"Sing choirs of angels, sing in exultation!"

A Very Vintage Christmas post #9

Today is December 20th, which means the final countdown is finally on with only 5 days to go until Christmas. I don't know about you, but I'm ecstatic that it's almost here, yet also sad that the Christmas season is passing so quickly.

Anyways, to business...

Today is also a Thursday, which means it is also time for another classic Christmas song.

"O come, all ye faithful,

Joyful and triumphant

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem

Come and behold Him

Born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

O sing, choirs of angels,

Sing in exultation.

Sing all that hear in heaven, God's holy word.

Give to our Father glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

All hail!Lord, we greet Thee,

Born this happy morning!

O, Jesus, for evermore be Thy name adored!

Word of the Father now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!"

O Come All Ye Faithful is a very old English hymn that was originally written and sung in Latin, known by the title of Adeste Fideles. It was translated in the 1700s, and through various translations a verse that has been made official and recorded reads:

"God of God,

Light of Light,

Lo, He abhors not the Virgin's womb;

Very God,

Begotten not created."

Not every artist sings all the verses or sings them in the same way, just as with other songs; regardless, the song is still widely recorded and sung by scores of musical artists today.

In 1948, Frank Sinatra released his album Christmas Songs by Sinatra. On the album, he had the song Adeste Fideles, but he sang the English translation even though he used the Latin title of the song.

Although I adore Frank Sinatra and this blog concentrates on such vintage and classical things, I have to put in a good word for my man with the voice of an angel, Josh Groban. On his Christmas album Noel, he has an absolutely gorgeous and killer version of O Come All Ye Faithful, so if you'd like to give it a listen as well, click on this link:

Josh Groban-"O Come All Ye Faithful"

Our countdown is getting smaller every day but we've still got some Christmas magic up our sleeves, so be sure to come back this Saturday, December 22, for another classic holiday movie post, which ties in with TCM's Star of the Month.

Until next time, have a very merry and A Very Vintage Christmas!

"Caroling, caroling through the snow, Christmas bells are ringing..."

A Very Vintage Christmas post #8

Today is (already) the 16th of December...

Do you realize what this means?It means it is only NINE days until Christmas.

We're down to single digits,people!

Christmas caroling!

A lot of people traditionally do this during the Christmas holidays, whether you do it as a part of a church group, or you just do it with family and friends.

I have some memories of Christmas caroling with my grandpa's church when I was a youngster in elementary school. And, in much more recent times, I have a group of friends that gets together shortly before Christmas, watches the movie White Christmas, and then goes Christmas caroling to the surrounding houses in the neighborhood.

But have you ever wondered exactly where the idea of Christmas caroling came from? Or maybe wondered how long it has been around? Well if you ironically happened to be wondering about those two exact questions, then you've come to the right place because that is exactly what today's post is about!

The word "carol" comes from a word that means to dance or sing songs of joy. "Carols," or traditional songs date back centuries, to celebrations of the Winter Solstice. As time went on, more carols were used for all the seasons, including spring and summer, although only winter carols really survived the test of time.

When the early church began to make efforts to replace the Winter Solstice with the Christmas holiday, special carols for masses and celebratory services were written. However, the common people got tired of them fairly quickly because they could not understand them since they were written and sung in Latin. So, the use of Christmas carols was put on the back burner, so to speak.

The celebrated monk, Francis of Assisi, began bringing back the use of Christmas carols during his nativity plays, and they became much more appealing to the people in the audience because he made an effort to have them sung in their native language. This practice caught on and quickly spread all over Europe.

It was during the Middle ages that the idea of public caroling as we know it today was started. Minstrels would travel through the streets during the Christmas season, especially on Christmas Eve, and sing carols for others enjoyment. Eventually, the use of carols temporarily died out once again during the 1600s, when Oliver Cromwell rose to power. Yet even though they were not sung in public anymore, many people still privately used them in their homes, so they were not entirely forgotten. They began to come back into use during the Victorian Era.

Naturally, when settlers came to America, they brought their tradition of Christmas carols with them and turned it into their very own tradition, until it grew into the modern idea of Christmas caroling that we have today.

So, if you enjoy Christmas caroling then maybe this will fascinate you the next time you do it. If you've never been Christmas caroling, perhaps it will inspire you to do so. Either way, I hope that you have enjoyed this little throwback on an old Christmas tradition.

That's it for today!

Check back with us on Thursday, December 20th, for another classic Christmas song.

Who knows, maybe you could add it to your list of songs to use when you go caroling.

Until then, have A Very Vintage Christmas!