Editing Christmas music (section)

===Early music===
[[File:Pipetaborchristmasminstrel.png|right|upright|thumb|A Christmas minstrel playing pipe and tabor]]
Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th-century [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], in Latin-language [[hymn]]s such as ''[[Veni redemptor gentium]]''.<ref>Miles, Clement, ''Christmas customs and traditions'', Courier Dover Publications, 1976, {{ISBN|0-486-23354-5}}, p. 32</ref> By the 13th century, under the influence of [[Francis of Assisi]], the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed.<ref>Miles, pp. 31–37</ref> Christmas carols in the English language first appear in a 1426 work of [[John Awdlay]], an English chaplain, who lists twenty five "''caroles of Cristemas''", probably sung by groups of [[wassailers]] who would travel from house to house.<ref>Miles, pp. 47–48</ref> In the 16th and 17th century, various Christmas carols still sung to this day, including "[[God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]" (earliest extant version dates to the 1650s) and "[[Ríu Ríu Chíu]]" (first published no later than 1556), first emerged.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Moore |first=Kimberly |date=November 29, 2011 |title=A Brief History of Holiday Music |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-musical-self/201111/brief-history-holiday-music-3-part-series |magazine=Psychology Today |access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

Music was an early feature of the [[Christmastide|Christmas season]] and its celebrations. The earliest examples are hymnographic works ([[chant]]s and [[litanies]]) intended for liturgical use in observance of both the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany, many of which are still in use by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The 13th century saw the rise of the [[Christmas carol|carol]] written in the vernacular, under the influence of [[Francis of Assisi]].

In the [[Middle Ages]], the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is treated in a style that is familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England. Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of [[John Audelay]], a [[Shropshire]] priest and poet, who lists 25 "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of [[wassailers]], who went from house to house.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miles |first=Clement |url=https://archive.org/details/christmascustoms0000mile/page/47 |title=Christmas customs and traditions |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-486-23354-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/christmascustoms0000mile/page/47 47–48]}}</ref> Music in itself soon became one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and Christmas music includes some of the noblest compositions of the great musicians. [[Martin Luther]], the father of [[Lutheran Christianity]], encouraged congregational singing during the [[Mass (liturgy)#Lutheranism|Mass]], in addition to spreading the practice of caroling outside the liturgy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clancy |first1=Ronald M. |title=Sacred Christmas Music: The Stories Behind the Most Beloved Songs of Devotion |date=2008 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-4027-5811-9 |page=40 |language=en |quote=Luther sought reforms in music, as he sought change in theology, ethics, ritual, and art. He loved polyphony and wanted music that moved people by fusing faith and song. He encouraged a greater participation by the congregation in singing, and he simplified the music from choir plainsong to easy harmony … Luther published hundreds of hymn texts to be sung to popular melodies and simple chants. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Reformation extended the range of religious choral music beyond the liturgy, and the informal group singing of songs was highly encouraged, leading to a greater familiarity with Christmas hymns.}}</ref>