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Christmas Carols - Christmas Hymns - Christmas Songs 2012

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Christmas Carols - Christmas Hymns - Christmas Songs 2012

Carols remain one of the fixed traditions of the Christmas season. People like to sing carols; there are carol services and Christmas is one of the times of year when people do get together in a religious or secular context to sing as a community.

Christmas carols have their origins in the early music of the Catholic church. The first carols are supposed to have been sung by early Franciscan communities. In 1223 St. Francis of Assisi created the first Nativity scene and sang songs in Italian (as opposed to Latin) celebrating Christmas. This tradition was continued and spread across Europe by other Franciscans like Jacopone da Todi. The first carol in English was written around the 14th century.

In the middle ages carols could be sung on almost any high day or holiday and weren't restricted to Christmas themes. Over time carols adopted many popular folk tunes of their day and the secularization of Christmas music has continued to this day. There is a debate over what is the exact differences between; Christmas hymns, Christmas carols and Christmas songs. In short we list Christmas carols with a religious subject below however many of the websites linked at the at the foot of the page include Christmas carols, songs and hymns.

The most popular carols include: