Christmas Peanuts Snoopy
In England, what are the most common Christmas carols and stories?
This is for my 7-year old's report - we're Americans. So far he is planning to talk about Dickens's A Christmas Carol and pantomime. We see that carolling is common in England. What are the most common songs?
Also do folks in England tell the stories about Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer? How about the Grinch that Stole Christmas? And how about the Snoopy/Peanuts Christmas special that comes on here every year?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December in England, with a Christmas dinner for the whole family.
During the weeks before Christmas Day, we send cards, watch nativity plays and go to carol services. We also decorate our homes and churches with green leaves, paper decorations and colourful electric lights.
Christmas has been celebrated in England for thousands of years. According to legend, King Arthur made merry in York in 521 surrounded by "minstrels, gleemen, harpers, pipe-players, jugglers, and dancers."
We have special songs which we sing during the Christmas season. The songs are known as carols and they are about Jesus and the time when he was born. They were written for a special purpose, often to accompany performances of religious dramas dating from medieval times.
Caroling (singing carols in the street) is one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, going back to the Middle Ages when beggars, seeking food, money, or drink, would wander the streets singing holiday songs.
In the Middle Ages, carols were dances accompanied by singing. It is thought that they were introduced to England from France.
Over the years, the word 'carol' changed its meaning, referring only to certain kinds of songs, the word carol became known as Christmas songs.
Christmas Carols were onced banned
Christmas carols were banned between 1647 and 1660 in England by Oliver Cromwell who thought that Christmas should be a solemn day.
The tradition of carol singers going from door to door came about because they were banned from churches in the Middle Ages.
Carol Singing
People today still go carol singing. This is where people go from house to house singing carols and collecting money for charity.
The traditional period to sing carols was from St Thomas's Day (December 21) until the morning of Christmas Day.
Carol Service
Probably the most famous carol service is 'The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols' held in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. It takes place on Christmas Eve and always begins with the carol, 'Once in Royal David's City' sung by a solo chorister.
Did you know?
St Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services.
What does the word carol mean?
The word carol comes from the ancient Greek choros, which means "dancing in a circle," and from the Old French word carole, meaning "a song to accompany dancing." .
Biggest selling Christmas Carol
White Christmas by Irving Berlin is the biggest-selling Christmas song of all time. It is estimated to have sold approximately 350 million copies on record and sheet music.
The Story of the Silent Night Carol.
The carol Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille Nacht" for the first time.
The first instrument on which the carol "Silent Night" was played was a guitar.
Other Christmas Carols
1843 - O Come all ye Faithful
1848 - Once in Royal David's City
1851 - See Amid the Winters Snow
1868 - O Little Town of Bethlehem
1883 - Away in a Manger
Decorations
Each year between 34-36 million Christmas trees are produced to cope with the holiday demand.
Electric tree lights were first used just 3 years after Thomas Edison has his first mass public demonstration of electric lights back in 1879. Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. His lights were a huge hit. It took quite a few years, however, before they would be made available to the general public.
In 1895 Ralph Morris, an American telephonist, invented the string of electric Christmas lights similar to the ones we use today. The actual strings of lights had already been manufactured for use in telephone switchboards. Morris looked at the tiny bulbs and had the idea of using them on his tree.
Stories and Novels
A Visit From St Nicholas
('Twas the Night Before Christmas), 1822.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
A famous letter from Virgina O'Hanlon to the editorial of The New York Sun, first printed in 1897.
Cyclone Tracy
A real life story from Darwin, Australia, 1974. The city was devestated by a cyclone.
Olive The Other Reindeer
An original story by Michael Christie
Michael was a visitor to Santa's Net.
"Thankyou Michael from Santa".
The Christmas Story
from Luke.
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens, 1843.
WARNING: "A Christmas Carol" is an external link.
The Gift of the Magi
O'Henry.
WARNING: "The Gift of the Magi" is an external link.
New 10/12/04
The Story of Joel
Joel.
God Bless
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