Editing Christmas carol (section)

==By country==

===Australia, South Africa and New Zealand===
In Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, where it is the middle of summer at Christmas, there is a tradition of [[Carols by Candlelight]] concerts held outdoors at night in cities and towns across the country, during the weeks leading up to Christmas. First held in Melbourne, "Carols by Candlelight" is held each Christmas Eve in capital cities and many smaller cities and towns around Australia. Performers at the concerts include opera singers, [[musical theatre]] performers and [[popular music]] singers. People in the audience hold lit candles and join in singing some of the carols in accompaniment with the celebrities. Similar events are now held all over Australia, usually arranged by churches, municipal councils, or other community groups. They are normally held on Christmas Eve or the Sunday or weekend before Christmas. A similar recent trend in South Africa and New Zealand are for smaller towns to host their own Carols by Candlelight concerts.

[[William G. James|William Garnet "Billy" James]] (1892–1977) wrote music for Christmas carol lyrics written by John Wheeler (both men worked for the [[Australian Broadcasting Commission]]). These referred to the hot dry December of the Australian outback,<ref>[https://tww.id.au/christmas/drove.html "The Three Drovers"], Christmas in Australia, Tom Wills</ref> dancing [[brolga]]s (a native Australian crane),<ref>[http://ingeb.org/songs/outonthe.html " The Carol of the Birds"], ingeb.org</ref> and similar Australian features.

====Christmas music composed by Australians====
* 1852 Christmas Present Polka by John Howson<ref>{{Cite book | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/version/12406826 | title=The Christmas present polka| publisher=Sydney : J. Howson| year=1852}}</ref>
* 1862 Hymn for Christmas-Day by James Johnson<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/19830003|title=The first hymn for Christmas-Day : Hich let us swell our tuneful notes|first1=James|last1=Johnson|first2=Johann Nepomuk|last2=Degotardi|date=12 March 1862|publisher=Sydney : W.J. Johnson & Co|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1862 All My Heart This Night Rejoices by Charles E Horsley<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/18563631|title=All my heart this night rejoices : Christmas hymn|first=Charles Edward|last=Horsley|date=12 March 1862|publisher=Melbourne : C.E. Horsley|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1863 Australian Christmas Song by Ernesto Spagnoletti<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/28884269|title=Our Australian Christmas song|first=Ernesto|last=Spagnoletti|date=12 March 1863|publisher=Sydney : Alonzo Grocott|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1864 Christmas in Australia by George Tolhurst<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/21825167|title=Christmas in Australia : prize song|first1=George|last1=Tolhurst|first2=J. B.|last2=T|date=12 March 1864|publisher=Melbourne : Printed and published for the proprietors by Robert Stewart at the Herald Office|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1866 Victorian Christmas Waltz by Cesare Cutolo<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18560972|title=The Victorian Christmas waltz|first1=Cesare|last1=Cutolo|first2=F|last2=Grosse|date=12 March 1866|publisher=Melbourne : Ebenezer and David Syme|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1870 Christmas Anthem by Paolo Giorza<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/37837443|title=Jesu, Redemptor omnium : Christmas anthem|first=Paulo|last=Giorza|date=12 March 1888|publisher=New York : G. Schirmer|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1883 Song of the Angels by Charles Sandys Packer<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/9854361|title=The song of the angels|first1=Charles Sandys|last1=Packer|first2=C. G|last2=Röder|date=12 March 1883|publisher=Hobart : [[J. Walch & Sons]] |via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1890 Oh, lovely voices of the sky by Alfred Plumpton<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/20027162|title=Oh, lovely voices of the sky : hymn for Christmas|first1=Alfred|last1=Plumpton|last2=Hemans Mrs|date=12 March 1890|publisher=[Melbourne : David Syme & Co.]|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1899 While all things were in quiet silence by Henry John King<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/171071342|title=While all things were in quiet silence : anthem for Christmas|first1=Henry John|last1=King|first2=Australian Broadcasting|last2=Commission|first3=Symphony|last3=Australia|date=12 March 1899|publisher=[London] : Novello and Company|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1900 In the Cathedral by George S De Chaneet<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/17554339|title=In the cathedral : song|first1=G. S. de|last1=Chanéet|first2=Louis|last2=Voight|date=12 March 1898|publisher=London : Cary & Co|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1900 Yuletide Gavotte by John Albert Delaney<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/171071596|title=Yule-tide gavotte|first1=J. A.|last1=Delany|first2=Australian Broadcasting|last2=Commission|first3=Symphony|last3=Australia|date=12 March 2018|publisher=[n.p. : Paling & Co|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1908 Australian Christmas Carol by Joseph Summers<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/13568576|title=An Australian Christmas carol, for friends all over the globe|first=Joseph|last=Summers|date=12 March 2018|publisher=Perth : S. T. Upham|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1910 My Little Christmas Belle by Joe Slater<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/40132773|title=My little Christmas belle|first1=Joe|last1=Slater|first2=Ward|last2=McAlister|date=12 March 2018|publisher=Melbourne : published by A.M. Dinsdale by arrangement with Mr. Joe Slater|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1910 Star of the East by August Juncker<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/21149750|title=Star of the East|first1=Aug. W.|last1=Juncker|first2=W. R. Russell|last2=Rogers|date=12 March 1890|publisher=[North Sydney? : A.W. Juncker?|via=Trove}}</ref>
* 1929 The Night of Fear Is Over by Fritz Hart<ref>{{cite book|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/29031488|title=The night of fear is over : Christmas carol|first1=Fritz Bennicke|last1=Hart|first2=George E|last2=Aickin|date=12 March 2018|publisher=Melbourne : Allan & Co|via=Trove}}</ref>

===Canada===
The "[[Huron Carol]]" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian [[Christmas]] [[hymn]] (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by [[Jean de Brébeuf]], a [[Jesuit]] [[missionary]] at [[Sainte-Marie among the Hurons]] in Canada.<ref>{{cite book|author=McGee, Timothy J.|title=The Music of Canada|location=New York and London|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.|date=1985|page=[https://archive.org/details/musicofcanada0000mcge/page/13 13]|isbn=978-0-393-02279-7|edition=Cloth|url=https://archive.org/details/musicofcanada0000mcge/page/13}} {{ISBN|0-393-95376-9}}. (Paperback).</ref>

===Finland===
In accordance with a [[medieval]] tradition, the [[Christmas Peace]] is declared every year on [[Christmas Eve]] in [[Porvoo]], Finland, with a local band and male choir performing Christmas carols.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.porvoo.fi/joulurauha | title = Joulurauha | publisher = City of Porvoo | access-date = 12 March 2021 | language = fi}}</ref>

===France===
* In 1535, a 16th-century carol, "Ça, Bergers, assemblons nous", was sung aboard [[Jacques Cartier]]'s ship on Christmas Day.
* In 1554, a collection of French carols, ''La Grande Bible des Noëls'', was printed in Orléans.
* In 1703, another collection, ''Chants des Noëls Anciens et Modernes'', was printed by Christophe Ballard (1641–1715), in Paris.
* Dating from the 18th century, "[[Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes]]" (known as "Angels We Have Heard On High" in English) is another famous French carol.
* The 19th-century "Cantique de Noël" (also known as "Minuit, chrétiens", adapted as "[[O Holy Night]]" in English) is another classic.

"Dans cette étable" and "Venez Divin Messie" are also popular Christmas carols. Perhaps the best known traditional French carol, "[[Il est né, le divin Enfant]]", comes from the region of [[Provence]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ashley |first=Judith |date=1924 |title=Mediæval Christmas Carols |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/726261 |journal=Music & Letters |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=65–71 |doi=10.1093/ml/V.1.65 |jstor=726261 |issn=0027-4224}}</ref>

===Germany, Austria and Switzerland===
{{See also|List of Christmas carols#German}}
Some carols familiar in English are translations of German Christmas songs (''Weihnachtslieder''). Pastoral ''Weihnachtslieder'' are sometimes called ''Hirtenlieder'' ("shepherd songs"). [[Martin Luther]] wrote the carol "[[Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her]]", which can be acted as a play of the [[Nativity of Jesus|Christmas story]]. He also wrote "[[Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ]]" and "[[Christum wir sollen loben schon]]". The carol "[[Vom Himmel hoch, o Engel, kommt]]" was written by [[Friedrich Spee]] in 1622 to an older melody, a lullaby singing "of Jesus and Mary", and for peace.

Two well-known later examples are "[[O Tannenbaum]]" (O Christmas tree), from a German folksong arranged by [[Ernst Anschütz]] and "Stille Nacht" ("[[Silent Night]]") by the Austrians [[Franz Gruber (musician)|Franz Xaver Gruber]] and [[Joseph Mohr]]. The carol most familiar in German besides those two is probably the 19th-century "[[O du fröhliche]]".

Other popular and widely sung Christmas carols are "Herbei, o ihr Gläub’gen", which is a German version of "Adeste fideles" (English: "[[O Come, All Ye Faithful]]"), [[Alle Jahre wieder]] ("Every year again"), [[Es ist ein Ros entsprungen]] (lit: "A rose has sprung up"), "[[Leise rieselt der Schnee]]" "(Silently the snow is falling)", "[[Tochter Zion, freue dich]]" (Daughter Zion, rejoice) and "[[Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen]]" ("Unto us a time has come").

"[[Lasst uns froh und munter sein]]" ("Let us be happy and cheerful"), "[[Kling Glöckchen|Kling, Glöckchen]]", ("Ring, Little Bell"), "[[Ihr Kinderlein, kommet]]" ("Oh, come, little children") and "[[Schneeflöckchen, Weißröckchen]]" (lit.: "tiny snowflake, white, tiny skirt") are popular German songs introduced in [[Kindergarten]] and [[primary school]]. [[Ingeborg Weber-Kellermann]] wrote a scientific book on German Christmas carols which is also a song book.

===Greece and Cyprus<!--'Kalanta' and 'Kalanda' redirect here-->===
[[File:Lytras Nikiforos Carols.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Nikiphoros Lytras]], ''Carols'', 1872]]
{{redirect|Kalanta|the EP by Despina Vandi|Kalanta (EP)}}

====Custom====
Greek tradition calls for children to go out with [[Triangle (musical instrument)|triangles]] from house to house on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]] Eve, and sing the corresponding folk carols, called the '''Kalanta'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> or '''Kalanda'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> or [[Kalanta Christougenon]], the word deriving from the Roman [[calends]]). There are separate carols for each of the three great feasts, referring respectively to the [[Nativity of Jesus|Nativity]], to [[St. Basil]] and the New Year, and to the [[Baptism of Jesus]] in the [[River Jordan]], along with wishes for the household. In addition to the carols for the [[Twelve Days of Christmas#Eastern Christianity|winter festive season]], there are also the springtime or [[Lent]]en carols, commonly called the "Carols of [[Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]]", sung on the [[Lazarus Saturday|Saturday before Palm Sunday]] as a harbinger of the [[Resurrection of Christ]] to be celebrated a week later.

In older times, caroling children asked for and were given edible gifts such as dried fruit, eggs, nuts or sweets; during the 20th century this was gradually replaced with money gifts – ranging from small change in the case of strangers to considerable amounts in the case of close relatives. Caroling is also done by marching bands, choirs, school students seeking to raise funds for trips or charity, members of folk societies, or merely by groups of well-wishers. Many internationally known carols, e.g. "[[Silent Night]]" and "[[O Tannenbaum]]", are also sung in Greek translation.

====Variants====
Many carols are regional, being popular in specific regions but unknown in others, whereas some are popular throughout the two countries. Examples of the latter are the [[Peloponnese|Peloponnesian]] Christmas carol "Christoúgenna, Prōtoúgenna" ("Christmas, Firstmas"), the [[Constantinople|Constantinopolitan]] Christmas carol "Kalēn hespéran, árchontes" ("Good evening, lords"), and the New Year's carol "Archimēniá ki archichroniá" ("First of the month, first of the year"). The oldest known carol, commonly referred to as the [[:s:el:Κάλαντα "βυζαντινά" (Κοτυώρων Πόντου)|"Byzantine Carol"]] ([[Byzantine Greek]]: Άναρχος θεός καταβέβηκεν, ''Ánarkhos Theós katabébēken'', "God, who has no beginning, descended"), is linguistically dated to the beginning of the [[High Middle Ages]], ''ca.'' 1000 AD; it is traditionally associated with the city of [[Kotyora]] in the [[Pontus (region)|Pontos]] (modern-day [[Ordu]], Turkey).

====Form====
Most carols follow a more or less standard format: they begin by exalting the relevant religious feast, then proceed to offer praises for the lord and lady of the house, their children, the household and its personnel, and usually conclude with a polite request for a treat, and a promise to come back next year for more well-wishing. Almost all the various carols are in the common [[dekapentasyllabos]] (15-syllable [[Iamb (foot)|iamb]] with a [[caesura]] after the 8th syllable) verse, which means that their wording and tunes are easily interchangeable. This has given rise to a great number of local variants, parts of which often overlap or resemble one another in verse, tune, or both. Nevertheless, their musical variety remains very wide overall: for example [[Polyphonic song of Epirus|carols]] from [[Epirus]] are strictly [[pentatonic]], in the kind of [[Drone (music)|drone]] [[polyphony]] practised in the [[Polyphony#Balkan region|Balkans]], and accompanied by C-[[clarinet]]s and [[fiddle]]s; just across the straits, on [[Corfu]] Island, the style is [[Musical temperament|tempered]] harmonic polyphony, accompanied by [[mandolin]]s and guitars. Generally speaking, the musical style of each carol closely follows the secular music tradition of each region.

===Italy===
The most popular Italian Christmas carol is "[[Tu scendi dalle stelle]]", written in 1732 by Saint [[Alphonsus Liguori]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=[[Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani]]|volume=2|year=1960|publisher=[[Treccani]]|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/alfonso-maria-de-liguori-santo_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/|title=Alfonso Maria de Liguori, santo|author=[[Giuseppe Cacciatore]]}}</ref>

===Philippines===
{{main|List of Filipino Christmas carols}}
Christmas carols in predominantly [[Catholic Church in the Philippines|Catholic]] Philippines exhibit the influence of indigenous, Hispanic and American musical traditions, reflecting the country's complex [[History of the Philippines|history]]. Carollers ({{langx|tl|Namamaskô}}) begin wassailing in November, with mostly children and young adults participating in the custom.

===Poland===
Christmas carols are very popular in Poland, where they have a long history, the oldest dating to the 15th century or earlier.<ref>{{in lang|pl}} Roman Mazurkiewicz, [http://www.staropolska.pl/barok/opracowania/koledy.html Z dziejów polskiej kolędy]</ref> There is a tradition of singing Christmas carols until 2 February which is celebrated by western Christians as the Feast of the [[Presentation of Jesus at the Temple]].{{citation needed|date=November 2017}} Among the most prominent Polish carols are [[God Is Born]] (''Bóg się rodzi'') and [[Wśród nocnej ciszy|Midst Quiet Night]] (''Wśród nocnej ciszy'').

===Romania===
During the [[Socialist Republic of Romania]] in the 20th century, Christmas carols were banned by the government of [[Nicolae Ceausescu|Ceausescu]]. Days following the [[Romanian Revolution]] in 1989, Christmas carols were sung for the first time in 42 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/d8bea5620ba5534ab167eedca373c283|title=More Scattered Fighting; 80,000 Reported Dead|website=AP NEWS|accessdate=1 March 2022}}</ref>

===Spain and Portugal===
The ''[[villancico]]'' (or ''vilancete'' in Portuguese) was a common poetic and musical form of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and Latin America popular from the late 15th to 18th centuries. With the decline in popularity of the villancicos in the 20th century, the term became reduced to mean merely "Christmas carol". Important composers of villancicos were [[Juan del Encina]], [[Pedro de Escobar]], Francisco Guerrero, Gaspar Fernandes and Juan Gutiérez de Padilla. Popular Spanish villancicos include "Los pastores a Belén" and "[[Riu Riu Chiu|Riu, riu, chiu: El lobo rabioso]]" and "Los peces en el río".

====Andorra and Catalan-speaking territories====
The ''Nadala'' or ''Cançó de Nadal'' (in plural ''nadales'') are a popular group of songs, usually requiring a chorus, that are song from [[Advent]] until [[Epiphany (holiday)|Epiphany]]. Their written versions starts in the 15th century. In the past were usually being song by [[shepherds]] and their families in market squares and in front of churches.

The ''Nadala'' origins are uncertain but usually cited to be related with the [[Montseny]] and [[Pedraforca]] mountains in [[Catalonia]] (by the counties of [[County of Urgell|Osona]] and [[County of Cerdanya|Girona]]). As quite a few have references to mythological events and powers, some authors claim that they contain part of the religion that was present in the territory before [[Christianity]] arrived as it was kept alive in these mountainous regions.

The ''nadala'' is usually paired with the ''caramella'', being one for the [[winter solstice]] events while the other to the [[spring equinox (Northern Hemisphere)|spring equinox]].

===Ukraine===
Ukrainian Christmas carols are named [[kolyadka]] ({{langx|uk|колядки}}).<ref name="Encyclopedia of Ukraine">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/pages%5CK%5CO%5CKoliadaIT.htm|title=Koliada|website=www.encyclopediaofukraine.com}}</ref> They were originally sung to celebrate the birth of the Sun (winter solstice).<ref>{{in lang|uk}} ''{{ill|Український пасічник|uk}}'' [''Ukrainian Beekeeper'']. volume VII, no. 1, January 1934, p. С. 1.{{full citation needed|date=March 2021|reason=Article title? Author?}}</ref> After the incorporation into Christianity, their theme has been shifted to Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

The Ukrainian carol most known in the [[Western Hemisphere|Western world]] is the "[[Carol of the Bells]]", with English lyrics by the American composer of Ukrainian descent [[Peter Wilhousky|Peter J. Wilhousky]], composed by the Ukrainian composer [[Mykola Leontovych]] as "[[Shchedryk (song)|Shchedryk]]", and premiered in December 1916 by a choral group made up of students at [[Kyiv University]]. Although it is a Christmas carol in Wilhousky's English lyrics, in original Ukrainian lyrics it is a [[Generous Eve]] carol ({{ill|shchedrivka|uk|Щедрівка}}, {{langx|uk|щедрівка|link=no}}), having nothing with Christianity.

===United States===
Christmas music performed in the United States ranges from popular songs, such as "[[Jingle Bells]]", to Christmas carols, such as "[[Away in a Manger]]", "[[O Little Town of Bethlehem]]", and numerous others of varying genres. Church and college choirs celebrate with special programs and online recordings.