Is it a carol, a hymn, or both?

Hymn singing, as part of the Christmas festivities, appears to have started during the fourth century, probably around AD 336, when the Pope nominated December 25 as the birthday of Christ, with the visit of the three wise men being celebrated 12 days later. It seems there was a good deal of competition among the poets of the time to produce hymns for the celebrations and the first to do so was the Bishop of Milan, St Ambrose. He wrote a Christmas hymn (not a carol) and it was called Veni Redemptor gentium (Redeemer of the Nations, Come).

About the same time, another poet called Prudentius wrote Corde natus ex Parentis (Of the Father's Love Begotten) and these are generally regarded as the two first Christmas hymns. They were sung in England until the Reformation, after which the new Church of England could not find suitable translations into English, but these hymns have been sung in Catholic churches around the world for more than 1,600 years.

Collections of Christmas music later grew to include songs known variously as carols, hymns, pious ballads, festive songs and spiritual canticles, but while a hymn was a devotional song, the term carol really meant a dance in which the performers formed a ring while they sang - and it had little or nothing to do with religion.

In the twelfth century, however, carols had developed into cheerful drinking songs and there is on record a carol, written during the twelfth century in Anglo-Norman dialect - and this one mentions Christmas.

One of the lines from the song reads Lordings, Christmas loves good drinking and because Christmas was regarded as a time of great rejoicing, it seemed sensible to sing songs and dance dances which incorporated both the religious element and the cheerfulness of the occasion.

The original carols were, therefore, happy drinking songs which included dances, but in time the dance element disappeared to leave only the singing, with or without any particular religious aspect.

It was during this development, and coincidentally with a revival of religious fervour, that another saint enters the story. He was St Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) and although he is not known to have written hymns or carols, he did generate a new enthusiasm for religion among ordinary people. One of his techniques was to portray Christ in a friendly way, rather than showing him as a judge of mankind or a king to be feared; Francis called him the little brother of mankind, or the Child Jesus.

This led to a whole new type of music when composers wrote cheerful hymns based on the gospels, and very soon the Italian people and orders of monks were singing praises to the child who was born in Bethlehem.

A Franciscan monk, Jacopo da Todi, who lived in the thirteenth century, began to write happy church music - he is the composer of two hymns which begin with the words "Stabat Mater," and although he did not write carols as such, his cheerful approach led to songs about the holy child being born in Bethlehem. One Italian carol begins In Bethlehem is born the Holy Child, On hay and straw in the winter mild and this soon spread to Spain, France and Germany.

The first English carol was probably written around AD 1410 and this tells of the Virgin Mary, A maiden mother meek and mild, singing a lullaby to her child. It seems that wandering minstrels would sing cheerful songs about the birth of Christ but few of these were committed to writing but a manuscript dating to the sixteenth century, and thought to have been used by a minstrel, does contain many carols which were sung at Christmas. They told the familiar story of Joseph and Mary at the inn, of oxen and asses in the stable, of the annunciation by an angel and the visit by three wise men, usually portrayed as kings.

Quite often, these carols were sung during Twelfth Night celebrations rather than during mass in church at Christmas.

Some of the Elizabethan poets wrote carols, usually of a serious nature instead of the happy drinking-dancing type but when Puritanism arrived with Oliver Cromwell, the singing of carols was prohibited in this country. After the restoration of the monarchy, however, happiness returned to our country and although there were lots of drinking songs, few carols were sung. Ballad singers and poets, however, began to produce what became known as "Godly ballads" about the life and childhood of Christ and some of these have developed into what we now call carols.

Perhaps the best known is by the Irish poet Nahum Tate (1652-1715).

Although he wrote it as a poem - his best known poem, in fact - it has become one of our most popular and best-known carols. It is While Shepherds Watched their Flocks by Night. Some experts say this is not really a carol but a pious ballad, others say it is not a carol because it does not feature dancing and yet others maintain it lacks the festive element. In spite of all this, it has become one of our best known and most often sung carols.

This was followed by more of our favourites, albeit not written by Tate - Hark the Herald Angels Sing, It came upon the midnight clear, Christians awake and many more. It does seem, however, that these did not replace the hymns usually sung during mass; rather, they were an adjunct to the actual service sometimes being sung beforehand and sometimes afterwards, but often not within the church.

There is an account of King Henry VII during the third year of his reign (1487). After Christmas, which he had spent at Greenwich, he celebrated Twelfth Night by attending high mass, and then went into the great hall for a meal at the big table. After the first course, the king was then entertained by carols.

It seems to have been the custom for carols to be sung in the streets or at particular places like the market cross; the singers might be the choirs from the parish churches or bands of people who liked nothing better than to sing. One old report, from the eighteenth century, speaks of carol singers touring the houses between 7pm and midnight on Christmas Eve to sing merrily, but during the intervals "devoting themselves to the consumption of hot cakes and ale or cider."

From this, there has developed the current custom of carol singers touring the houses at some stage of the Christmas period, to sing merrily while raising funds for charity, but also partaking of what we now term a little tot of Christmas cheer.

If New Labour (the new Puritans perhaps?) has its way, however, this practice might disappear - it seems that, in future, our traditional carol singers will require a licence if they sing in public places. Yet another attack on our rural way of life?

Speaking of rural life, I have received a splendid book entitled Oswaldkirk - a Living Village, which has been produced as a community project by the Oswaldkirk Parish History Group. Oswaldkirk lies along the southern edge of the North York Moors, literally on the eastern tip of the most southerly part of that national park.

The cover illustration portrays its wonderful situation below the tree-topped Hag, thus affording protection from the northerly winds and weather while basking in the sunshine to the south.

I have particular interest in Oswaldkirk because I was its village bobby between 1964-67 and but this book does not seek to be a history. Instead, it portrays Oswaldkirk as it is now with contributions from residents, old and young alike, amply supported by atmospheric photographs.

I was very pleased to read accounts by the young people, so often ignored in ventures of this kind. It is a fascinating, lively and well-produced book which is an invaluable addition to our knowledge of the area. Anyone wanting a copy can contact Helen Goodman on 01439 788401