Singing at Christmas

Did you know that the word ‘carol’ is from a Greek world meaning sing and dance. The first carols were sung in Europe thousands of years ago but they were not the traditional Christmas carols that we know today. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations as people danced round stone circles. Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has really survived.

Today carol singing is very popular and we celebrate the Christmas season with carols in church, singing in the street and coming together to celebrate in the popular ‘Carols by Candlelight’ services that are held all over the country and the world.

Why not have a go at learning a new Christmas Carol this year. You can find the music and the words in many of the Christmas books at your library. You can also check out some music CD’s to sing along with.