Would Jesus Have Downloaded Christmas Carols?
by E.Z. Tracks
Christmas 2008
Christmas Traditions - Corfu Magazine - Vol. 4, No. 2, December 15, 2008
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This holiday season, the Web will have an abundance of free Christmas music available for downloading. This includes many different types of songs written for the mid-winter celebration. Christmas songs that are traditional, but do not have religious content, are called carols. Some of the more popular Christmas carols include "Deck the Halls" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Songs like "O Come All Ye Faithful" that do express religious sentiments are known as hymns. There are also songs written for movies that do not have specific Christmas themes, but are thought of as Christmas songs because they are associated with the mid-winter festivities. These include songs like "White Christmas" and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer." Of late, there are even songs that parody the traditional Christmas music that has become so well-known to all of us.
The History of Christmas
by Dimitry
The History of Christmas dates back over 4000 years, and is associated with the early Mesopotamians. Christmas is the most popular holiday of the year in the whole world. About 400 million people celebrate the Christmas holiday each year. Many Christmas traditions and ceremonies were celebrated long time before Christ was born.
The Mesopotamians had 12 days of New Year’s festival called the Zagmuk, which was celebrated to help their chief god Marduk in his battle against the monsters of chaos. Each year as winter arrived it was believed that Marduk would do battle with the monster of chaos. However, the real king was spared and a mock king was slain.
The Babylonians and Persians celebrated a similar festival called the Sacaea. Part of the celebration included the exchanging of places as the slaves became masters and masters slaved about as servants.
Music has been a major feature of the Christmas holiday since ancient times. According to Christmas song historian Bill Petro, the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi. The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein. A choraulein was an ancient circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic was treated in a style that was familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England, everywhere retaining its simplicity, fervor, and mirthfulness. Music in itself has become one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and includes some of the noblest compositions of the great musicians.
"Interestingly enough," reports Petro, "during the British Commonwealth government under Cromwell, the British Parliament prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as pagan and sinful. Its pagan roots in the 13th century and its overly "democratic" 14th century influences made it an unsuitable activity for the general public and it was to be mandated so, by the Commonwealth government of 1647." Puritans at this time disapproved as well of the celebration of Christmas, according to Petro, and did not close shop on that day, but continued to work through December 25. During this brief interlude in English history, during which there was no monarch, this activity by the populace was to remain illegal. But this activity was prohibited only as long as the Commonwealth survived, and in 1660, when Charles II restored the Stuarts to the throne, the public was once again able to practice the singing of Christmas carols.
Today, many people wonder whether "Christmas" is truly a religious celebration honoring the birth of Christ or a commercial celebration of winter. In truth, it is a mixture of both. Clearly, new technology allows more people than ever before to enjoy the Christmas season. If Christ and the Apostles were alive today, they probably would be downloading Christmas MP3's.
Download Christmas Music for free on our site. You can also download and listen to Top Christmas Songs on our site. To read articles about Christmas music visit our blog.
Much in the same vein as Zagmuk and Sacaea, the ancient Greeks had a festival to help the god Kronos in his battle against Zeus and the Titans.
Early Europeans believed in evil spirits, witches, ghosts and trolls. As the Winter Solstice approached, with its long cold nights and short days, many people feared the sun would not return. Special rituals and celebrations were held to welcome back the sun.
In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days. The Norse believed that each spark from the fire represented a new pig or calf that would be born during the coming year.
The Romans celebrated the god Saturn. The festival was called Saturnia, which began in the middle of December and ended January 1st. The festival featured boisterous shouts “Jo Saturnalia!”, elaborate masquerades, exchanging gifts, holding special feasts, decking up halls with laurel wreaths and putting candles on evergreens. This Saturnalia festival has a close similarity with today’s Christmas celebrations and hence the history of Christmas is heavily linked to this ancient Saturnalia.
The Romans decked their halls with garlands of laurel and green trees lit with candles. Again the masters and slaves would exchange places. “Jo Saturnalia!” was a fun and festive time for the Romans, but the Christians though it an abomination to honor the pagan god. The early Christians wanted to keep the birthday of the Christ a solemn and religious holiday, not one of cheer and merriment as was the pagan Saturnalia.
But as Christianity spread they were alarmed by the continuing celebration of pagan customs and Saturnalia among their converts. At first the Church forbid this kind of celebration. But it was to no avail. Eventually it was decided that the celebration would be tamed and made into a celebration fit for the Christian 'Son of God'.
Ever wondered why Christmas is celebrated on December 25? Is it the day when Jesus Christ was born? Well, nobody knows for sure exactly when Christ was born, and there was a great deal of dispute over fixing December 25th as Christmas. In the 2nd century A.D, Hippolytus claimed this day as Christ’s birthday. Then January 6 was declared by the Eastern Church as the day of His birth. Finally, in 350 A.D, the Bishop of Rome, Pope Julius I, fixed December 25th as the official day for Christmas. This date, a day near to the winter solstice, was wisely chosen with the intention to outweigh the popular pagan Roman holiday of Saturnalia.
Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus, also referred to as Father Christmas, is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a synchronization between St. Nicholas of Myra and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
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10 Christmas Facts You
May Not Know
by Sean Carter
1) Twelve Days of Christmas:
The twelve days between Christmas Day and the Feast of Epiphany. Tradition has it that this is the time taken by the Three Wise Men to reach Bethlehem.
2) Mistletoe: Mistletoe is a plant hung on doorways and is closely associated with Frigga, the Scandinavian goddess of love.
3) Hanging Stockings: The practice of hanging stockings over the fireplace on Christmas Eve comes from England. The legend of St. Nicholas has it that a kind saint left gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor maidens, who badly needed the money for their wedding dowries. They hung their stockings to dry over the fireplace, and to their great surprise, they found bags of gold in them the next morning.
4) Christmas Carols: The first carols are said to have been sung by angelic choirs at Christ's birth. St.Francis of Assissi is also accredited as the 'Father of Caroling'. The word 'carol' comes from the Greek 'charaulein', a Greek dance, later replaced by song.
5) Holly Boughs: To Christians, holly berries symbolize Christ's blood and the sharply pointed leaves stand for the thorns in His crown. Henceforth, the holly became part of the Nativity tradition.
6) The Nativity Scene: The manger, the swaddling clothes, the bright star in the sky, the shepherds surrounding baby Jesus and the Three Wise Men (the Magi) form the scene.
7) The Poinsettia: Poinsettias are beautiful winter blooms, native to Mexico. They've been named after the first US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who brought the plant from its land of origin to America. Since the beginning of the 19th century, poinsettias have come to be associated with Christmas.
8) Eggnog: A popular Christmas drink prepared by mixing cream, milk, sugar and beaten eggs with some kind of liquor. This has a close connection to the Christmas holiday, and on Christmas Eve, it's fairly common to spot groups of people eggnogging at their neighbors' and friends' places.
9) The Yule Log: A huge log used to light up big fires during festive celebrations. It originated in Europe, where it used to be placed in the hearth and continued to burn throughout the year, till it turned into ashes. Bringing in the yule log was as much a custom during the Christmas holidays as was decorating the Christmas tree. It's from the yule log that Christmas also came to be known as 'Yuletide'.
10) Boxing Day: The day after Christmas is known as the Feast of St. Stephen. The alms box of the Church was opened on Boxing Day, and the contents, known as the "dole of the Christmas box" were distributed by the parish priest among the needy. Henceforth, the day after Christmas came to be known as the Boxing Day.
About the Author:
Sean Carter writes on holidays, christmas and celebrations around the world. He also writes on family, relationships, womens issues, birthdays, inspiration, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry. He writes for 123greetings.com
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