The tradition of singing Christmas songs door to door is a long one, but where and when did it begin?
How did these songs become known as 'Christmas Carols'?
Here is one urban legend that reportedly reveals these origins... and it is a tragic one. Merry Christmas!
How did these songs become known as 'Christmas Carols'?
Here is one urban legend that reportedly reveals these origins... and it is a tragic one. Merry Christmas!
Carol Poles is missing
Whitechapel, London, 1888. The year is 1888, the setting – London's Whitechapel District. For a good part of the year the London newspapers had been reporting on the spate of horrific murders attributed to a man known as Jack the Ripper. Although this 'ripper' seemed to only be targeting the areas working women, everyone feared they could be next.
It was a week before Christmas of that year that a young local girl named Carol Poles went missing.
With a killer loose on the streets and plenty of other seedy characters in the district people greatly feared for Carol's safety. Official investigations turned up no clues - empty buildings and parklands were searched, waterways were dredged and people were questioned but no one knew where Carol was or what had become of her.
Frustrated, many from the community banded together in order to go house to house to see if they could discover the girls whereabouts.
It was a week before Christmas of that year that a young local girl named Carol Poles went missing.
With a killer loose on the streets and plenty of other seedy characters in the district people greatly feared for Carol's safety. Official investigations turned up no clues - empty buildings and parklands were searched, waterways were dredged and people were questioned but no one knew where Carol was or what had become of her.
Frustrated, many from the community banded together in order to go house to house to see if they could discover the girls whereabouts.
A search was conducted. Unfortunately the groups efforts were hindered – people were afraid to open their doors after dark to strangers for fear it could be Jack the Ripper himself, and with his most recent and gruesome victim (Mary Kelly) discovered the previous month, fear was high. A plan was formulated to let house occupants know that the door knockers were good spirited – they would sing traditional Christmas songs as they went from house to house – the joyous music soothing any fears held by the inhabitants inside.
Young Carol was never found but the community never gave up. Each year, starting just before Christmas, groups would travel door to door, singing the songs in tribute, and asking for any further information about the poor missing girl.
The tradition continues to this day, the act of singing door to door now named Christmas "Carols" after the missing young Carol Poles.
There you have it, the origins of Christmas Carols...
Or is it?
Well the fact that the singing of carols was instituted in churches in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, in 1880 and that Charles Dickens novella 'A Christmas Carol' was first published in 1843, points to the fact it is probably not... still it is a nice macabre story for Christmas.
Young Carol was never found but the community never gave up. Each year, starting just before Christmas, groups would travel door to door, singing the songs in tribute, and asking for any further information about the poor missing girl.
The tradition continues to this day, the act of singing door to door now named Christmas "Carols" after the missing young Carol Poles.
There you have it, the origins of Christmas Carols...
Or is it?
Well the fact that the singing of carols was instituted in churches in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, in 1880 and that Charles Dickens novella 'A Christmas Carol' was first published in 1843, points to the fact it is probably not... still it is a nice macabre story for Christmas.
By Ashley Hall 2014
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