The First Noel !

The First Noel is unknown in origin but is generally thought to be English dating back to
the sixteenth century. There is a misconception that the First Noel was French and it is
believed that this is because of the French spelling of Noel as opposed to the olde English
Anglo-Saxon spelling of the word as in Nowell. After England was captured by the
Normans numerous words were adopted from the Norman French language and Noel was
re-spelt as Nowell, early printed versions of this carol use the Nowell spelling. The First
Noel was first published in 1833 when it appeared in "Christmas Carols Ancient and
Modern," a collection of seasonal carols gathered by William B. Sandys.

Silent Night!
The origin of the Christmas carol we know as Silent Night was a poem that was written
in 1816 by an Austrian priest called Joseph Mohr. On Christmas Eve in 1818 in the small
alpine village called Oberndorf it is reputed that the organ at St. Nicholas Church had
broken. Joseph Mohr gave the poem of Silent Night (Stille Nacht) to his friend Franz
Xavier Gruber and the melody for Silent Night was composed with this in mind. The
music to Silent Night was therefore intended for a guitar and the simple score was
finished in time for Midnight Mass. Silent Night is the most famous Christmas carol of
all time!

O Little Town of Bethlehem !

Rector Phillips Brooks (1835-1903) of Philadelphia, wrote the words to O Little Town of
Bethlehem in 1868, following a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He was inspired by the
view of Bethlehem from the hills of Palestine especially at night time hence the lyrics of
O Little Town of Bethlehem. His church organist Lewis Redner (1831-1908) wrote the
melody to O Little Town of Bethlehem for the Sunday school children's choir.

O Come All Ye Faithful!

The text to the Carol O Come All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin (Adeste
Fideles) and was intended to be a hymn, it is attributed to John Wade, an Englishman.
The music to O Come All Ye Faithful was composed by fellow Englishman John
Reading in the early 1700s. The tune was first published in a collection known as "Cantus
Diversi" in 1751. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley is reputed to have worked on the
familiar translation of O Come All Ye Faithful which replaced the older Latin lyrics
"Adeste Fideles".

Joy to the World

The words and lyrics of the old Christmas carol 'Joy to the World' were written in 1719
by Isaac Watts (1674-1748). Joy to the World is a popular Christmas carol which is based
on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The father of John Watts was a Non-conformist and so extreme
were his views that he was imprisoned twice. His father's influence over Isaac was
demonstrated when he choose to attend Nonconformist Academy at Stoke Newington in
preference to a University. Watts was ordained as a Pastor of an Independent
congregation. He wrote many hymns and Carols and was awarded a Doctor of Divinity
degree by the the University of Edinburgh in 1728. The music to the carol is by George
Frederick Handel (1685-1759). Click the following link for Christmas sheet music.

Little Drummer Boy!

The words and music to the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy was composed by
Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone in 1958. The lyrics of Little
Drummer Boy consist of no less than 21 rum pum pum pum' - a major part of the song
and therefore presenting an apparently easy task for the lyricist! However, Little
Drummer Boy has been a huge hit for several artists. The most notable rendition was
created by the most unlikely combination of Bing Crosby and David Bowie. This version
of Little Drummer Boy was a massive hot for the artists and was in fact Bing Crosby's
most successful recording since the legendary White Christmas.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer!

“The famous Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer started life as a poem
created by an American advertising executive called Robert May. He was requested to
produce a poem that could be given away to children by the Santa Claus employed by
Department Stores at Christmas! Working as an Advertising Executive Robert May had a
natural flair with words and was able to compose the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer
poem which was specifically designed to appeal to children. This marketing ploy was a
massive success and approximately 2.5 million Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer poems
were given away in the first year of its publication! In 1949 the singer Gene Autry
recorded a musical version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer composed by Johnny
Marks.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire is definitively called the Christmas Song. The lovely
music and lyrics were composed by Torme and Wells in 1946. The most popular
recording of this truly great Christmas song, Chestnuts roasting on an open fire was
recorded by Nat King Cole. The strong imagery in the words to this Christmas song are
also complimented by such sentiments as reflected in one of its lines "from kids from
from one to ninety-two" which encompass the essence of the family Christmas. The
notion that a traditional Christmas should be white is also profligated in the lyric of this
Christmas song, Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas!

The heart warming Christmas song Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was
immortalised by Judy Garland when she sang this song to Margaret O'Brien and brought
tears to the eyes of the audience. The lyricist for Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
was Ralph Blane and the haunting music was composed by Hugh Martin. The song Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas was first published in 1943. The title of Have
Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is undoubtedly one of the saddest Christmas songs of
the century.

White Christmas !

The song White Christmas is undoubtedly the most famous and popular of all
the Christmas songs. The music and lyrics for White Christmas were written by Irving
Berlin in 1942 and originally featured in the movie Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby.
The lyrics of White Christmas struck a chord with the soldiers fighting in the Second
World War and their families who were waiting for them back home. The song and
recording of White Christmas by Bing Crosby with John Scott Trotter's orchestra and the
Ken Darby Singers was so popular that it was later reprised in the movie called after its
name - White Christmas. The film White Christmas once again starred Bing Crosby
together with Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

The author and composer of We Wish You a Merry Christmas cannot be traced however
it is believed to date back to England in the sixteenth century. The tradition of carollers
being given Christmas treats for singing to wealthy members of the community is
reflected in this Christmas song - We Wish You a Merry Christmas! Over the years the
fashion for figgy puddings mentioned in We Wish You a Merry Christmas has faded. But
for the curious, the recipe consisted of the most important ingredient which was of course
figs together with butter, sugar, eggs ,milk, rum, apple, lemon and orange peel, nuts,
cinnamon, cloves and ginger! Not dissimilar to the modern day Christmas Puddings!

Religious symbolism of The Twelve Days of Christmas

(The 12 Days of Christmas)

1 True Love refers to God

2 Turtle Doves refers to the Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens refers to Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds refers to the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings refers to the first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch",
which gives the history of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying refers to the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the sacraments
8 Maids A-milking refers to the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing refers to the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping refers to the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping refers to the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming refers to the points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed

Frosty The Snowman Lyrics

Frosty The Snowman

Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,

With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a fairy tale, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.
O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh
And play just the same as you and me.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the snowman knew

The sun was hot that day,
So he said, "Let's run and
We'll have some fun
Now before I melt away."
Down to the village,
With a broomstick in his hand,
Running here and there all
Around the square saying,
Catch me if you can.
He led them down the streets of town
Right to the traffic cop.
And he only paused a moment when
He heard him holler "Stop!"
For Frosty the snow man
Had to hurry on his way,
But he waved goodbye saying,
"Don't you cry,
I'll be back again some day."
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Frosty the Snowman is a popular Christmas song written by Steve "Jack" Rollins and
Steve Nelson and recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. Like Jingle
Bells and several other songs about winter, Frosty the Snowman is considered to be a
Christmas song despite not mentioning Christmas at all. It was written after Gene Autry
recorded "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and the single sold 2 million copies.

Frosty the Snowman was a response to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. When song
writers Jack Nelson and Steve Rollins saw what success Gene Autry was having in 1949,
singing Rudolph's song, they decided to write their own silly but catchy song doing
variations on an icon of Christmas. It took them months to decide on a living snowman as
their subject, but they still had it ready in time for a 1950 release. Autry, delighted with
the opportunity to ride his own recording's coat-tails back to the top of the charts,
recorded it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Frosty the Snowman is a very popular Christmas song and has been a great favorite with
children since the very beginning. The song gained enormous popularity after it hit the
market and seemed a fit sequel for ‘Rudolf the red nosed reindeer’, a Christmas song that
had been recorded a few years earlier and had proved to be a huge hit. The song (Frosty)
was not only a cute children’s poem, it also had a feel-good spirit that makes for a
holiday favorite.