It is time to sing Christmas carols

Christmas is celebrated by millions across the globe. In every festival, music is an integral part of the celebrations. Christmas carols are sung on the eve of Christmas in churches and on the streets. Several popular singers like Mariah Carey, Bruce Springsteen, John Lennon also sing songs for the occasion. Fans love their songs as each is different from the other.

Songs like ‘Jingle bells’, ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ and others are sung in different versions. Christmas carols use hymns and chants also. Use of electronic and traditional musical instruments is common.  Some of the commonly used instruments are electronic keyboards, cymbals and others. The history of music during Christmas saw changes according to time. In ancient England, singing on the eve of Christmas was banned by Protestants because they considered it sinful. The times have changed, and now the festival is synonymous with music.

Jim Reeves, a popular American country singer and song-writer, sang and wrote several songs on Christmas, and is considered one of the most prolific Christmas carol singers of all time. He was one of the few singers whose songs topped the United States Christmas carols charts several years after his death. Some of the memorable numbers sung by him are ‘Jingle Bells’, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’, etc. to name a few.

Christmas carols give a sense of happiness to the listeners. In many western countries, music is played in shopping malls, and other places frequented by shoppers for Christmas shopping during the holiday season. Christmas is also the time for new music and movie releases. Special countdown lists are compiled by popular music channels, web sites and television channels before the occasion.

In India, Christmas carols are commonly sung by popular singers, church choir groups and members of the YMCA. A notable Hindi number called ‘Khush Ho Khudawand Aaya Hai’ was sung by a choir group of YMCA, New Delhi, which can be viewed on Youtube. Since, Christmas is the time to celebrate the teachings of Jesus Christ, several gospels from the Bible are also sung by popular singers on that day as well.