Away In a Manger (1885)
The Holly and the Ivy (1710)
Ding Dong Merrily on High (1589)
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing (1739)
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (1849)
Silent Night (1816)
The Twelve Days of Christmas (1842)
O Holy Night (1847)
Good King Wenceslas (1853)
Once in Royal David's City (1848)
The First Noel (1800)
O Come All Ye Faithful (1751)
I Saw Three Ships (1700)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1640)
Joy to the World (1719)
Well, that's the list. It struck me looking at it that there's a heavy emphasis on carols written in the nineteenth century, and especially the 1840's. That's also the decade that gave us Clement Moore's poem "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," and Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," which together revolutionized the modern Christmas holiday. There are six carols that were sung prior to the 1800's, and no twentieth century Christmas songs on the list.
As a boy, I was told that Martin Luther composed "Away in a Manger," and therefore it was not something a good Catholic could enjoy. I assume the church is well past such parochialism by now, or further research has proved Luther was not its author.
Some songs had to be left off the list, of course. Among the earlier Christmas carols, they might have included "The Coventry Carol," or "The Cherry Tree Carol." The "Cherry Tree" includes the interesting idea that Joseph was much older than Mary, thereby explaining the references to Jesus' brothers in the Bible as Joseph's children from a first marriage. More on that some other day.
Two nineteenth century carols that didn't make this reviewer's cut are "We Three Kings," and "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen." Just as an aside, Simon and Garfunkel did a very nice a capella version of "Gentlemen" on one of their albums. You can probably find it on the Internet.
Most of these carols celebrate the birth of Jesus. "The Holly," and "The Twelve Days" do not, and "I Saw Three Ships" somehow puts Jesus and "his lady," meaning his mother, on a boat. This isn't the case with more recent Christmas songs, however. There were some lovely Christmas songs in the first half of the century, most especially "White Christmas," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." The latter has a very wistful quality associated with soldiers missing from the Christmas holidays and the people they love, lonely at home.
Even more recently - in my own lifetime - are the children's songs, "Frosty the Snowman," and "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer," that completely ignore the religious celebration of Christmas. Descending into what must be called God-awful songs, the last decade or two have given us "Grandma Got Run Over. . .," and "I Want a Hippopotamus. . . ."
Last year's Paul Simon song, "Getting Ready for Christmas," is several cuts above those, and provided the title for my little post, but it probably won't endure.
Every generation re-invents the Christmas holiday. New customs are adopted and older ones often fade away. We don't eat figgy pudding or dance reels on Christmas eve as young Ebenezer Scrooge did, and our 2012 way of keeping Christmas will undoubtedly seem quaint to our children and grandchildren, and so be it.
At my house, when I was a boy, Christmas was a time of some tension and an annual contest between my parents. Though my father thought the expression "Keep Christ in Christmas" was trite, he was determined not to let the whole Santa Claus aspect of the season overshadow Christmas mass. My mother, on the other hand, liked the whole secular part of Christmas, and wanted us to have the toys and games that dad disapproved of. The two concepts are intertwined to a point where one always seems to diminish the other, and the culture as a whole always seems to win. Dad retreated with what good grace he could muster, even trying to smile as we tore into Christmas packages very early on Christmas morning and had to be dragged away from the tree for breakfast and church.
Years later I suggested that gifts be exchanged on Christmas eve or Christmas afternoon and Christmas dinner might be eaten at the same times so Christmas morning could be devoted to church. He seemed to like the idea, so I'll pass it along to those of you who have children in the house.
And now, happy Thanksgiving, avoid all stores on Friday, and begin getting ready for Christmas.
Oh, by the way, Meav, one of the Celtic women, does a very pretty "Silent Night" with the lyrics in Gaelic. It's really worth finding.
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