A Christmas carol is a song that focuses on the religious aspect of Christmas. It might tell the story of the birth of Jesus, mention God or be about how Christians celebrate Christmas.
You may have heard people talking about Christmas carols and Christmas songs and may think that they are the same thing. However, not all Christmas songs are carols.
What Are Christmas Carols?
How many Christmas carols can you think of?
Talk about it!
In the past, when only wealthy people received an education, many people couldn’t read. Christmas carols were an important way of helping people learn the Christmas story.
The lyrics (words) and music of Christmas carols were sometimes written by different people. The lyrics might have started off as a poem rather than a song. Because lots of carols were written a long time ago, some of the words are old fashioned.
Christmas carols were usually written to be played on a church organ and sung by a choir as well as a church congregation. Some carols have a descant. This is a different, higher tune that complements the main melody. It is usually sung during the last verse.
What Are Christmas Carols?
congregation – The people in a church service.
melody - A group of single notes that when played in sequence make a tune.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
The lyrics to ‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing’ were written by a man named Charles Wesley who wrote a lot of hymns. His brother John was a famous preacher who started the Methodist church.
The first line means ‘listen, the angels are singing’ and it refers to the part of the Christmas story when the angels announce the birth of Jesus.
The tune we sing today wasn’t put with the lyrics until over one hundred years after Charles Wesley wrote the words. It comes from a piece of music by the composer Felix Mendelssohn.
‘Hark, the Herald Angels Sing’ is a celebration and should be sung happily and loudly, especially the bit at the end of each verse, which is called the refrain.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
hymns – Religious songs sung in churches.
preacher – Someone who teaches people about God.
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Hark, the Herald Angels Sing
Hark, the herald angels sing
‘Glory to the newborn king,
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.’
Joyful, all ye nations, rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With the angelic host proclaim,
‘Christ is born in Bethlehem’.
Hark, the herald angels sing
‘Glory to the newborn king.’
Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord,
Late in time behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veil’d in flesh the Godhead see:
Hail, the incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with man to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark, the herald angels sing
‘Glory to the newborn king.’
Hail, the heaven born Prince of Peace:
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Risen with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark, the herald angels sing
‘Glory to the newborn king.’
Singing tip: On the third verse, you need to make the word ‘heaven’ squeeze into one syllable, otherwise the lyrics don’t fit properly.
This carol was originally in Latin. Latin was the language spoken in Ancient Rome but is still studied (although not usually spoken) today. It was called ‘Adeste Fideles’ (which means ‘all you faithful’). You will sometimes hear the Latin version sung today. The word ‘ye’ is an old fashioned word for ‘you’.
The carol is a call for people to come and celebrate the birth of Jesus.
‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ is sung at the end of a traditional carol service. There are lots of difference verses, but usually three are sung. The fourth verse is meant to be sung only on Christmas Day.
The refrain at the end of the verse is meant to increase in volume, so the first ‘O come let us adore him’ is quiet and the last one is loud. Just remember not to shout!
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O come all ye faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him,
Born the king of angels.
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us a
God of God, Light of light,
Lo! He abhors not the Virgin's womb;
Very God, Begotten not created,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation!
Sing, all ye citizens of heaven above,
'Glory to God in the highest!'
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Yea, Lord, we greet thee,
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to thee be glory given!
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
Singing tip: On the second verse, ‘very’ should have three syllables - ‘ve-e-ry’ and ‘be’ should be a long note, as if ‘gotten’ is a separate word.
‘Silent Night’ started as a poem written by a German priest named Joseph Mohr in 1816. On Christmas Eve of 1818, Joseph showed the poem to a musician and school teacher named Franz Gruber. Joseph asked Franz to add some music to the poem so it could be sung at Midnight Mass that evening.
Unusual for that time, Franz decided to write a piece of music that would be played on a guitar instead of an organ. Some stories say that this was because mice had eaten into the pipes of the church organ and it wasn’t working.
‘Silent Night’ is a gentle carol and should be sung fairly softly.
Silent Night
Did You Know? On Christmas Eve of 1914, British troops in the trenches heard German soldiers singing ‘Silent Night’ in German. The British troops began to join in, singing the English lyrics.
Silent Night
Silent night
Silent night, holy night.
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night.
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born.
Silent night, holy night.
Son of God, love's pure light.
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.
Singing tip: On the last verse, Jesus should have three syllables – ‘Je-ee-sus’.
The lyrics to ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ were written by a woman named Cecil Frances Alexander, who wrote many other well-known hymns.
The carol tells the story of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, also known as David’s City. It also talks about Christians hoping to one day see Jesus when they go to heaven.
There are some old-fashioned words such as ‘feeleth’ (feels) and ‘shareth’ (shares).
‘Once in Royal David’s City’ is sung at the start of a traditional carol service. The first verse is sung as a solo.
Once in Royal David’s City
solo – A part of a song that is sung or played by one person.
Once in Royal David’s City
Once in Royal David’s City
Once in royal David's city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby,
In a manger for His bed;
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall;
With the poor and meek and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.
And through all
His wondrous childhood,
He would honour and obey,
Love and watch the lowly mother,
In whose gentle arms He lay;
Christian children all should be,
Mild, obedient, good as He.
For He is our childhood's pattern,
Day by day like us He grew,
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles like us He knew,
And He feeleth for our sadness,
And He shareth in our gladness.
And our eyes at last shall see Him, Through His own redeeming love,
For that child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above;
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone.
Not in that poor lowly stable,
With the oxen standing by,
We shall see Him, but in heaven,
Set at God's right hand on high;
When like stars His children crowned,
All in white shall wait around.
‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ was written by an American named Phillips Brooks in 1867. Two years before, Phillips had travelled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas Eve in the place where Jesus was born. Inspired by his journey, Phillips wrote the carol for his Sunday school class. He imagined he was in Bethlehem on the actual day when Jesus was born.
The words were later put to a traditional English tune, and this is the how the carol is sung today.
The third verse should be sung softly and the fourth verse very loudly - but without shouting!
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Little Town of Bethlehem
O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.
O morning stars, together
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the king,
And peace to men on earth.
For Christ is born of Mary,
And gathered all above,
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
How silently, how silently,
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts,
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming;
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in.
O holy child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel.
Singing tip: Towards the end of each verse, these words are short: ‘Light’, ‘above’ ‘sin’ and ‘tell’. The word following each of these (‘The’, ‘While’, ‘Where’ and ‘O’) is long.