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Merry Christmas!

From the Latin natalis, meaning birth, Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus in the Christian faith. The holiday’s origins are also connected to the pagan festivities of the winter solstice, which celebrated the return of the sun and of longer stretches of daylight. Many luminous symbols – candles, a blaze in the fireplace, light garlands – remind us of this worship of the sun.

The tradition of celebrating the Christ’s birth on Christmas dates back to the 9^th century, many centuries after the beginnings of Christianity. The holiday is celebrated in Canada since the first European settlers arrived in New France.

In the past, the four weeks preceding Christmas, called Advent, were also very important. Nicknamed the “little Lent”, Advent is seen as a time of spiritual preparation for the coming of Jesus. Emphasis is put on prayer and penance, before the celebrations begin. Nowadays, this custom has all but disappeared, replaced by all the material trappings associated with the holiday. In fact, Christmas is now a family holiday more than a religious one.

Christmas Songs

Many of these songs bring to mind the holiday’s religious nature and can be heard during Midnight Mass. The famous French hymn Minuit, Chrétiens (Midnight, Christians), sung by the best cantor in the parish, officially launches the festivities. Among other French carols are Il est né le divin enfant (He Is Born, the Divine Child), Venez Divin Messie (Come, divine Messiah), Les anges dans nos campagnes (Angels in the Countryside), Sainte nuit (Holy Night), Nouvelle agréable ! (Great News !), Ça berger (The Shepherd), just to name a few songs that celebrate the Christ’s birth by recalling different aspects of the biblical tale.

A Christmas songbook is also filled with secular airs. These songs talk about the beauty of the winter season or evoke its leisure activities. They also talk of family celebrations and festive traditions besides those having to do with the Nativity. As early as the beginning of November, radio stations begin an uninterrupted broadcast of titles like O Christmas Tree¸ Sleigh Ride, Little Drummer Boy, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, Let It Snow, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and so on, in multiple versions.