Singing Christmas music is a big part of getting into the holiday spirit, and you don’t even have to leave your living room sofa to get into the spirit by singing a few Christmas carols. It’s a fun family tradition to start, and it doesn’t matter if you have any singing talent or not — all that matters is that you have fun! Why not try singing a few Christmas carols on Christmas Eve this year, and consider making it a part of your own family’s holiday traditions?
Another popular way of delivering Christmas greetings that’s steeped in just as much tradition is the annual sending of Christmas cards. Christmas cards were invented out of necessity, when it became too cumbersome to hand-write holiday greetings for everyone that you wanted to wish a Merry Christmas to. But how did they become so popular? Check out the Christmas Cards blog to find out the history behind this Christmas tradition.
Bells have become a fixture of traditional Christmas décor and Christmas music, with carols about bells, bells on gift wrap, gift bags, and ornaments, and bells used as Christmas decorations. But where did the use of all of these bells originate, and why have they become so synonymous with the Christmas season?
Many of our Christmas traditions seem to have originated with the pagans, and bells are no different. Pagans once used bells to make loud noises in order to keep evil spirits away at night, but eventually started using them as a way to celebrate, much in the way we do today. Churches would ring their bells to celebrate weddings and births, including Christmas.
Because musical instruments were so expensive, many people used bells as an alternative to make music. You could make them yourself or buy them cheaply, and use them to make beautiful music. Although most of the bells you would buy today to make music are just as expensive as musical instruments, the tradition of making music with bells continues today, especially around the Christmas season as we celebrate one very important birth.
If you’ve ever watched Ellen DeGeneres’ daytime talk show, you’re probably familiar with her crazy humor based on pranks. Last Christmas, Ellen and Britney Spears went out Christmas caroling in Los Angeles, offering to help people “decorate” their homes and bringing good cheer in the form of some Christmas caroling. This video is a great bit of lighthearted fun that’s sure to make you smile.
One of the most important parts of a Christmas caroling party is the sheet music. You could purchase sheet music from a music store, or you can download it for free online. The Christmas Music Blog has links to a few good sources for free Christmas sheet music downloads, so your carolers will always have the words and the tune close-at-hand.
If your family and friends are scattered across the country or even the world and you find yourself wishing you could show up at their door to sing a few Christmas carols, there may be an alternative. Much cheaper than hopping on a plane for an impromptu session of “Silent Night,” sound cards are becoming a popular greeting and could even be considered an easy way to “carol” this Christmas.
Hallmark currently has over two dozen Christmas cards with sound available for purchase on their web site, and that number will probably grow as Christmas gets closer. If you’re familiar with Hallmark’s cards with sound, you might already know that many of them play music, and the Christmas cards are no exception.
One card, which even has a customizable cover if you order it online, plays “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” and another plays “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Another card with a customizable front plays the classic religious carol “Silent Night.”
While it’s not quite the same as being there in person, Christmas cards with sound are still a fun way to send your holiday greetings.
If you miss young Christmas carolers coming door to door to sing your favorite Christmas songs, maybe this video will cheer you up. After all, what’s cuter than a bunch of elementary school kids belting out a Christmas tune?
If you’re hosting a Christmas caroling party, want to go out caroling with your family, or just love to sing Christmas music, you’ll love HolidaySheetMusic.net. This web site offers free PDF downloads of Christmas sheet music for dozens of Christmas carols that you can print out to sing or play on your favorite instrument.
If you’re interested in caroling this year or attending a Christmas caroling event, SingWeNow.com has a special page that can help you find a caroling event in your area. Their purpose in creating the web site was to bring people together as communities again, spreading the good news of Jesus’ birth and the warm greetings of the holiday season. Visit the SingWeNow of Christmas web site to search their database choral concerts and caroling events. This is a page you’ll want to bookmark if you love choral music and singing Christmas carols!
If your family went Christmas caroling when you were a child, that time spent out walking in the cold from house to house, bringing warmth and good cheer, is probably one of the things you remember most about Christmas. It’s important to create the same kinds of memories for your own children, so they can look back on holiday seasons past and remember what fun they had. The Christmas Memories blog has some excellent suggestions to get you started. What’s most important is making the most of your time together—and what better way is there to spend that time than making a tray of baked goodies to share while you tarry along from house to house, caroling to your neighbors?