Many of us can recall as children getting bundled up in our winter coats, warmest gloves and long, knitted scarves, touring our neighborhoods singing Christmas carols with family and friends. It’s a tradition that’s been around since the night Jesus was born. It’s been said on that night, a choir of angels sang out in celebration.

A Christmas carol is a song or hymn whose lyrics are about Christmas or the winter season. They are traditionally sung in the period before and during Christmas. The tradition of Christmas carols hails back as far as the thirteenth century, although carols were originally communal songs sung during celebrations like harvest tide as well as Christmas. Christmas carols and caroling in the old world was a mix of singing and dancing and was practiced for all festivals throughout the year.  When Christmas was firmly established to be celebrated on December 25th, many of the existing songs were sung on that day and new ones written to celebrate Christmas.

St. Francis of Assisi was instrumental in making the Christmas celebration one for the people instead of just for the clergy.  He created large nativity scenes outside of his church and translated many of the Christmas carols from Latin into languages spoken by the average person and encouraged them to sing these songs to express their joy during the Christmas season. This practice of singing Christmas songs outside of the church near the nativity scenes spread throughout Europe and it was a natural next step for these Christmas carolers to start walking through the neighborhoods around the churches sharing their festive songs.

But why are they called carols instead of songs? A popular urban legend was that they were named after a little girl named Carol Poles who disappeared in 1888 in the Whitechaple district of London. According to the legend, the little girl was reported missing around Christmas and many people went searching for her at night. Due to fears concerning Jack the Ripper, the group would sing Christmas carols upon knocking in order to declare their good intentions.  And even in today’s changing world, caroling is a Christmas tradition many people still hold dear.

Caroling is one of the oldest customs in Great Britain, going back to the Middle Ages when beggars, seeking food, money or drink, would wander the streets singing holiday songs.  Wandering minstrels traveled from hamlet to castle, performing carols.  In later years, villages had their own bands of waits. They were originally watchmen who patrolled the city streets and sang out the time of night each hour. During the holiday season, they would entertain the townspeople with a Christmas song as well.  The term eventually evolved to describe a group of carolers or musicians who sang and performed at numerous locations throughout the city during the holiday season.

Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, was a German native and brought the tradition of the Christmas tree with him when they married. Trafalgar Square is the home of one of the country’s most popular Christmas trees, a large spruce tree which is placed near a statue of Lord Nelson. During World War II when King Haakon of Norway was forced into exile in England during the German occupation of Norway, the Norwegian troops would smuggle a tree past the Germans into England so the King would have a Christmas tree to celebrate the holiday.  Since then, Norway has sent a large Norwegian spruce tree each year as a thank you to the British people.

The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red or green robe, and leaves presents in stockings or pillowcases on Christmas Eve. However, the gifts are not usually opened until the following afternoon.  Another English tradition is called mummering. In the Middle Ages, people called mummers put on masks and acted out Christmas plays. These plays are still performed in towns and villages.  The day after Christmas in England is called Boxing Day. Boys would go around town collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open.