Christmas carols and Christmas songs are very popular not only in Poland. The power of their impact is immeasurable – they were able to reconcile soldiers fighting on hostile fronts, break Guinness records and inspire famous poets and musicians. Here are some curiosities related to well-known Christmas melodies.
“Silent Night”
The world’s most popular Christmas carol helped calm one of the armed conflicts. According to the Imperial War Museum, it was “Silent Night” that led to the truce during World War I. On Christmas Eve 1914, British troops spotted Christmas trees on the German side of the fighting. Then they heard soldiers singing the German-language version of the Christmas carol “Stille Nacht”. They responded by singing it with English lyrics. The surprised soldiers not only came out of the trenches to meet, but also exchanged small gifts and even played football together. The Christmas miracle did not last long, however. After tasting a substitute for normality, the fight resumed on December 26.
“Jingle Bells”
Few people know, but it was this popular Christmas song that was the first song played in space, which was documented in the Guinness Book of Records. It was broadcast during NASA’s Gemini 6A flight. But that’s not all. Initially, the composition was created for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. It was first performed publicly during a church service in the US state of Georgia in the 1850s. Its author, James Pierpont, was the music director of the Savannah Unitarian Church. When he introduced “Jingle Bells” to the faithful, people loved it so much that they started singing the song again a month later for Christmas. Some sources, however, give a much more surprising source for the piece. According to the CBC, Pierpont actually wrote it, but it was just a drunken chant inspired by the sleigh races that took place in Savannah every year around this time. The city claims the song, but dismisses Pierpont’s credit, describing him in the archives as a “jerk”.
“She lies in a manger”
Although the first carol was written by St. Francis of Assisi, the oldest surviving native Christmas song is “Hail, King of Angels” from 1424, whose author remains unknown. Most Polish Christmas carols from the early 15th century were translated from Latin and from the song books of our Czech neighbors. The creation of original compositions was popularized only at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, when the term “carol” itself began to be used. At that time, the popular carol “W Żłobie lies” was also created, the background of which, however, has nothing to do with Christmas. It was written by Piotr Skarga, and the melody was… the coronation polonaise of King Władysław IV.
“God is born” and “Lulajże, Jezuniu”
Eminent Polish artists also fell in love with the creation of Christmas carols. A popular carol based on oxymorons was written by the Polish Enlightenment poet and playwright, Franciszek Karpiński. Initially, the text was titled “Song of the Lord’s Birth” and was included in the collection “29 Devotional Songs” published in 1792. It was written in octosyllabic characters typical of folk poetry, but the aforementioned oxymorons and antitheses ensured it the status of “the queen of Polish Christmas carols”. It was commissioned by the wife of the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Stanisław Lubomirski, Izabela Lubomirska from the Czartoryski family. Karpiński was not the only one who wrote Christmas carols. It was also done by the poet from the turn of the Renaissance and the Baroque, Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński, or the politician and poet Jan Andrzej Morsztyn. During his lectures at the Sorbonne, Adam Mickiewicz claimed that “Polish Christmas carols and pastorals are the foundation of Polish national poetry.” The connection with Christmas carols is also interesting… Fryderyk Chopin, who quoted in the middle part of the scherzo in B minor op.20 a fragment of “Lulajże, Jezuniu”.
“White Christmas”
Undoubtedly, one of the most popular Christmas compositions popularized by Bing Crosby, like “Jingle Bells”, was included in the Guinness Book of Records. It became the best-selling single in the world. The song, which debuted in the 1942 film, “Holiday Inn”, beat jazz, pop and rock musicians, selling over 50 million copies at the time. However, it was written by the Jewish composer Irving Berlin for the musical, which was never produced. Interestingly, while we don’t know the author’s opinion of Crosby’s version, we do know that he hated the Elvis Presley cover so much that he tried unsuccessfully to ban radio stations from playing “White Christmas” rendition of it. The song also helped during the Vietnam War. Broadcast by the US Army radio, it served as a signal calling for the evacuation of Saigon.
Source: Gazeta
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
