Changes

*They are generally simple of melody and are phrased in the vernacular. There will be some [[Latin]] phrases (e.g. ''In Dulce Jubilo'' – this type of multi language song is described as “macaronic”) but normally both text and music have been designed for the amateur. (The fact that various carols have received attention from some of the greatest composers does not alter the original intention but reinforces the tune’s underlying quality.)

*They are generally simple of melody and are phrased in the vernacular. There will be some [[Latin]] phrases (e.g. ''In Dulce Jubilo'' – this type of multi language song is described as “macaronic”) but normally both text and music have been designed for the amateur. (The fact that various carols have received attention from some of the greatest composers does not alter the original intention but reinforces the tune’s underlying quality.)

*They are frequently bucolic – most of the older ones hark back to a time of rural domination – when life – lived predominantly in the countryside or village - was ruled by the seasons and  the birth of Jesus, three days after the winter solstice, was seen in the context of the  old winter festival. Many carols are full of references to the countryside and the season and plants that were far more familiar than they are today. The familiar ''The Holy and the Ivy'' for instance, appeared on a broadsheet dated 1710 but waited 200 years to BE “collected” by [[Cecil Sharp]] from a [[Gloucestershire]] folk-singer. Yet this favourite carol has interwoven strands of the Christmas story, the pagan Celtic yuletide, ancient symbolism, all in a catchy dance-rhythmic melody that may be millennia old.

*They are frequently bucolic – most of the older ones hark back to a time of rural domination – when life – lived predominantly in the countryside or village - was ruled by the seasons and  the birth of Jesus, three days after the winter solstice, was seen in the context of the  old winter festival. Many carols are full of references to the countryside and the season and plants that were far more familiar than they are today. The familiar ''The Holy and the Ivy'' for instance, appeared on a broadsheet dated 1710 but waited 200 years to be “collected” by [[Cecil Sharp]] from a [[Gloucestershire]] folk-singer. Yet this favourite carol has interwoven strands of the Christmas story, the pagan Celtic yuletide, ancient symbolism, all in a catchy dance-rhythmic melody that may be millennia old.

*Above all, the carols that have lasted, like the better folksongs, (and hymns) are singable. They are easy to remember, rarely too high for the male voice nor too low for the female. Even if a good carol has never been heard before, each note seems to follow the others so naturally that, by the beginning of  third verse, the most amateur of us are familiar with it.

*Above all, the carols that have lasted, like the better folksongs, (and hymns) are singable. They are easy to remember, rarely too high for the male voice nor too low for the female. Even if a good carol has never been heard before, each note seems to follow the others so naturally that, by the beginning of  third verse, the most amateur of us are familiar with it.