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Articles on Christmas carols

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Public Christmas trees, like Rockefeller Center’s famous tree, didn’t start appearing in the U.S. until the 20th century. Nicholas Hunt/WireImage via Getty Images

The Christmas tree is a tradition older than Christmas

Evergreens have long served as symbols of life during the bleakness of winter. But Queen Victoria spurred the tradition that has become a global phenomenon.
Christmas tours to mansions often present a ‘magical’ experience to tourists, but they ignore the realities of the lives of slaves who worked there. Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau/Flickr

Slave life’s harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations

Fictional accounts of white Southerners make it seem like it was fun to be a slave on a plantation at holiday time. Many of today’s tours repeat such stories.
This undated score, written by Joseph Mohr and titled ‘Weynachts Lied’ (‘Christmas Carol’), is the earliest known surviving copy of ‘Silent Night.’ Salzburg Museum

The humble origins of ‘Silent Night’

Over 200 years ago, an Austrian priest teamed up with a schoolteacher to perform the first rendition of ‘Silent Night.’ Little did they know that it would one day be sung in over 300 languages.
Carolling wasn’t just for Christmas back in the day. Easter, New Year, and even political events such as battles were occasions for carol singing. 1000 Words/www.shutterstock.com

A short history of three very famous Christmas carols

Good Christian Men, Rejoice dates from the 14th century; O Come, All Ye Faithful may contain covert Jacobite symbolism and Silent Night is now UNESCO recognised.
Andrew Mayovskyy/Shutterstock

The story of Silent Night

The carol ‘Silent Night’ has been translated into 140 languages and renditions have been sung by everyone, from Bing Crosby to Chewbacca. This is the story behind its success.

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