Many of us sing them, some shy ones just hum it and, of course, the vast majority of us listen to them when we go shopping and go to public places. This without counting the occasions in which we go to celebrate Christmas with family or friends, or to see some event of the date. In any case, they delight our ears and they get deep inside our heads because we have been listening to them since we were children. We are talking about Christmas carols. You may like them more or less, but they are part of our tradition. That said, do you know the Origin and history of Christmas carols? Let’s see them.
Christmas carol: origin and meaning
The origin of Christmas carols you have to look for them in their own name «villa», and it is that these songs are precisely the songs that were sung in the villa to tell the daily life and, in this way, these acts, habits and experiences were registered in the memory being transmitted from generation to generation. If we go back to what historians say, Christmas carols emerged in the 13th century and are present in 15th and 16th century Spain being widely disseminated.
In Latin America there are also Christmas carols, although here it was a little later when they began to spread. Since the 17th century. Thus, in the form of poems, the day-to-day life of the local people was told. Recording the customs of each region.
We have seen how and when carols arise. But we reserve them exclusively for Christmas. Why and since when is this happening? It is in the 19th century that the word “carol” was reserved for Christmas songs. Since then, the custom of singing Christmas carols began to spread, gaining in popularity and reaching the status of its own genre.
The Christmas carols no longer speak of everyday life, but instead focus their attention on the figures of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, the Star of Bethlehem, the Magi and the shepherds who come to see the child. That yes, also making winks to other daily tasks of the people of the field and of the life of that time.
The one who has sung Christmas carols the most and the least, has tuned in to them on the radio or on their mobile and has been immersed in a very festive Christmas atmosphere where a group of people happily sing these songs. What is your favorite Christmas carol? do you know them all? Let’s take a look at the most popular Christmas carols.
most popular Christmas carols
The list of Christmas carols is not small, but some are more famous than others. Let’s see the most classic.
Christmas carols: “Bell on bell”
It is the Christmas carol that monopolizes the first place in the ranking. It has Andalusian origin although it is sung in all Spanish-speaking countries. We cannot attribute the author, but whoever created it, today his spirit is still alive when every Christmas, millions of people remember his lyrics throughout half the world.
Christmas carols: “The fish in the river”
All of us, absolutely all of us have sung this Christmas carol at least once in our lives. No?? If you are reading this post, surely you have. In this case we do not know both the author and the origin of the song. What is suspected is that some of his paragraphs seem to sense an Arab influence.
The Christmas carol “White Christmas” it does have a known author. This is Irving Berlin. He saw the light in the year 1940. And the most curious of all is that this Christmas carol is included in the Guinness Book of Records for being the best-selling theme in the history of music.
Christmas carols: “My sabanero burrito”
This Christmas carol may not tell you much. But if we tell you “The burrito of Bethlehem” Surely it will be more familiar to you. It is a creation of Hugo Blanco, a musician from Venezuela who released it to the public in 1975.
Carols: “Marimorena”
Another famous Christmas carol is the marimorena”, whose letters were born in the eighteenth century. No further information is known, although everything indicates that he has a Spanish birth.
Carols: “The Boy with the Drum”
“The Boy with the Drum” either the drummer”. Perhaps it is better known by this second name. He is a Christmas carol of North American origin. Or at least, it is believed that the author of it was the American pianist Katherine Kennicott. Of course, the signs point to an original Czech Christmas carol that was later translated into English.
Carols: “Silent Night”
“Silent Night” It is a very sweet and endearing Christmas carol. It almost sounds like a lullaby because of its calm rhythm. And it is by far the best-known carol in the world and the most popular for Christmas dates. It is based on a poem and has a very curious origin, because it was born one night in which a band of actors had to recreate the birth of Jesus and the Christmas story. But due to venue problems, the actors had to improvise. The organ was damaged. And, transferred to a private house, Pastor Josef Mohr, inspired by the landscape of the village, remembered an old poem written by him, where the announcement of the birth of Jesus by the angels was told. The next step was to improvise a melody to be played on the guitar by reciting that poem. And the success was such that until today this beautiful Christmas carol has reached us.
Learn about the history and origin of Christmas: