By: Sarah Thomas

During Christmas, people usually sing Christmas songs. A few of the popular songs include “Silent Night”, “Joy to the World”, and “Jingle Bells”. Below are 5 Christmas songs and where they came from. 

Jingle Bells – “Jingle Bells” was composed in Medford, Massachusetts, by James Lord Pierpont(1822-1893). He was born in New England. James was a songwriter, composer, arranger, organist, and the Confederate States soldier. He wanted “Jingle Bells” to celebrate the town’s annual sleigh races. In fact, the song’s original title was “One Horse Open Sleigh”, before the people decided to call it “Jingle Bells” because of the refrain.  

Silent Night – Franz Xaver Gruber composed the melody of the song in 1818. Joseph Mohr, an Austrian priest, wrote the words “Silent Night”. The song was written after the Napoleonic Wars. It was originally written in German. Did you know that “Silent Night” has been translated into at least 300 languages?

Joy to the World – The words for “Joy to the World” were written by the English minister Issac Watts in 1719. It was inspired by Psalm 98 in the Bible. The message in Psalm 98 is to bring joy to all people. “Joy to the World” wanted the same message. That’s where the words to the song come from. 

We Wish You a Merry Christmas – It isn’t very clear when this traditional English Carol was written. All we know is that it was written in the 16th century. On Christmas Eve, Victorian children would sing the song from door to door. 

Deck the Halls – “Deck the Halls” is a traditional Christmas Carol that was written in 1862. Although this song has a Welsh melody, it was written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant. Did you know that some of the words in this song may come from medieval ballads?