Steve Webb  0:02  
It's day 22 of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring White Christmas show hosted by my good friend James Cooper, creator of whychristmas.com and me the OG Godcaster Steve Webb of Lifespringmedia.com. Christmas is almost here we will have the drawing to find out who will win an autographed copy of Brian Duncan's and Neil's soul Christmas CD but there's still time for you to enter. For details go to Lifespringmedia.com slash day nine to see how that's Lifespringmedia.com slash da y numeral nine no spaces. You could be the winner. Gifts for your Christmas podcast hosts are welcome at Lifespringmedia.com slash support.

James Cooper  0:52  
Hello, and welcome to date 22 of the 2009 Lifespring Why Christmas Show. Back on day five. You might remember I told you the story behind one of our most popular Christmas carols Silent Night. But what are Christmas carols and why don't we just call them Christmas songs? Well, the word carol actually means a dance or song of praise and joy and carols were originally written to be sung during all four seasons. But the tradition has only really kept a Christmas so we have Christmas carols. The first Christmas carols are written by people in the early church to try and stop people from singing their old pagan carols that they sang during the winter solstice festivals. But there was a problem. Most of these early Christian carols were written in Latin, a language that only people in the church or very well educated people could understand. So most normal people didn't have a clue what the carols were about. But this was changed in 1223. Winston Francis of Assisi had the radical idea of actually writing something that people's own language. When Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans came to power in England in 1647. They banned Christmas carol singing and carols weren't really sung again until Victorian times when they became more popular. New carol services were created, and people started singing carols in the streets. Perhaps the most famous Christmas carol service of all is the one from King's College, Cambridge, the service of nine lessons and carols. It takes place on Christmas Eve afternoon here in the UK, and is broadcast around the world on BBC Radio. If you'd like to know more about Christmas carols, their history and some of the stories behind the most famous carers of all, then head on over to whychristmas.com and the Christmas customs section. Make sure you come back tomorrow when Steve will be telling you about one of the most favorite parts of Christmas the presence today I'm going to leave you with a Christmas carol that's one of my favorites. Oh Come All Ye Faithful and it's a beautiful version by Jill Parr.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai