We Wish You a Merry Christmas
January 20, 2018 at 11:07 pm,
No comments
History of an English folk songИстория одной английской народной песни
• When groups of people gather together to set out a-caroling around Christmas time, the most joyful carol they could possibly take along is "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It's all right there in the title. A more direct approach to the spreading of merriment cannot be found across the canon of Christmas folk songs. But where did this very simple song come from? Why is it so infectious?
• And is figgy pudding really worth demanding so heartily? ("We won't go until we get some" is a line perhaps more befitting a protest song than a joyous Christmas carol.)
THE HISTORY OF “WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS”
• "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" is an English folk song from the 1500s and is the remnant of a time when poor carolers would hit up wealthy listeners for handouts. It's a cheeky tune which recognizes the dynamic between rich and poor, calling for figgy pudding and refusing to leave the wealthy person's doorstep until some is delivered "right here." This is an awfully ardent demand for a Christmas song, so it's meant to be sung with a certain degree of joshing.
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
• As old English Christmas carols go, there are very few which mention the new year coming a week after Christmas. This is interesting mostly because January 1 wasn’t considered the new year in the Western world until the 1700s. So, it could be that the “and a happy new year” line was not added until later.
AT OUR SCHOOL
• At our English lessons we study British traditions, and our children sometimes learn and sing the carol “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. First, we teach them the history of the song. Next, we teach them new words and phrases. We make them memorize each line. Then our learners suggest fun activities and movements for each line. And finally, the learners sing and perform the actions to the song!
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a Happy New Year.
Oh bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh bring us a figgy pudding;
Oh bring us a figgy pudding
And bring it right here.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
We won’t go
until we get some;
We won’t go
until we get some;
We won’t go
until we get some;
So bring it right here.
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas;
We wish you a Merry Christmas
And a happy New Year.