Hulton Archive // Getty Images ‘O Tannenbaum’ (1824) Wenceslaus was elevated to sainthood immediately after his death, and he’s considered the patron saint of the Czech Republic. After his assassination, he was posthumously conferred as a king by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, which is why people don’t sing of good Duke Wenceslaus. Wenceslaus I was revered for his piety, morality, and virtue. Published by hymn writer John Mason Neale in 1853, this carol was based on the life of the virtuous ruler Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia. Public Domain // Wikimedia Commons ‘Good King Wenceslas’ (1853) Other familiar variants of the song include “Here We Come A-Caroling” and “Here We Come A-Christmasing.” In the song, wassailing is the practice of traveling door-to-door, wishing good health, and asking for a bit of hospitality and Christmas tidings in return, including a drink from a communal bowl filled with mulled cider or ale called wassail. This traditional English Christmas carol refers to the practice of wassailing, the definition of which has evolved over the years. Hulton Archive // Getty Images ‘Here We Come A-wassailing’ (c. It may be surprising that this Christmas classic was written as a Thanksgiving song. In 1965, astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford made “Jingle Bells,” the first song heard from space as they orbited Earth aboard the Gemini 6. Written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 and originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh,” “Jingle Bells” is one of the most beloved and ubiquitous Christmas carols in existence.
You may also like: 71 years of Emmy history Read on to learn about the rich histories of some of the most beloved Christmas songs that are more than a century old. “Silent Night,” for example, had 137,315 recordings, according to a 2017 Billboard report. It may come as no surprise, then, that what people consider to be Christmas classics are among the most-covered Christmas songs of all time.
Many of these songs were created out of a chance collaboration between artists spanning time and space a clergyman pens a hymn, and years later, a composer resurrects those words and sets them to a melody. This list includes Christmas carols, famous instrumentals, popular hymns, and spirituals from countries around the world. Stacker compiled a list of Christmas songs released before 1920 and explored the origins of these pieces. These songs we know by heart and hear so often have rich histories rooted in things like war, religion, social reform, and slavery. Who knew that the catchy tune of Wenceslas, the king with the funny name, is a reverent song about the patron saint of the Czech Republic? Or perhaps it would surprise readers to discover that “Silent Night” was designated as an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Songs range from grandmothers getting trampled by reindeer to those based on the work of a Romantic-period poet. Today, Christmas music runs the gamut from silly to revolutionary. These tunes would be shared in the form of poetry and hymns printed on broadsides. Traveling minstrels spread original songs before the invention of the printing press in 1440 ushered in an era of texts that served as the foundation for some of the most beloved Christmas songs. Francis of Assisi’s Nativity plays in the 13th century and survived Puritan rule when many Christmas traditions and celebrations were banned during part of the 17th century. Plum Leaves // Flickr Classic Christmas songs that are more than 100 years oldĬhristmas music has a long and storied history beginning centuries ago with pagan rituals.