The History of the Christmas Carol | Godmadeus.com

The word of God tells us to engage in the worship of our Creator and Savior through music and song.

James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

However, as with every other widely observed Christmas custom, there is also a darker side to Christmas caroling. Mr. Miles, in his book Christmas in Ritual and Tradition states the precursor to the Christmas carol was Christmas poetry. He further states the reformation marks a change in the character of Christmas poetry in England and much of Germany.

This quote tells us of the pagan influence on the Christmas carol after the reformation. Also, Mr. Miles' choice of words and capitalization of the word mother suggests the pre-reformation Christmas carol may have involved the worship of Mary. The following quote exposes the nature of the pre-reformation Christmas carol.

Mr. Miles echoes the words of Mr. Smith, describing the pre-reformation carols as being songs of "feasting and worldly rejoicing."

Many sources seem to credit the French with the invention of the word carol. These sources also make a secular and pagan connection to the original practice of caroling.

The practice of caroling appears to have often combined a religious element with celebration as it still does to this day. The religious element must fit in with the style of celebration to be accepted by the masses. The celebration aspect of caroling has always been in the spirit of the natural world with feasting, greenery, and the like. Therefore, the religious element has always been after the manner of the natural world or occult. The circle is a very important symbol to the worshipers of the natural world. It has a myriad of symbolic meanings depending upon how it is used. The occult world often uses it as a representation of completeness, wholeness, unity, eternity, the universe, a goddess, mother earth, the world serpent, the circle of life, and of course the sun, among other things. The following quote describes the dance which was traditionally associated with the carol.

There is frequently a connection to sun worship in Christmas traditions. The above quote shows the connection to sun worship in this instance: the circle itself is representative of the sun, and the movement of the circle is in a "sunwise" motion. Later in the same article, we see how serious that sun connection was during an examination of the witch trials of the sixteenth century. The so-called witches were often forced to confess to caroling. What was so different about the way witches caroled? They moved in the opposite direction.

Mr. Miles also describes a pagan significance to the association of the Christmas carol with the coming of spring.

The "coming of spring" connection is in harmony with many other pagan foundations of Christmas ritual. Those Christmas rituals directly connected to sun worship are often representative of the rebirth of the natural world after the winter solstice. This connection to the rebirth of the world is probably made most manifest in a tradition called Wassailing. We will get to the pagan significance of the wassail in a moment. First, we will look at the connection between the wassail and the carol.

During the previous section dealing with Christmas charity, we briefly looked at the practice of wassailing. Part of the wassailing ritual often included drinking songs.

The use of drinking songs while wassailing fits in perfectly with the descriptions of the early Christmas carols as being obscene drinking songs with lyrics of feasting and worldly rejoicing.

On page seven of his book, Mr. Nissenbaum quotes Reverend Henry Bourne of Newcastle, England who, in 1725, condemned caroling because "it was generally done, in the midst of Rioting and Chambering, [fornication] and Wantonness" (Nissenbaum). There are no shortage of quotes from post reformation religious leaders condemning Christmas caroling solely on the basis of the drunken, riotous behavior which the practice accompanied. Some of these quotes come from religious leaders such as Bourne who actually approved of keeping Christmas. There are also an abundance of quotes condemning Christmas altogether. Here is one in the form of a poem. The partial quote comes from a poem in an 1821 Baptist magazine out of London. The last two lines of the quote tell us people were using the birth of Christ as an excuse for getting drunk. The footnotes below the first half of the poem also show the writer understood Christmas traditions have a connection to the extreme dark side of paganism: human sacrifice.

Besides the drinking, one can still quite easy connect the Christmas carol to wassailing. Some of the Christmas carols themselves provide the most incriminating evidence of not only the connection but of the activities and crudeness of the tradition. One could hardly deny the connection between wassailing and an old Christmas carol titled The Gloucestershire Wassail.

The Gloucestershire Wassail appears to encapsulate all of the various components of a traditional wassail. It incorporates the alcohol tradition by making perfectly clear the drink is ale, speaking of beer, and ending every verse with a toast. Most verses contain well-wishing in the form of a prayer on behalf of the recipient. As with all good drinking songs, there is adequate use of nonsensical or irrelevant terms used for the sole purpose of making a rhyme. It contains some subtleties such as the use of the word cheek to refer to the flank of the steer which will become beef for the one being wassailed. There is a simple cryptic pattern for the receiver to puzzle over. For example, the second, fourth, and sixth verses are in reference to horses while the third, fifth, and seventh verses are in reference to bovine. The second and third verses reference male animals while the fourth through seventh verses reference female animals. The mention of body parts allows the wassailers to act out the song after the manner of the ring dance. The use of the right side in all but one instance increases the odds of an increasingly inebriated wassailer making a mistake while acting out the song. This will of course be most entertaining to his drunken cohorts who can then have a hearty laugh at his expense. There is a threat to the butler if he does not draw as much liquor or beer as the wassailers think he should, and finally a verse ripe with sexual innuendo is directed toward the maid. Naturally, both Christmas and New Year are mentioned tying the wassail to the Christmas season.

The song We Wish You a Merry Christmas was born in the spirit of the wassail. There are several different versions of the song. The well-wish is generally the title and the chorus line, and figgy pudding is the treat expected in exchange for the wassailer's efforts. Some versions include a threat of not leaving until the expectations of the wassailers are met. The cup of good cheer is of course some sort of alcoholic beverage, and again, the mention of Christmas and New Year tie the wassail to the season.

Wassailing, in its strictest sense, is simply the well-wishing of a fellow person. However, the well-wishing associated with wassailing has often left the bounds of humanity crossing into the animal and plant world. We find the pagan heritage of the Christmas carol at this junction of wassailing and plant world. Mr. Miles suggests Christmas Caroling derives from a Christianized form of plant worship. The participants of the ritual formed processions conveying blessings to each house they passed by carrying "sacred elements" made up of plant parts or whole trees. They were also sometimes accompanied by animals.

Christmas carolers will often pronounce a blessing upon their human audience whether they go door to door or remain in one spot. In addition to wassailing people, Mr. Miles describes the practice of wassailing trees. The following is only one of several examples of this practice given by Mr. Miles.

Whether the intent was "a sacramental act intended to bring fertilizing influences to bear" or "an offering to their spirits," the act of wassailing plants is well outside the bounds of Biblical Christianity and well into the realm of the occult and paganism.

The article from the Medieval Folklore Encyclopedia also speaks about the common theme of praising greenery in the carols. The article specifically points to a couple of Christmas carols called In Praise of Holly and In Praise of Ivy. The act of praising greenery is still very common in modern Christmas carols. We will now look at another Christmas carol which clearly idolizes a plant. This ever popular carol is called Oh Christmas Tree.

This is one of those songs many people will mindlessly sing along to without giving the lyrics much thought. It is so ingrained into American culture there seems to be a naive presumption surely someone long ago checked it out and gave it the okay. However, if we look at the lyrics, we will quickly realize this song is hardly in line with Biblical Christian values. In fact, God would need to do away with the second commandment for this song to be sung by Christians.

Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

The god of this song can only be seen as the Christmas tree. There is no mention of Christ. There is only admiration for the tree and the decorations it holds. In this song, the tree brings pleasure, joy, and glee. In this tune, the tree spreads cheer better than anyone who is alive. This song claims the tree is the symbol of goodwill and love. The Christmas tree takes on some of the Characteristics of God in this carol. The love which should be reserved for Christ is directed toward the tree. The tree takes the place of Christ; this is idolatry. There are a few different versions of this song. Apparently someone must have given the lyrics some thought at one point because at least one version adds God into the very last verse. This hardly negates the balance of the song especially considering the added verse has God Himself decorating the tree.

There are many other Christmas carols which should also cause alarm bells to sound in the Christian mind. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer is one such carol. This song is about mythological flying reindeer who pull Santa through the sky. We have already looked at the Santa myth and the pagan origins associated with that myth. This is an impostor who is stealing the minds of children away from their Savior, and the mythological Rudolph is helping him do it.

The Bible tells us to sing songs to God.

1Ch 16:9 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

This verse tells us to talk about the wondrous works of God. Do these Christmas carols do that? One could hardly find praise for the wonderful works of God in these carols or many others. Since the beginning of the attempt to Christianize the pagan celebrations into Christmas, there has always been a battle between the church and those who desired secularism and paganism. Those who enjoyed the pagan rites would willingly fall under the Christian banner in name, but they would not be changed. Their desire was, and still is, for the ritual rather than the relationship. Therefore, when Christian principles get in the way, they have always simply covered their existing ritual or tradition with a "Christian" veil.

The gospel song is responsible for injecting doctrinal error directly into the heart of the church.

This article goes on to tell the reader carols were often banned on church grounds and in Christian neighborhoods during the years between 600 and 1500. We must remember people can never be forced into giving up their rituals and traditions, neither should they be. God never forces Himself on anyone, and we should never try to force Him on anyone either. The relationship between Christian and Christ must come willingly. The attempts to ban pagan rituals only succeed in burying them deeper beneath the "Christian" veil. This makes the pagan root harder to recognize by those who are sincerely seeking to serve God. The most we should do is expose the error; each of us must make the choice between the traditions of man and the Word of God. So far this section has exposed the pagan root of the Christmas carol. Now we must look at the more subtle and damaging aspect of the Christmas carol to the church as a whole.

The congregation lifting its voice in song is a form of worship, and we would do well to remember one of the warnings we are given about Satan.

2Co 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

The Bible tells us Satan may appear as an angel of light. Surely, he is well aware of the subliminal powers of the chorded verse. Anyone who has ever tangled in their mind with a song which would not cease understands the uninvited salesman enters the brain through the jingle. The physical ear and its inner workings being the perceived limit of the melody is a fallacy. Even the deaf feel the thumping bass and vibratory rhythm of the drum pouring from the rock-n-roll god's amplifier. However, the real danger is not in the obvious but in the illusive. The power of the country goddess to control the emotions of her congregation is evident. The ability of the jazz idol to infect the spirit of his following is unmissable. The unimaginable influence the divine rapper holds over his willing subjects is apparent, yet the graceful gospel singer is the one who captures the unsuspecting soul. The gospel song is responsible for injecting doctrinal error directly into the heart of the church. How many who regularly attend church have not noticed a glaring example of doctrinal error in one of the songs mindlessly poured forth from the congregational mouth? The Christmas carol opened the door for this devious deception.

The poet and the hymnist were given the same literary weight and apostolic vision as the inspired writers of the Bible through the Christmas carol. By means of the Christmas carol, the poet and the clerk were able to infect the congregation with idolatrous doctrine. The poet is not as knowledgeable or as discerning as the theologian when choosing doctrinally harmonious words and phrases. This is especially true when the poet comes from outside the faith, which many of the Christmas carol authors certainly did.

Above all Christmas rituals of pagan origin, the Christmas carol and the subsequent uninspired hymns are most responsible for the introduction of doctrinal error into the church. The melodic worship intended for God is now being stolen away by thieves such as trees, crosses, and flying reindeer.

Are Christmas Carols a Form of Praise Music?

1. The word of God tells us to engage in the worship of our Creator and Savior through music and song.
2. Christmas carols are often written by people from outside the Christian faith and are songs of feasting and worldly rejoicing rather than songs of praise.
3. Historians say Christmas carols originated as drinking songs.
4. The Christmas carol has very strong ties to wassailing. Christmas carol lyrics provide the most incriminating evidence of not only the connection but of the activities and crudeness of the tradition.
5. The reformers often changed the lyrics in an attempt to Christianize the popular and often obscene songs.
6. Some historians say the pagan influence on the Christmas carol increased after the reformation.
7. The Christmas carol is a descendant of a pagan ring dance with ties to sun worship.
8. So-called witches were condemned for failing to perform the ring dance in a "sunwise" motion.
9. Post reformation religious leaders almost universally condemned Christmas caroling on Biblical grounds.
10. Many of the most popular Christmas carols today are wassails, and many also retain clearly pagan messages.
11. Historians tie Christmas carols to plant worship also.
12. Some of the most popular carols, like Oh Christmas Tree, are obvious examples of the connection to plant worship.
13. Door-to-door caroling is a remnant of a plant worship ritual where processions conveyed blessings to each house they passed by carrying "sacred elements" made up of plant parts or whole trees.
14. The lack of Christmas carols in the Bay Psalm Book led churches to change the source of praise music from a Biblical source to worldly sources. This opened the door for the gospel song to inject doctrinal error directly into the heart of the church.
15. The poet, clerk, and hymnist were given the same literary weight and apostolic vision as the inspired writers of the Bible through the Christmas carol.
16. Above all Christmas rituals of pagan origin, the Christmas carol and the subsequent uninspired hymns are most responsible for the introduction of doctrinal error into the church. The melodic worship intended for God is now being stolen away by thieves such as trees, crosses, and flying reindeer.
17. Christmas carols are not a good fulfilment of the Biblical idea of praising God through song.

Our journey through Christmas traditions will now let us look at a lesser known tradition called mumming.