Columnists

‘Tis the Season to Tune-Up Your Knowledge of Christmas Carols

Issue 49.15

You’ve heard them many times throughout your life, and you may even remember the words.

But what do you really know about the origins of these well-known Christmas songs? (You can check your answers at the end of this article.)

  1. This well-known song was written as a poem by a Catholic priest in Austria in 1816. It was later set to guitar music because, according to legend, the church organ was broken and a Christmas song was desperately needed.
  2. This 16th century Welsh song was adapted from a New Year’s tune which contained the line, “Oh! How soft my fair one’s bosom/ fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.”
  3. Written in 1853, this song is about the Duke of Bohemia, who ruled from 924-935 AD, when he was assassinated by his brother. He was known for his great acts of charity and was posthumously declared a king. He is now the patron saint of the Czech Republic.
  4. This upbeat song was ironically written by a downtrodden writer who just found out that his brother had died. It was first performed on the radio in 1934 by singer Eddie Cantor.
  5. This song was written in 1944 by a New York school teacher for his class of 2nd graders.

Spike Jones recorded it in 1948. The teacher was amazed that his “silly little song was picked up by the whole country.”

  1. Originally intended for Thanksgiving, this was the first song broadcast into space to the Gemini 6 crew in 1965.
  2. This 16th century song was brought to the US by emigrants. It was about the German tradition of decorating a small fir tree and setting it next to a nativity scene as a symbol of eternal life. The lyrics were revised and translated to English in 1819, helping to spread the Christmas tree tradition throughout the Christian world.
  3. This song was written by an Episcopalian preacher from Boston who earned a doctorate from Oxford and taught at Yale. It was inspired by his experience in the Holy Land, where he rode a horse from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve.
  4. This was written for the 1944 musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” The scene has Judy Garland trying to cheer up her little sister as they both mourn their family’s move away from their hometown. Original lines included “have yourself a merry little Christmas – it may be your last,” and “faithful friends who were dear to us, will be near to us no more.”

It was later made famous by Frank Sinatra after the lyrics were adjusted to sound more hopeful.

  1. Charles Wesley, brother of Methodist founder John Wesley, wrote this song in 1739. The

first line was “Hark How All the Welkin Rings,” in reference to a rarely used term for heaven.

(Reference Source: Mental Floss.com)

Wade Wixom can be contacted at 435-688-1622.

 

Answers:

  1. “Silent Night”
  2. “Deck the Halls”
  3. “Good King Wenceslas”
  4. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
  5. “All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth”
  6. “Jingle Bells
  7. “O Tannenbaum”
  8. “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
  9. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
  10. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”

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