Read Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas for Free Online

each Christian—His ultimate sacrifice on that cross. The log was brought into the home on Christmas Eve and was lit. It was hoped that the log would burn for the entire twelve days of Christmas, its embers dying January 6, the day the wise men arrived with their gifts for Jesus. If the log lasted that long, it was a sign that the household was blessed.
    In England, “The First Noel” was sung each year by many peasants as they lit the Yule log. Therefore, this became the song that started the entire Christmas season. Especially for children, this carol meant the beginning of the most wonderful time of the year. Down through the ages, the tradition of the Yule log carried with it the music of this folk carol. Though its words and music were not written down, “The First Noel” survived.
    For the first three hundred years of its existence, “The First Noel,” like all other carols, was not a part of religious services. New songs, even if they embraced a story from the Scriptures,were not allowed in most churches. Because the clergy disdained carols like “The First Noel,” these songs truly became the holiday voice of the people. They related the joy of Christmas, the wonder of God sending a Son to save every man and woman, no matter their station in life. The songs became part of family tradition. Many of the holidays’ most beloved songs would have been lost if common folks had not passed them down from generation to generation.
    Both “The First Noel” and the Christmas Yule log tradition found their way to France around the fifteenth century. Supposedly the song was introduced to the French people by British minstrels. Like the English, the common people of France embraced the music and the message. They also gave it their own twist: Children in this country often sang this carol as a round.
    “The First Noel” finally was published by William Sandys in 1833. A lawyer by trade, Sandys loved music and spent his spare time collecting both French and English folk songs. In his book on Christmas folk songs he included “The First Noel.” Already a favorite with the peasant class, by the mid–1800s, when the Church of England began to use new songs during services, “The First Noel” found universal acclaim.

    Today this song, obviously inspired by the story of the birth of a Savior and probably written by a common, illiterate man, remains one of the most loved carols of all time. Still, one must wonder why “The First Noel” has survived while thousands of other folk songs about Christmas—many of them better written—have been forgotten. Most likely because the writer brought a rare, jubilant spirit to the song. Anyone who has sung “The First Noel” would have no doubt that the composer not only believed every word he wrote but was excited about the story he was sharing. “The First Noel,” therefore, represents the real essence of Christmas, the one element that eludes so many during each holiday season: the announcement of Christ’s arrival on earth. While the tradition of the Yule log has all but died out, the message of “The First Noel” still burns brightly.

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G O T ELL I T ON THE M OUNTAIN
    T he contribution of unknown African American slaves to Christian music is remarkable. As a largely uneducated people, longing for freedom, suffering incredible cruelty and humiliation, many still somehow managed to encounter the powerful touch of the Holy Spirit in ways that manifested themselves in songs of unparalleled majesty and beauty.
    Even more amazing than the songs themselves is the fact that any survived at all. Many of these composers of spirituals could not read or write. For the most part, their works were unpublished for decades and passed along only in the oral tradition. A few songs were spread from the fields to small slave churches along roads via work gangs, and eventually to white churches and even large concert halls in both the South and North. Many, however, were lost, their