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Christmas Carols
 | There were ancient Christmas carols back in the 4th century - and songs of praise long before that. During the 12th Century, St Francis of Assisi included Christmas carols in church services. And monks composed theme music during the Middle Ages. All of these carols were based on the bible and only for religious use. |
Lighter, more joyful Christmas carols were eventually written, but all Christmas music was banned between 1649 and 1660 in England. (Oliver Cromwell thought Christmas should be a solemn day.) When Protestants left for the New World, they took the Christmas carols with them. And in 1649, John de Brebeur wrote the first American Christmas carol called "Jesus is Born".
The most famous Christmas carol is "Silent Night", written in 1818 by an Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and couldn't be repaired before the holiday services. So, he sat down and wrote three stanzas that could be sung by the choir to guitar music. "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" was heard for the first time at Midnight Mass in St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, Austria. Today, "Silent Night" is sung in more than 180 languages by millions of people.
"White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin for the movie "Holiday Inn" (1942) and sung by Bing Crosby, is the best-selling Chrismtas song of all time.
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