The Origins of Christmas Music: Tracing its Roots
Has there always been Christmas music? Are some of the carols that we think as long time traditions really been around that long? These are some serious questions that a lot of people wonder about Christmas music, especially when it seems to be everywhere when the Christmas season hits. So, let’s take a look at what Christmas music was like then and what it is like now.
The fifteenth century skilled an explosion in carols, perhaps due to the developing cult of the Virgin Mary. Some carols protected Christ’s nativity as a section of a survey of his lifestyles and death, such as the medieval ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ with its combination of pagan naturism and Christian ideas.
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries some Protestant reformers grew to become ambivalent about Christmas due to the fact they viewed it now not Biblical, regardless of the nativity chronicles in St Luke, and too a whole lot worried with the ‘Catholic’ Virgin Mary. The Scottish Kirk tried to ban Christmas in 1561, however their hard-line mindset used to be mollified, even though the legacy of New Year being extra essential than Christmas in Scotland has survived.
Decking the Halls with Holiday Harmonies: a Joyous Look at Christmas Music
However, different Protestant traditions embraced Christmas and in the 18th century hymns and songs for Christmas appeared, tremendously Nahum Tate’s ‘While Shepherds Watched’ (1703) and John Byron’s ‘Christians awake’ (1745).
During the nineteenth century, as traditions such as adorning trees, giving gives and eating drinks and meals grew to be an indispensable section of the festival, Christmas music really took a popular turn in that this was designed to accompany the dinners and the decor. It was slowly morphing into what we hear today.
Fast forward to now, and you will find that Christmas music is as much a part of Christmas as your tree. Almost everyone has a favorite song that they must hear during the Christmas season to make this feel more like Christmas. There are artists that take the time to produce a new Christmas album to give the world new Christmas tunes. And of course, there are tons of classics that have been immortalized in movies and plays throughout the world.
It seems very odd that we enjoy Christmas music so much during our Christmas season, especially when so many people were against it centuries ago as different people felt that Christmas was a holiday that was made up and of no consequence. Thankfully, people change their tunes and we have some beautiful music that showcases this.
What is your favorite song to listen to at Christmas? The next time that you are listening and singing along, remember just how far the music industry has come when it comes to music being accepted during the Christmas season. You will find that it will make you appreciate it even more and don’t forget to reach out and listen to some of the new releases as you never know when you may find your new favorite Christmas song.