Christmas Carols

The tradition of carolling and Christmas carols is believed to have originated in England when wandering musicians would go from town to town and visit castles and other homes of the rich to give impromptu performances. But there also is the belief that singing carols at Christmas likely came from the group of angels, shepherds and Wise Men who visited Jesus at his birth, because they worshiped the holy child, sang and proclaim praises unto Him. And after their visit, they continued their proclamations in the street.Carols at Christmas have been such a popular tradition for so long that it seems strange to realize that holiday carols—haven’t always been a part of the Christian tradition, but it’s true.

In fact, there was a time when Christian churches regarded the practice of singing holiday carols as a pagan custom—which in fact, it was.

The term carol describes a song of praise and joy. Certainly, holiday carols were a part of the pagan solstice celebrations, the most important of which occurred in December during the time when the days began to become longer than the nights again. Most of us grew up singing Christmas carols, learning the lyrics to classics such as Jingle Bells or Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer, at a very young age. But believe it or not, carols have been sung for thousands of years and didn't start for the sake of Christmas. They were sang pagans who were celebrating Winter Solstice. Carols were accompanies by celebrations and people dancing around stone circles. This is why the word carol is actually has Greek roots, originally pronounced choraulein, meaning "an ancient circle dance performed to flute music