Some Stories behind
Christmas Carols
On this page, there are some of the stories behind the carols below.
I Saw Three Ships
The tune of this carol is a traditional English folk song and the words of this carol (of which there are several versions) were written by wandering minstrels as they travelled through the country. In the original version of the carol, the Three Ships were the ones taking the supposed skulls of the wise men to Cologne cathedral in Germany. However, since the Middle Ages when it was first written, there have been many different lyrics with different Bible characters being on the ships. The most common lyrics used today are about Mary and Jesus travelling to Bethlehem. Sing along to I Saw Three Ships!
I
saw three ship come sailing in,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
I saw three ship come sailing in,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
what was in those ships all three?
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And what was in those ships all three?
on Christmas Day in the morning.
Our
Saviour Christ and His lady,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
Our Saviour Christ and His lady,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
where they sailed those ships all three?
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And where they sailed those ships all three?
on Christmas Day in the morning.
All
they sailed in to Bethlehem,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
All they sailed in to Bethlehem,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
all the bells on earth shall ring,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the bells on earth shall ring,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
all the angels in heaven shall sing,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the the angels in heaven shall sing,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
all the souls on earth shall sing,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And all the souls on earth shall sing,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
And
let us all rejoice again,
on Christmas day on Christmas day.
And let us all rejoice again,
on Christmas Day in the morning.
Good King Wenceslas
This carol was written in Victorian Britain by Mr. J M Neale to a traditional folk tune. It was written in the town of East Grinstead, in the county of West Sussex, at Sackville College where he was staying at the time. The story in the carol is about the King of Bohemia (an area in Central Europe which is now part of the Czech Republic) from over 1000 years ago, seeing peasants, on Boxing Day, from his castle and taking food and wood to them. The story in the carol was probably completely made up! In fact the real story of King Wenceslas is rather gory!
Wenceslas' father was the King of Bohemia and a Christian but his mother was from a pagan tribe. His father died when he was 12 and, as he was not old enough to become King, until he was 18 his mother took control of the land as regent. During this time his grandmother, Ludmilla, took care of Wenceslas and brought him up as a Christian. His mother did not like this at all and banished Ludmilla to a a distant castle where she was murdered by the Queen's guards!
Wenceslas was still a Christian after this and learnt to read and write, something that was unusual for even a King in those days! He had local Bishops smuggled in at night to teach him the Bible. When he reached 18, Wenceslas took control of his kingdom as soon as he could and banished his mother and her pagan followers from his castle. Wenceslas put in a good education system and a successful law and order system, so the parts of the carol story about him being a kind King are certainly true!
After four years of happiness, when Wenceslas was 22, his brother Boleslav, became very jealous of Wenceslas and plotted with the pagan followers of his mother to kill Wenceslas. Boleslav invited Wenceslas to a pretend celebration of the dedication of a new chapel. When Wenceslas was in the chapel the doors were locked, so he was trapped in the chapel, and Boleslav and his men stabbed Wenceslas to death! I said it was gory!
Sing along to Good King Wenceslas!
ALL:
Good King Wenceslas looked out,
upon the Feast of Stephen,
when the snow lay round about,
deep and crisp and even:
brightly shone the moon that night,
though the frost was cruel,
when a poor man came in site,
gathering winter fuel.
KING:
Hither page and stand by me!
I you know it telling:
yonder man who is he,
where and what his dwelling?
PAGE:
Sir he lives a good way hence,
underneath the mountain;
right against the forest fence,
by Saint Agnes' fountain:
KING:
Bring me food and bring me wine,
bring me pine logs hither:
you and I will see him dine,
when we take them thither.
ALL:
Page and monarch forth they went,
forth they went together,
through the wild wind's loud lament,
and the bitter weather.
PAGE:
Sir the night is darker now,
and the wind grows stronger;
fails my heart - I know not how,
I can go no longer.
KING:
Mark my footsteps well my page,
follow in them boldly:
you shall find the winter's rage,
chills your blood less coldly.
ALL:
In his masters steps he trod,
where the snow lay even,
strong to do the will of God,
in the hope of Heaven:
therefore Christians all be sure,
grace and wealth possessing,
you that now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing.
Silent Night
The words of Silent Night were written by a Priest called Fr. Joseph Mohr in Mariapfarr, Austria, in 1816 and the music was added by his school teacher friend, Franz Xaver Gruber, in 1818 for the Christmas service at St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria.
Fr. Mohr asked Franz Gruber to compose the melody with a guitar arrangement. It was several years later that Franz Gruber wrote an arrangement for the organ. Historians who have conducted research in recent years believe that Fr. Mohr wanted a new carol that he could play on his guitar.
There is a legend associated with the carol that says, Fr. Mohr wanted the carol to be sung by the children of the village at the midnight Christmas Eve service, as a surprise for their parents. But in the middle of practising, the organ broke and not a note would come from it! So the children had to learn the carol only accompanied by a guitar. They learnt the carol so well that they could sing it on its own without accompaniment.
However, there are no records to indicate that a children's choir was involved or that the organ was broken!
At Midnight Mass in 1818, Fr. Mohr and Franz Gruber sang each of the six verses with the church choir repeating the last two lines of each verse. Mohr set down the guitar arrangement on paper around 1820 and that is the earliest manuscript that still exists, it is displayed in the Carolino Augusteum Museum in Salzburg. There are a number of manuscripts of various 'Stille Nacht' arrangement that were written by Franz Gruber in later years.
The original words of the song were in German and translated in to English went:
Silent
night, holy night,
Bethlehem sleeps, yet what light,
Floats around the heavenly pair;
Songs of angels fills the air.
Strains of heavenly peace.
Soon they were translated into many languages and changed slightly and now the carol is a favourite all over the world! Sing along to Silent Night!
The 12 Days of Christmas
In England, between 1558 and 1829, it was not legal for Catholics to practice their kind of Christianity in private or in public. Being a Catholic was treated as a bad crime. If you even owned a Catholic Bible, you could be put in prison! Catholics were stopped from worshipping because King Henry VIII fell out with the Catholic Church and started his own 'Protestant' Church (the Church of England). There were many people who were still Catholics and they worshipped in secret.
'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was written in England at the beginning of this time. Some people think that it was written to help children learn about their Catholic religion. In the carol, the days are supposed to represent special symbols and hidden meanings, because it was illegal to have anything in writing that would indicate that you were a Catholic. But all the symbols can be used by Protestants and other Christians, so no one really knows if the carol was a special Catholic song or not!
The 12 Days of Christmas refer to the twelve day period that starts with Christmas day and ends on Epiphany (6th January). The song begins, On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me... The 'true love' represents God, the true love of the world. The 'me' in the carol is the Christian man or woman who receives these presents. The meaning of all of the 12 Days are below:
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The 'partridge in a pear tree' is Jesus who died on the cross. In ancient times a partridge was often used as mythological symbol of a divine, sacred king. |
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The 'two turtle doves' are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible - another gift from God. Doves also symbolise peace. |
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The 'three French hens' are faith, hope and love - the three gifts of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 13). The French hens can also represent God the Father, His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. |
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The 'four calling birds' are the four Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible. |
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The 'five golden rings' are the first five books of the Bible also called the Books of Moses or the Torah. |
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The 'six geese a-laying' are the six days of creation. |
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The 'seven swans a swimming' are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (See 1 Corinthians 12:8-11, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1 Peter 4:10-11) |
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The 'eight maids a milking' are the eight beatitudes, Jesus' teachings on happiness. (See Matthew 5:3-10) |
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The 'nine ladies dancing' are nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 5:22) |
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The 'ten lords a-leaping' are the Ten Commandments in the Bible. (See Exodus 20) |
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The 'eleven pipers piping' are the eleven faithful disciples of Jesus. |
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The 'twelve drummers drumming' were the twelve points of the Apostles' Creed. |
Sing along to The Tweleve Days of Christmas!