Mike Parker: Carols are one of the chief blessings of the Christmas season
I realize Christmas Day was actually last Friday, but we are close enough to the day to pause to rejoice in the music that makes Christmas so special. Traditional Christmas carols are one of my greatest joys during the Christmas season. At the church I attend, we sing carols as congregational hymns every Sunday in December.
Only a few carols still exist from the earliest days of the Christian church. One carol dates from 129 A.D. and was written by a Roman bishop. The carol was simply called “Angel’s Hymn.” The tune is completely unknown and, in fact, would probably sound odd to modern American ears. Two other carols date from antiquity: St. Hilary’s carol of the 4th Century A.D. and a carol by Comas of Jerusalem, who composed his carol around 760 A.D. Carols were not generally sung by the common people because they were written in Latin.
St. Francis of Assisi changed the nature of Christmas carols. In 1223 St. Francis started Nativity Plays in Italy. These plays include songs that told the story of the birth of Christ. Although some of these songs were in Latin, many were written to be performed in the “vernacular” – the language of the everyday person. Once carols were sung in the common language of the people, their popularity skyrocketed.
“What are the servants of God if not his minstrels who ought to stir and incite the hearts of men to spiritual joy?” St. Francis asked.
One of the oldest and well-known of more modern Christmas carols is “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.” This carol dates from the 15th century – the 1400s. When we sing this song, we are giving voice to a musical celebration roughly 600 years old. Although the song had been sung in England for hundreds of years, it was not published until Queen Victoria sat on the British throne.
We also need to understand that shifts in the meanings of some words give us a clouded idea of the point of the song. In the 1400s, “merry” did not mean “jolly.” “Merry” meant “mighty.” “Rest” meant “to keep” or “to make.” The real title and point of the carol is actually “God make you mighty, Gentlemen.”
Christians have been singing “Joy to the World” since Isaac Watts first published the song in 1719, more than 300 years. The music for the carol was provided by George Fredric Handel, who also wrote “The Messiah.”
Charles Wesley wrote the words to “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” in 1739. Charles was one of the brothers of John Wesley. Charles, John, and George Whitfield were the founders of Methodism. While John was the brother who preached, Charles was the hymn writer. He penned more than 6,000 hymns, so he averaged writing two to three hymns a week.
Other traditional carols include John Wade’s “Oh, Come All Ye Faithful” (1743), John Montgomery’s “Angels from the Realms of Glory” (1816), Joseph Mohr’s “Silent Night” (1818), and Edmund Sears’ “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (1849).
I could name at least a dozen other traditional carols that enrich our lives and cause our hearts to sing about the Savior’s birth, but I will leave you to choose your favorites.
All I ask is that you sing them to your heart’s content, but as you sing, ponder both the words and the message of each carol.
Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
