was that the pagan festival of the unconquerable sun gave way to the Christian festival of the true Son which lighteth every man who cometh into the world.

The carols then were folk songs, influenced by secular music of the day, and simple in thought and expression. Carols were first sung in Latin and later in the vernacular. Some carols such as "The First Noel" are listed only as Traditional.

In the eighth century, mysteries, or mystery plays, originated. They presented Biblical episodes, including the Nativity, and were given both in the churches and at fairs. Parts of these plays were sung, and the music became so popular that it was sung in he streets. Most authorities agree that the carol was in existence long before the mystery plays; however, some believe that the custom of caroling in the streets, which is still popular around the world, sprang from this source.

In the year 1223, St. Francis of Assisi conceived the idea of building a life-sized representation of the Nativity scene with living people and animals. It is said that they sang simple carols with the presentation. The idea spread across Europe. Dancing as well as singing at the Creche was common.

Carols rapidly gained in popularity. Manuscripts of the thirteenth and fourteenth century carols are extant, and some of them are quite popular today; for example, the German carol "Christ Child’s Slumber Song". Martin Luther, who wrote "The Cradle Hymn" for his children, told of going caroling in Germany. One of the oldest carols sung today is "Good King Wenceslaus." It was first published as one of Luther’s collections in 1582. The words were translated by Reverend John M. Neale. It is sung to an old melody. The carol tells the story of the legendary king of Bohemia who lived in the tenth century and was famous for his generosity.

The earliest carols in the English language were those of the fifteenth century mystery plays. Carols and caroling were extremely prevalent in England until early in the seventeenth century. The Puritans abolished Christmas festivals and forbade any observance in England and in the new settlements in America.

Secretly distributed on printed sheets, the carols were preserved. When Charles Dickens was a boy, authorities believed the carol would become extinct, but Dickens writings on the true spirit of Christmas helped restore Christmas festivities. The carol lived on among the people.

The first modern English collection of traditional carols was published by Davies Gilbert in 1822. Since then, research has been carried on to uncover old manuscripts and record from folk singers. Songs such as "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" were adopted and set down. The English carol has been restored to its former popularity.

Many of today’s favorite hymns are translations from old Latin carols. One of these, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," was translated in 1841 by Canon Frederick Oakeley, an English clergyman. Some of the carols in modern hymn books were written by famous musicians, some by obscure poets who wrote nothing else of note; but all of the songs flowed from hearts filled with the true spirit of Christmas.

"Joy to the World" is one of the 700 hymns written by Dr. Isaac Watts, one of the best known and most honored men of the 1700's. He was the pioneer of popular hymn singing as opposed to strict use of Psalms. "Joy to the World" is most commonly sung to the tune of "Antioch" from "The Messiah" by Handel. Lowell Mason, an American, set Watt’s words to the Handel melody. Another melody by Handel is "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" with words by Nahum Tate.

Charles Wesley wrote nearly 7,000 hymns during the 1700's. He had four hymns for which Handel composed the tunes. Wesley, who wrote closely from scripture, composed "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" with music by another famous musician, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

Perhaps the world’s best known carol was written by two men who died unknown paupers. On Christmas Eve in 1818, Father Joseph Mohr was reading "For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior.. He was interrupted by a summons to bless the new born babe of a peasant woman living in his parish on one of the highest peaks of the Austrian Alps. His heart felt close to the Babe of Bethlehem as he left the mother and baby in the crude hut. He returned to the valley just in time to see the torches of the mountaineers on their way to midnight mass. The experience filled his heart with the first Christmas and he spent the night writing a poem. On Christmas day, his friend Franz Xavier Gruber, the village schoolteacher, composed music to fit the verses. Because the organ was broken (it is thought that rats had chewed the bellows) the song was performed with Gruber playing the old guitar.

In the spring, organ builder Karl Mauracher came to Oberndorf to repair the organ. Gruber played "The Song From Heaven" and Mauracher took the words and music back to Tyrol. He taught the song to the four Strasser children. It was they who sang it in concert in the Gewandhaus, the guild house, in Leipzig. They sang it again at a command performance in the Royal Saxon Court Chapel in Pleissenburg Castle on Holy Eve 1832. Its simple beauty captured the hearts of the people.

But this carol too, was to be forbidden. This song of peace was considered "undesirable" when Austria was conquered in 1938. Edicts could not stop "The Song From Heaven." Like the Christmas message itself, it still rings out for all men of good will.

In the simple shrine built where the old church of St. Nichola once stood is a guest book with this entry, "Don’t forget that this song is Austria’s most precious gift – not just to you and me but to the whole world."

This simple Tyrolean folk song is known today as "Silent Night."

Christmas came to America in widely divergent customs according to the origin of the settlers. The first all-American carol, for both words and music were written by an American clergyman, John Henry Hopkins, in 1857, is "We Three Kings of Orient Are." It is a dramatic representation of the birth of Christ, as told by the Magi. It presents the three wise men by the names and gifts first told in medieval legend.

"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" and "O Little Town of Bethlehem," two of the most popular Christmas carols, were also composed by little known Americans. In 1850, Richard Willis saw Edmund Sears poem, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear," in the Christian Register and set it to music. The words of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" were written for the Sunday School of Holy Trinity Church in Boston by its minister, Phillips Brooks. At the request of the children, the organist, Lewis Redner, set it to music in 1868. Had not this extremely popular carol met with instantaneous success, its origin might have been lost to posterity because Brooks neglected to sign it.

One of America’s most famous poets, Henry W. Longfellow composed "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." Around the close of the Civil War as Longfellow listened to the bells peal out carols of peace, he was overwhelmed with melancholy. Sorrowing over the war-torn nation, Longfellow wrote, "For hate is strong and mocks the song, of peace on earth, good will to men." As he bowed his head in despair, he was suddenly filled with God s peace. His words sang out, "God is not dead nor doth He sleep!" As God’s peace filled Longfellow’s heart with good will toward men, perhaps he was experiencing the secret of all of the carols. From the beginning, each one was written from a heart that knew that each person must experience Christmas for himself. If the carols are sung from joyful hearts that are open to the truth, the spirit of Christmas enters in. God fills the heart with love, joy, oneness, good will and peace – peace of the angels’ prophecy come true of "peace, good will toward men."

For thus those searchers for the first carol must at last come to know that, in truth, they are all but echoes of that very first carol sung to simple shepherds by a multitude of the heavenly host, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." The angels were praising God with singing, for joyful hearts must sing.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Christmas Carols, The Osborne Company, New Jersey, 1941.Gardner, Horace J., Let’s Celebrate Christmas, The Ronald Press Company, New York, 1950.

Helter, Ruth, compiled, Christmas, Its Carols, Customs and Legends, Schmitt, Hall & Mc-Creary Company, Minneapolis, 1948.

Heller, Ruth, compiled, Our Singing Nation, Schmitt, Hall & McCreary Company, Minneapolis, 1955.

Marshall, Peter, Let’s Keep Christmas, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1953.

Pauli, Hertha, Silent Night, copied.

Wernecke, Herbert H. ed., Celebrating Christmas Around the World, The WestminsterPress, Philadelphia, 1942.