Photo: Alamy
It’s time to break out the Christmas music and enjoy all the carols that fill our hearts with joy.
Each December, Christmas songs fill our hearts, homes and radio airwaves. Though plenty of modern pop singers release new songs, they always do renditions of traditional religious Christmas carols because nothing resonates with the season more than lyrics that remind us of the power of faith, family and the beauty of shared happiness.
Christmas songs may have gained more reach as the music industry has grown, but traditional religious songs have a rich history of being sung by carolers on the street and in church services. It was the in-person experiences that truly gave life to these heartfelt pieces.
We Wish You A Merry Christmas is a perfect example of the history of these timeless carols. No one knows exactly who wrote it, or just when the song was even written. It is widely believed that the carol originated during the 1500s or 1600s, but over time it was passed on and so many people loved this simple yet lyrical song that it has remained in our hearts and homes because it offers everyone the well-wishes of a Merry Christmastime.
Silent Night also displays a brilliant history of remaining a standard since its first composition in 1817. According to The Conversation, during that time an Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr was inspired by the end of the Napoleonic War.
Despite the war’s end, his town was devastated and longing for hope. He sought to create poetry and find musical accompaniment that would revive his people’s ability to move forward through their faith.
Hope and faith are at the heart of the holiday season. Christmas songs that embody these beautiful elements host a powerful message that outdoes any modern song.
My favorite traditional Christmas carol, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” was also a favorite of Charles Dickens and composer Ralph Van Williams and remains one of the most melodic Christmas songs of all time.
The United Methodist Church Discipleship Ministries noted that Dickens even wrote the carol into his classic story “A Christmas Carol,” and Williams included it in his 1912 Christmas program.
These songs resurface each year to remind us of music’s divine spirit. They seek a deeper meaning than the modern music industry’s increasing obsession with sex and fads.
Even Mariah Carey’s modern classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” offers a more innocent approach to love during the holiday season that can be religious. It holds a personal touch for my family because my sister struggled to conceive her first baby.
The Christmas season was incredibly difficult for her during this struggle, but Mariah Carey’s song offered her an outlet through that emotional strife. It became a prayer. All she wanted that year was a baby. And she received her beautiful little girl the next year.
It was all about faith, prayer and connecting with her Creator to create life.
Music is the language that speaks beyond words. And nothing embodies that better than traditional religious Christmas carols and the songs that uplift us during “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
