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Even many of the carols sung during the Christmas season have a pagan flair to them. The word "carol" comes from an old French word, "carole". It is a dance with a song--the kind sung on any merrymaking occasion.
Carols entered the religious arena only in the 14th century, and assumed tremendous popularity in the next 200 years. The Puritans, appalled at the adaptation of pagan symbols into the church, suppressed them; but later, in the Victorian era, there was a move to dredge up old traditions, and a revival of carol singing took place.
The earliest printed collection of carols is claimed to have been made by Wynkyn de Worde in 1521. The "Boar's Head Carol", a song dance adapted from the Scandinavian festival of Yule, was included in this collection.
The popular carol "The Holly and the Ivy" is chock full of pagan symbolism. Margaret Baker, in Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore, says holly was considered to be a symbol for men, perhaps because of its prickly leaves. Ivy, on the other hand, seems to have been a feminine symbol. Both signified fertility when men and women sang and danced together in a mating ritual during pre-Christian times.
Fortunately, many well-known and popular carols written more recently convey a truer version of the Christmas message. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" was written by Nahum Tate about 1700. The British evangelist and hymnwriter Charles Wesley composed "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". "0 Little Town of Bethlehem" was written for a Sunday school class by Bishop Phillips Brooks in the 19th century.
ASHA JOHN LIVES IN KESAVADASAPURAM, TRIVANDRUM, INDIA.
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