“It is most remarkable”, declares an aghast J.R. Planché in his ‘Cyclopædia of costume’ (1876 – 1879, rf GT510.P5), “that these most graceful and effective ornaments appeared to have been utterly ignored by all races…
Reving up at the starting line of the whacky-carol races is this bawdy drinking song, titled simply “Old Norman Carol”. Included in the collection by W.T. Stead, the editor does not give us any further context for…
Taken from a late-fifteenth century book of hours, this beautiful illustration shows the annunciation, the scene recounted in the gospel of Luke when Mary is visited by an angel and told she would give birth to God…
For our next contender in the oddball category, we return, again, to the marvellous world of Sloane ms 2593, and its store of alternative carols. In this instance, that store should perhaps be a grain-store, for…
In Scotland, at least, ‘tis the season of all things wool – woolly sweaters, hats and gloves, to keep the chill at bay, and this carol, “The Shepheards song: a caroll or hymne for Christmas” (author Edmund Bolton,…
Today’s pick is another plucked from the basket of oddball carols. To the modern layperson’s ear, “Mary and the cherries” does not immediately conjure up any of well-known stories of the season. Donkey, oxen and manger…
While at times – especially in the depths of December – the small City of St Andrews can feel very far from the centre of the universe, academic exploration in this corner of Fife has long contributed to our knowledge…
The twelfth-night tradition of wassailing, either awakening orchard trees with singing and cider or roving groups of wassail-singers visiting homes, is a custom associated with the south-west of England. Yet in recent…
Many of us will feast on turkey this festive season, which may even be followed by a family favourite animation featuring a rubber-glove-combed penguin. So, while it doesn’t sound a jot like “Deck the Halls”, this wee…
Taken from a medieval source, this carol transcribed by Thomas Wright has many of the hallmarks of the seasonal songs we still sing today: In wynter quan the frost hym fres, A power beddyng our Lord hym ches; Betwyin…