Hark!

Sassy saints & sneaky carols: the secrets of your favourite Christmas tunes

Let’s be honest, by December 27th, you’ve heard "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" roughly four hundred times. But what if we told you that beneath the familiar fa-la-la-ing, your favourite carols are hiding secrets more dramatic than Uncle Derek’s third sherry? This festive season, let’s pull back the velvet curtain and reveal the riotous, rebellious, and downright weird origins of the songs we sing on loop!

‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’

First, let’s talk about the festive season’s original punk rockers: the singers of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Forget polite requests; this was a full-blown, Tudor-era doorstep showdown. That charming line, "We won't go until we get some," is essentially a historical record of hungry carollers staging a sit-in for figgy pudding. Imagine the scene: a group of determined villagers, arms crossed, refusing to budge until the lord of the manor coughed up the Christmas goods. It wasn't a carol; it was a culinary ransom note set to music. Talk about festive extortion!

‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’

Then there’s the "The Twelve Days of Christmas," the O.G. of over-the-top gift-giving. On the surface, it’s a list so bizarre it would baffle a wedding registry. But many historians believe this ear-worm was actually the 16th-century equivalent of an encrypted text message. When being Catholic was illegal in England, you couldn’t just whip out a textbook. So, the faithful turned this catchy tune into a secret code. The "partridge in a pear tree" was Jesus, the "six geese a-laying" were the six days of creation, and the "ten lords a-leaping" were the Ten Commandments with the other items representing other Catholic teaching elements. This theory of ours is only speculation with no proof but it could have been the world’s most festive spy craft, ensuring the faith was passed down right under the noses of the authorities, all disguised as a song about someone with a serious bird obsession.

‘Silent Night’

Even the serene "Silent Night" has a origin story that’s less divine miracle, more "Home Alone" panic. In 1818, in a small Austrian village, the church organ was broken, reportedly thanks to a hungry mouse. Faced with a silent Christmas Eve, priest Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Xaver Gruber didn’t despair. They did what any of us would do in a crisis: they grabbed a guitar, scribbled down some lyrics, and composed one of the most beloved carols in history in a few frantic hours. The most peaceful song in the world was born from a last-minute, "the show must go on" scramble.

So, this year, when you’re gathered around the piano, remember you’re not just singing, you’re re-enacting a pudding heist, repeating ancient secret codes, and paying tribute to a mouse who (accidentally) inspired a masterpiece. It turns out our carols aren’t just about holy nights; they’re about hungry nights, sneaky nights, and brilliantly improvised nights. Now that’s a reason to really raise your voice and sing!