From Pagan rituals of singing and dancing their way through the longest night of the year, we explore the history of Christmas caroling in the Commonwealth.

 

Have you seen three ships? The boys of Montreal's Architek Percussion certainly did!

 

 

There was a while there that caroling was dubbed the stuff of heathens; the Catholic church's medieval prohibition of merry-making of any sort (especially singing) only gave way to celebratory song of sacred nature when the piously festive Franciscans made their way to the UK in the 14th century.

 

But how did we get to Jingle Bells?

 

 

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, ladies and gentlemen.

 

From the divine to the jovial to the scandalous and politically charged; composer Howard Goodall takes us through the evolution of this holiday tradition in BBC's The Truth About Christmas Carols.

 

 

And as a special bonus: Bing Crosby and David Bowie

 

 

Tune in every Wednesday for new episodes of Mid-week Musicology here on Classic107.com!