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The Carols
and
Customs
of Christmas
BY THE COUNTRY MOUSE
We have all grown up on the story of the
First Christmas as found in the New
Testament - the Shepherds, Angels, Joseph,
Mary and the Babe in the second chapter of
Luke; and the coming of the Magi or Wise
Men in the second chapter of Matthew, which
we now celebrate as the Epiphany on J anuary
6th. But if you had been a Canadian Indian in
the 1600's, how much of this would you have
understood? Nothing. Because you would
have been ignorant of nearly every word in
the story.
Father Brebeuf realized this and wrote the
story in the Huron language, and set it to' a
French tune - the first Canadian Carol. We
know it as the Huron Carol in the English
translation, using Citche Manitou for God,
hunters for shepherds, bark lodge for stable,
rabbit skin for swaddling clothes, chiefs for
wise men or kings and beaver pelts for gold,
frankincense and myrrh. The Angels' song
was the very first Carol, and the gifts were
probably the origin of our custom of
gift -giving.
Originally the word Carol was associated
with dancing, and the songs may have
provided the music for the dances of the poor
people. Although we think of Carols only at
Christmas, there are Carols for every time of
the 'year and every occasion and' festival.
Many Christmas Carols have Latin words
mixed in with the English or vernacular of the
country. The most common Latin words are
'Gloria in Excelsis Deo, et in terra pax,
hominibus', which is the Angels' song. Carols
which have two languages are known as
macaronic - (yes, M -A -C -A -R -O -N -I -C)
Carols. Carols are found in nearly all
European countries as I have found out in a
very interesting way. I have a number of
piano pupils whose parents are New
Canadians and have brought many carols and
customs with them. As part of a Christmas
Project, the children are asked to sing a Carol
of the homeland in that language. Last year, a
Finnish girl read in Finnish, the story from
Luke, and a poem about the forest animals at
Christmas. That was special.
The Traditional Carols often evolved
among the folk or people rather than as
formal compositions. There are also manyh
Modern Carols and Christmas Hymns. You
will find all kinds of Sacred character in the
Hymn Books and on recordings.
Curiously, there seem to be very few
Scottish Carols.
Almost the favourite and most wonderful
Christmas music is The Messiah by Handel.
It is given sometime in the Christmas season
in many towns and cities. An interesting
evening in Massey Hall in Toronto is the
VILLAGE SQUIRE/DECEMBER 1975, 23