Thursday, November 13, 2008 Escudero: The Christmas carols By Edcer Escudero Wit or without
WHAT would Christmas be like without those infectiously beautiful and rhythmically lilting tunes called Christmas carols?
Most certainly, there would be no less joy in our hearts and less merriment in our homes. To a certain degree, the spirit of the season would be surely dampened. Carols, as we all know, add extra joyful dimension to the biggest holiday in the entire Christendom.
In the Philippines, Christmas is the longest feast of the year. Christmas carols are heard as the "ber" months set in, and last up to January the following year.
The word carol is taken from the French Carole, which means "a dance with musical instrument." It generally refers to Christmas songs that date back to the 14th century, and most were written and composed by religious people. They have narrative and lyrical texts in both English and Latin.
The first known collection of Christmas carols came out in 1521, the year Magellan discovered the Philippines. But most carols were passed on orally from generation to generation. Among the earliest were "The Seven Joys of Mary", "Cherry Tree" and "I Saw Three Ships".
The most popular carols were those of the 18th and 19th centuries -- "Adeste Fidelis", "Hark the Herald Angels Sing", "Joy to the World". These songs were written as Christmas hymns and were more formal than the ordinary carols. All these were in English coming out of England.
American carols appeared in mid-19th century. Two of the most popular are "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear".
Many carols that gained great popularity were actually of French and German origin. "Silent Night" (the most popular) were originally written and composed by a German lyricist. But quite unbelievable, Christmas were once banned in England as well as in the USA in 1647 by the English Puritans who disapproved the celebration of religious feasts with too much merriment. It is to be recalled that the first Englishmen who colonized America were Puritans. But after the Americans gained independence from England, caroling became a common practice.
We Filipinos are luckier today because we can sing almost all of the world's best carols plus, Pinoy carols. All time favorites "White Christmas" and "Jingle Bells" are sung by Filipinos of all ages although not an inch of snow can be found anywhere in the country.
During the Yuletide season, Filipinos -- professionals, students, civic and church groups go a caroling from house to house not just to bring joy, but to raise funds for a thousand and one reasons. The actual night of caroling is preceded by a formal letter. Pro-caroling people call this Christmas activity "Carol for a Cause". But keen observers of our changing times call it "Yule-dap", meaning Yuletide hold-up because some shameless people simply cannot help but take advantage of the generous mood of people at Christmas time.
It is a pity that a beautiful custom is being tainted by monetary motive. Of course, we can't ban caroling. Instead, let's ban carolers who sing to fatten their pockets. Christmas should be free of any moneymaking gimmicks because people must be allowed the pure enjoyment of it.
