Deepstep Methodist Church was the church of my childhood. I do not remember Christmas caroling; church attendance was usually fewer than 100. The pastor had three other churches, and could only come to Deepstep the second Sunday each month; there was Sunday School every week. About all I knew about Christmas Carols, was that on Second Sunday in December, the hymns were always Carols. We had a small choir, and their music was respectable. (I did, however, get thrown out of a third-grade elementary school Christmas production; I tried—unbidden—-to sing in falsetto “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” It was not pretty!)
However, sometimes at Christmas, our youth group did go to homes of “shut-ins” to sing Carols. Often they invited us in from the cold to sing. The real joy was seeing their faces light up; we knew our music wasn’t great, but it seemed to mean a lot to the people we visited; my memories are those of joy.
Christmas Caroling has been around for centuries! It is thought that circa 1200 A.D.—before Christmas Caroling—there was group singing called Wassailing (name related to a hot spicy drink given to travelers in the cold)—unrelated to Christmas. In the winter months groups went from house to house, singing well wishes. Apparently this tradition was the seed that grew into Christmas Caroling. Melding the practice of Wassailing with songs about Jesus seems a natural evolution for enhancing stories about Jesus. The Carol, “Here We Come A Wassailing” is not a very popular Christmas Carol. However, it does contain some Christmas reference.
Singing was not typically part of Christmas until after St. Francis of Assisi began to enliven tableaux relating the birth stories of Jesus. St. Francis originated the Creche . It took a few hundred years for Christmas Carols, as a collection, to emerge. Upon publication, songs and stories—gathered from groups and families—interest and composition— developed. Carols became “stock-in-trade” in a manner of speaking. Upon being published as Christmas Carols in the sixteenth century, the Church became a megaphone, so to speak, of their spreading broadly. “Silent Night,” emerging as the most popular carol.
Caroling remains popular; about 17-20 percent of Americans report going “Christmas Caroling,” according to research by the respected Pew Research Center. Carolers it said, brave the frigid winter air to sing holiday well wishes in neighborhoods and churches across the country. It’s largely symbolic of community. Whether it’s a group of friends and family or strangers, caroling is one of the most favored ways for people to get into the holiday spirit.
Long before Caroling, The Psalmist urged the people to “…Make a joyful noise before the Lord…”and to come into his Presence with singing! The Psalmist emphasized the joy of singing unto the Lord. Underscoring the joy with shout joyfully to Him with psalms. A precursor to the joy of Christmas is in the voice of Elizabeth, the Virgin Mary’s cousin, as Mary announced her pregnancy. The two women joined together rejoicing over the good news.
The youth group at my church here goes Christmas Caroling. They usually visit those who cannot attend worship services. It is a double blessing; to the people visited, and to the youth who go and sing with them. Often, the folks they sing to join in singing with them—most don’t need a song sheet for the carols are etched into their memory.
©Copyright Willis H. Moore 2022
Great story.
Willis, thank you for this , for writing about going Christmas caroling. I have good memories of doing this with my church group (B.T.U. for me in my Southern Baptist days) and in our small town, it involved a lot of walking! Sometimes we would be invited inside for a cup of hot chocolate.
I knew the Youth Group at Embry Hills UMC continues this tradition, and I’m so glad they do! Only one year since we moved to Birmingham have we had carolers come, and it was just two families, each with four children, and their parents.
I hope Christmas caroling never goes out of style.