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Show The Carols We Sing . at Christmas t Perpetuate a Custom Which Began jj Centuries Before Birth of Christ! Sw il . By l0rine Ferguson Chalklcy by Western Newspaper Union.) iROL singing in America Ameri-ca at Christmas is the 'continuance of a cus- 0 H: which had its beginning y centuries before the 0 Christ when the Bi, celebrated the festival ' jein honor of the return ti : ,e sun at the winter sol- and which clung to the of the Christmas feast - . replaced the ancient eS'n festival after the con- on of the Anglo-Saxons iristianity. P vCk in the ages when the JUfis gathered about the np- to cut the mistletoe and it to the gods, the an-t an-t tf..;Britons would j oin hands "'dance in circles about priests, singing praises tdeities as they danced. dances came to be "Carols" which means :ing Songs." i Christianity came and (iristmas feast superseded cient feast of Gule, these j songs, along with other . t rituals, were brought into 1 , listian church. Here, fused '": "aistian hymn?, they be-II be-II a substantial part of the pies and customs sur- Robert Herrick, the famous poet of the Seventeenth century, wrote about 1650 one of the best-known best-known of all Christmas carols: Come, bring with noise, My jTierrie, merrie boyes. The Christmas log to the firing; While my good dame, she Bids ye all be free. And drink to your heart's desiring. With last yeeres brand Light the new block. And For good success in his spending. On your psaltries play That sweet luck may Come while the log is a teending. Drink now the strong beere. Cut the white loaf here. The while the meat is a shredding; For the rare mince-pie. And the plums stand by. To fill the paste that's a kneading. Algernon Charles Swinburne, an English poet of the Nineteenth century, wrote one of the loveliest loveli-est of all Christmas poems and called it A CHRISTMAS CAROL Three damsels In the queen's chamber. The queen's mouth was most fair; She spake a word of God's mother As the combs went In her hair. Mary that Is of might, Bring us to thy Son's sight. They held the gold combs out from her, A span's length off her head; She sang this song of God's Mother And of her bearing-bed. 1 Mary most full of grace, Bring us to thy Son's face. When she sat at Joseph's hand. She looked against her side. And either way from the short silk band Her girdle was all wried. Mary that all good may. Bring us to thy Son's way. Mary had three women for her bed. The twain were maidens clean; The first of them had white and red. The third had riven green. Mary that Is so sweet. Bring us to thy Son's feet. She had three women for her hair. Two were gloved and shod; The third had feet and fingers bare, She was the likest God. Mary that wieldeth land, Bring us to thy Son's hand. She had three women for her ease. The twain were good women; The first two were the two Maries, The third was Magdalen. - Mary that perfect Is,' Bring us to thy Son's kiss. Joseph had three workers In his stall. To serve him well upon; The first of them were Peter and Paul, The third of them was John. Mary. God's handmaiden. Bring us to thy Son's ken. "If your child be none other man's, But if it be very mine. The bedstead shall be gold two spans, The bedfoot silver fine." Mary that made God mirth. Bring us to thy Son's birth. "II the child be some other man's, And if it be none of mine. The manager shall be straw two spans, Betwixen kine and kine." Mary that made sin cease. Bring us to thy Son's peace. Christ was born upon this wise, It fell on such a night, Neither with sounds of psalteries, ' Nor with fire for light. Mary that is God's spouse, Bring us to thy Son's house. The star came out upon the east With a great sound and sweet; Kings gave gold to make him feast And myrrh for him to eat. Mary, of thy sweet mood, Bring us to thy Son's good. He had two handmaids at his head, One handmaid at his feet; The twain of them were fair and red. The third one was right sweet. Mary that was most wise. Bring us to thy Son's eyes. Eleanor Farjeon, an American, has written this delightful carol called "Six Green Singers," that is brimming with the old medieval medie-val spirit: The frost of the moon fell over my floor And six green singers stood at my door. "What do ye here that music make?" "Let us come in for Christ's sweet Sake." "Long have ye Journeyed in coming here?" "Our pilgrimage was the length of the year." "Where da ye make for?" I asked of them. "Our shrine to a stable in Bethlehem." "What will ye do as ye go along?" "Sing t the world in evergreen song." "What will ye sing for the listening earth?" "One will sing at a brave-souled Mirth, "One of the Holiest Mystery, The Glory of glories shall one song be, "One of the Memory of things. One of the Child's imaginings. "One of aur songs is the fadeless Faith, And all are the Life more mighty than death." "Ere ye be gone that music make. Give me an alms for Christ's sweet Sake." "Six green branches we leave with you; See they be scattered your house-place through. "The staunch, blithe Holly your board shall grace. Mistletoe bless your chimney-place, "Laurel to crown your lighted hall. Over your bed let the Yew-bough fall, "Close by the' cradle the Christmas Fir, For elfin dreams in its branches stir, "Last and loveliest, high and low. From ceil to floor let the Ivy go." From each glad guest I received my gift And then the latch of my door did lift "Green singers. God prosper the song ye make As ye sing to the world for Christ's sweet Sake I" Here is another by an American Amer-ican poet, Lizette Woodworth Reese: Mary the Mother Sang to her Son, In a Bethlehem shed When the light wj done. "Jesus, Jesus, LitUe Son, sleep: The tall kines are gone. The lads with the sheep. "Jesus. Jesus. My bosom is warm; And Joseph and I Will keep you from harm." Mary the Mother Sang to her Son, In Bethlehem town When the light was done. i "Noel," "Nowell," or "Novel" was used again and again in Christmas songs. By the Twelfth and Thirteenth centuries Christmas carols were flourishing in all parts of England. Eng-land. They were usually' set to simple, rhythmic melodies with "catchy" tunes characteristic of popular music. One of the early writers mentions this carol which was sung to the tune of "King Solomon": Even Christ, I meane, that Virgin's childe. In Bethlem born; That lambe of God, that, prophet mild, Crowned with thorne. ' Two Tuletide Customs. . Mystery and miracle plays, pageants and masques had reached the height of their development de-velopment by the Fifteenth century. cen-tury. Into these performances, which sometimes lasted for several sev-eral days, carols and drinking songs were frequently introduced. intro-duced. It is to the Fifteenth century, cen-tury, also, that several fine carols car-ols celebrating two of the oldest English yuletide customs, the bringing in of the boar's head to the Christmas feast and the drinking from the Wassail bowl, are attributed Singing a toast to the boar's head as it was being carried into the Christmas feast is a tradition tradi-tion that is probably almost as old as the celebration of Christmas Christ-mas on English soil. We know that by 1340 the custom had been established at Queen's college, Oxford, and that it has continued ever since. As trumpeters announced an-nounced the arrival of the boar's head, the guests at the feast would rise and sing an appropriate appropri-ate song. The legend of the wassail bowl dates back to the time when Row-ena, Row-ena, daughter of the Saxon king, .Hengist, presented a bowl of liquor liq-uor to the British king, Vorti-gern, Vorti-gern, with these words: "Louerd king Was-heil." To which the king replied: "Drinc heile." From that time on "Was-heil-ing" became an expression of hospitality and good fellowship. During the Christmas season when conviviality was at its height, groups of gay merrymakers merry-makers went from house to house, and the streets of the towns echoed with: Wassaill Wassail! All over the town. ' Our - bread it is white, our ale it is brown, nnr howl is made of a maplin tree. o here my good fellow; I'll drink to thee. The wassailing bowl, with a toast within. Come fill it up unto the brim: Come fill it up so that we may all see With the wassailing bowl. Ill drink to thee. ' Carols had their greatest vogue during the Sixteenth century. So popular had they become by 1521 that Wynkyn de Worde, one of the earliest printers in England, was induced to print a collection in that year. This undertaking had such a marked success that between the years 1546 and 1552 Rychard Kele got out an edition of Christmas songs which contained con-tained three volumes. Directly fter theSe followed a series of. coUections. Ralph Newberry's aPPeared in 1559; John . Ty 1562- Thorn Becon, 1563, Chris topher Payne, 1569; Moses Powell, Pow-ell, 1587. Abolished by Puritans. rarnl singing had reached its heh - when the reformation at-Sted'to at-Sted'to sweep England f clean of such a sacrilege as the festive celebration of Christmas. In the general onslaught of the Puritans carol singing was abolished and holly and ivy were made seditious sedi-tious badges. Neither wholesale decrees nor fines and imprisonments could stamp out a custom so popular as the singing of Christmas songs. Men and women met secretly se-cretly to observe the Yuletide and to keep alive its glorious traditions. tra-ditions. So, when the restoration restora-tion came, there was a general revival of carol singing throughout through-out England. Boys and troops of children would go through the streets on Christmas eve, singing the old carols and making their songs pretexts for collecting money. They went from house to house, receiving welcomes and cakes wherever they stopped. Wandering minstrels also belong be-long to this period. Up and down the land these songsters went. At the great Christmas gatherings gather-ings of the squires and tenants, their carols were an important part of the entertainment. In 1661 appeared a new collection of songs called, "The New Carols for the Merry Time of Christmas, to Sundry Pleasant Tunes." The custom of carol singing continued unabated until the end of the Eighteenth century when other interests and practices gradually absorbed it. During this century, however, two of the finest carols that we have today were written. Hark I the herald angels sing Glory to the new-born king; Peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Etc. And: While shepherds watched their flocks by night. All seated on the ground, The angel of the Lord came down, And glory shone around. An artificial revival of carols brought many new and beautiful beauti-ful ones in the Nineteenth century. cen-tury. Swinburne, Chambers, Morris Mor-ris and many other poets celebrated cele-brated the Christmas festival in verse derived and patterned, often, of-ten, after the old Latin songs. Brought to America. Naturally the carols of England Eng-land were brought to America along with other customs and ceremonies. They never became so popular here as in the Mother Country. However, since the beginning be-ginning of the Twentieth century, there have been endeavors to make the singing of carols an American Christmas custom. In the public schools, children were taught hymns and carols. In the churches, it is often the custom to have a song service. Sometimes the choirs go about the streets of the towns on Christmas Christ-mas eve or morning, singing carols car-ols as they go. Many schools and colleges make it traditional for one class to go about the campus and through the college buildings during the last day before be-fore the Christinas recess, caroling carol-ing the other classes. Whether or not carol singing will ever again have the vogue that it did during the Sixteenth, Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries, cen-turies, is entirely a matter of conjecture, but it is safe to say that as long as there is an English Eng-lish language, there will be men and women who will cherish the old Christmas carols even though they may express their own festive fes-tive spirits in new ones. iTK' : the celebration of the Jft te centuries passed, how-iie how-iie word "Carol" became ind more inclusive until, :e Middle ages down to the I day, it has ceased to - inly a part of a religious p ind is the term applied to ' r.l ias songs and poems, con- p.. cd sacred alike. First Christmas Carol. . icture the beginning of the ias carols, one must im-a im-a star-lit plain where in 1 li gloom are huddled the 2 fds and their flocks. Sud-pe Sud-pe sky becomes brilliant; mer-yht is as bright as day. . Jngels have come to an- Jthe birth of Christ. From ds comes the sound of "- j voices singing the first :cc;rnas carol: rc'.-n to God in the highest ir earth peace, good will to-; to-; 0:'i ien." ;t:.c music has always had a : art in the worship of all it was only natural that 28. 'i f Christians should com-r,' com-r,' nns. That the writing of as hymns had absorbed 1 ition of Latin churchmen 1 i the Christian era, we H om the "Decretall Epis-V! Epis-V! Telesphorus. In the sec-1 sec-1 tury he wrote: 2'i nly night of the Nativity of 1'!!-- and Saviour, they do cele-i, cele-i, Sflue church services and in ,' mny da sing the Angells ' cause also on that same night Y tlared unto the Shepherds by as the truth itself doth Wit- 13' Fourth century the sing-j,;? sing-j,;? iristmas hymns had be-u' be-u' n established custom Ijj: : Christianity existed. S May of our Lord, how--ss not entirely given 1' pligious ceremonies. It 5 ! occasion for so much K it and good cheer that 8 Nazianzen, who died in mentioning the feast of 1 , , cautioned against 3' 'o excess, dancing, the doors with wreaths 8 fry-making in general. j.J ''gin in England. st Bede introduced Chris- 9'i Wo England, and that 36 'baps, marks the origin 12 hristmas songs and po- 9 have today. Anglo-Sax-i- ler their conversion, 1 1 great fondness for re-3 re-3 msic at the same time l2j 'i their love for their old Dearest to them of ; Soms were their dances. were composed, and 's: Se hymns celebrated the 1 greatest of all feasts, j-, , they were sung to jt. "fes and danced about 10 11 were set up in the 2 during the Tenth cen-' cen-' carols ceased to deal 3'; 1 lie Nativity, the Holy 3! and sacred subjects, li "e to include festive and !- !ongs. At this time, al-19 al-19 came a curious inter-38-;.. of the sacred and pro-;': pro-;': ngs that were, one pose, meant to be 3;: acred in their praises. ,5" rench Influence. ' s, 'warn the Conqueror in jj fe came a new influence t:- L"glish carol. For cen-ftifi cen-ftifi K 'r.ance it had been the s0ld s'..' Ls'ng songs in honor of av ol Ki "s season. These H "Noels." and after f jv "an invasion, the word |
