British Christmas music

I suppose it's how I grew up - reading lots of British books and listening to very traditional music - but I've always had a love of the traditional British Christmas music. (Once in a while, the PBS channel whereever I am will show the "Program of Lessons and Carols" that is often done as a Christmastide service, and I try to watch it, because I love it. One year the church I belonged to did their Christmas Eve service that way).

It seems that a number of carols are named for British cathedral towns.

There's the minor-key Coventry carol, which apparently in its original text references the Slaughter of the Innocents (when Herod went mad and feared the "New King" who had been born, and so had all children under 2 killed...)



(I've also heard other texts set to this tune; one year the choir at my church did a song called "When Will Messiah Come?" set to this tune, and it worked very well)

But there's also the much more joyful Sussex carol, also known as "On Christmas Night, all Christians Sing."



There are also a lot of other carols that seem to be used in the services there, that are less commonly used here. "Once in Royal David's City" seems to be much more common in British services, and many carols used there (like "Away in a Manger") are set to different tunes than what Americans tend to be most familiar with.

Carols in Britain(with links to other traditions).

We may forget - I know I had forgotten - that in Cromwell's time, caroling and other celebrations of Christmas were banned (just as they were in Puritan Massachusetts here). Presumably, part of the ban was because people behaved too riotously - but also, the Puritans didn't celebrate because they said nowhere in the Bible is it said we should celebrate Christmas.

(I am glad times have changed!)

I also like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," which I always tend to associate with A Christmas Carol, because it was so often used in movies of that story.

Here's a slightly different version of it than what you might be used to.