The History of Christmas Music

Have you ever wondered where Christmas music came from? Would you believe that the first songs sung for Christmas were actually Latin hymns in the 4th century?! Early Christian Romans sang hymns such as “Jesus refulsit omnium” for their Latin Christmas services. Later, in the 12th century, Parisian monks adapted popular songs of the times by adding Christmas lyrics, thus creating the first carols. As the years went by, people like St. Francis of Assisi made carols more accessible by popularizing them in the people’s language.

In 1426, English people popularized caroling door-to-door, marking the start of a new tradition. Many famous classical composers wrote their own Christmas pieces to be performed in churches. One of the most famous Christmas tunes, “Silent Night,” was debuted in Austria in 1818, while “Jingle Bells” came along in 1857 under the name “One Horse Open Sleigh.” With the advent of radio and records, Christmas music began to be massively popularized. Today, artists debut new Christmas songs yearly, and our radios are full of countless classic songs that we can all sing along to.