Have you ever been curious about the origins of those Christmas songs you’ve been singing since childhood? Here is the history of just a few.
Jingle Bells!
Jingle Bells, one of the best loved of American Christmas songs was originally written in honor of Thanksgiving. Author and composer, James Pierpoint, was a minister who wrote the song in 1857 for the children in his Boston Sunday School who were celebrating Thanksgiving in a church program. The song was so popular that it was repeated at Christmas and has remained a Christmas favorite every year since.
O Little Town of Bethlehem!
Philadelphia Rector, Phillips Brooks, wrote the lyrics to O Little Town of Bethlehem in 1868 following a memorable pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was inspired by the nighttime view of the beautiful town of Bethlehem from the hills of Palestine. Later that year, his church organist, Lewis Redner, wrote the melody to O Little Town of Bethlehem for the Sunday School children’s choir.
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Charles Wesley, a hymn writer and a poet, was the younger brother of John Wesley, the famous preacher who began the Methodist movement in the Church of England. Charles wrote Hark! The Herald Angels Sing in 1739 as a poem for his book Hymns and Sacred Poems. Years later, in 1840, Felix Mendelssohn composed a cantata called “Festival Song” to celebrate the invention of the printing press. The melody of Mendelssohn’s cantata was then adapted by composer William H. Cummings to make a song using Wesley’s poem, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.
Silent Night!
In 1818, in the small alpine village of Oberndorf, the organ at St. Nicholas Church was broken. Austrian priest, Joseph Mohr, wrote a poem called Silent Night and his friend Franz Xavier Gruber wrote a melody to go with it. The lovely hymn was sung at Midnight Mass without musical accompaniment and is now considered the most famous Christmas carol of all time.
White Christmas!
White Christmas is the most famous Christmas song of the modern era. The music and lyrics were written in 1942 by Irving Berlin and the song was originally featured in the movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby. The lyrics struck a sentimental chord with the families of soldiers off fighting in the Second World War as they waited for their loved ones to come home.
Joy to the World
Joy to the World is a popular Christmas carol which is based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The melody was written by George Frederick Handel. The words and lyrics of the old Christmas carol were written in 1719 by Isaac Watts. His father, John Watts, was a Non-conformist imprisoned twice for his extreme views. Isaac followed in his father’s footsteps and attended Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington rather than a traditional University. Watts was ordained as a Pastor of an Independent congregation. He wrote many hymns and Carols and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree by the University of Edinburgh in 1728.
Psalm 98.
1 O sing a new song to the Lord,
for wonders he hath done:
His right hand and his holy arm
him victory hath won.
2 The Lord God his salvation
hath caused to be known;
His justice in the heathen's sight
he openly hath shown.
3 He mindful of his grace and truth
to Israel's house hath been;
And the salvation of our God
all ends of the earth have seen.
4 Let all the earth unto the Lord
send forth a joyful noise;
Lift up your voice aloud to him,
sing praises, and rejoice.
5 With harp, with harp, and voice of psalms,
unto Jehovah sing:
6 With trumpets, cornets, gladly sound
before the Lord the King.
7 Let seas and all their fullness roar;
the world, and dwellers there;
8 Let floods clap hands, and let the hills
together joy declare
9 Before the Lord; because he comes,
to judge the earth comes he:
He'll judge the world with righteousness,
his folk with equity.
Have a joyful Christmas!
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