Christmas songstemplate

CHRISTMAS CAROLS

QUESTION 1.

Which melody was written to comemorate the invention of printing press and later adapted as a Christmas carol?

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

• It is a movement from ”Festgesang” by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, composed for the Gutenberg Festival in 1840 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the printing press

• Lyrics by Charles Wesley, whose older brother was the founder of Methodist Chruch

• Adapted 15 years later by W.H.Cummings

Hark the herald angels sing"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mildGod and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations riseJoin the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:"Christ is born in Bethlehem"Hark! The herald angels sing"Glory to the newborn King!"

QUESTION 2.

According to a story, which carol was composed in an emergency – when the church organ had broken down on Christmas Eve?

Silent Night

THE STORY• On Christmas Eve, 1818, the organ of Saint Nicholas

Church in Oberndorf, Austria, was broken. • the assistant pastor of the church JOSEPH MOHR and

the organist FRANZ GRUBER composed the hymn in just hours.

• It was sung in three-part arrangement with the accompaniment of a guitar.

Silent night, holy nightAll is calm, all is bright'Round yon virgin mother and ChildHoly infant so tender and mildSleep in heavenly peaceSleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night,Shepherds quake at the sight.Glories stream from heaven afar,Heav'nly hosts sing Alleluia;Christ the Saviour is bornChrist the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night,Son of God, love's pure light.Radiant beams from Thy holy face,With the dawn of redeeming grace,Jesus, Lord, at Thy birthJesus, Lord, at Thy birth

QUESTION 3.

Which famous song is composed by the author of the ballet “Giselle”?

Oh, Holy Night

• The composer is Adolphe Adam (1803-1856)

• At the beginning the song was condemned by Catholic Church

• Now a beloved carol

QUESTION 4.

Which Christmas carol is about the patron saint of the Czech state?

Good King Wenceslas

• This carol tells the story of the sainted Catholic king, Wenceslas, who ruled Bohemia in the 10th century.

• He was dedicated to establishing the Christian faith in his pagan country. Vaclav's efforts were condemned by both his brother Boleslav and his mother, Drahomira, and eventually, Vaclav was murdered by Boleslav

• The song is about the king and his page who go out to give alm to a poor peasant on the Feast on Stephen (Dec 26)

Good King Wenceslas looked outOn the feast of Stephen

When the snow lay round aboutDeep and crisp and even

Brightly shone the moon that nightThough the frost was cruel

When a poor man came in sightGath'ring winter fuel

"Hither, page, and stand by meIf thou know'st it, telling

Yonder peasant, who is he?Where and what his dwelling?"

"Sire, he lives a good league henceUnderneath the mountain

Right against the forest fenceBy Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wineBring me pine logs hither

Thou and I will see him dineWhen we bear him thither."

Page and monarch forth they wentForth they went together

Through the rude wind's wild lamentAnd the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker nowAnd the wind blows stronger

Fails my heart, I know not how,I can go no longer."

"Mark my footsteps, my good pageTread thou in them boldly

Thou shalt find the winter's rageFreeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trodWhere the snow lay dintedHeat was in the very sod

Which the Saint had printedTherefore, Christian men, be sure

Wealth or rank possessingYe who now will bless the poorShall yourselves find blessing

QUESTION 5.

Which Christmas carol was used to teach the children Catholic truths of faith?

Twelve Days of Christmas

True Love refers to God

• Partridge -- The One True God

• Two turtle doves -- Old and New Testaments

Three French hens - Faith, Hope and Charity

Four colley birds -- the Four Evangelists,

Matthew, Mark, Luke and

John or four Gospels

Five gold rings –

the first five books

of the Bible

Six geese -- six jars of water, turned to wine by Jesus at the wedding at Cana

Seven swans -- seven Sacraments

Eight maids a-milking -- eight Beatitudes

Nine ladies dancing -- nine Choirs (or ranks) of Angels

Ten lords a-leaping –

Ten Commandments

Eleven pipers -- eleven faithful disciples

Twelve drummers –

twelve Apostles,

or the twelve tribes of Israel

There is a modern adaption by Beyonce and Destiny’s Child “8 Days of Christmas”:

On the 8th day of Christmas my baby gave to me a pair of chloe shades & a diamond belly ring On the 7th day of x-mas my baby gave to me a nice back rub and he massaged my feet On the 6th day of x-mas my baby gave to me a cropped Jacket with dirty denim jeansOn the 5th day of x-mas my baby gave to me a poem that he wrote for me

The the feelin' that I feel is so good He makes me feel so in lo-lo-lo-lo-love If he only knew what he does to me My man, my man, my baby Oh he makes me feel so lovely, so sexy I'm so in lo-lo-lo-lo-love How I love him for his generousity My man, my man, my baby

Doesn't it feel like x-mas (it feels lovely) Doesn't it feel like x-mas (it feels so lovely) Doesn't it feel like x-mas (wooooooooaaaaaaahhhh) Yes it feels like x-mas Doesn't it feel like x-mas (it feels lovely) Doesn't it feel like x-mas (it feels so lovely) Doesn't it feel like x-mas (the spirit of x-mas) Yes it feels like x-mas

On the 4th day of x-mas my baby gave to me a candlelit dinner just me & my honey On the 3rd day of x-mas my baby gave to me a gift certificate to get my favorite CD's On the 2nd day of x-mas my baby gave to me the keys to a CLK Mercedes On the 1st day of x-mas my baby gave to me quality T-I-M-E

TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SONGS

QUESTION 6A well-known Christmas song has originally one

more verse, which is never sung. It starts as following:

THE SUN IS SHINING, THE GRASS IS GREEN, THE ORANGE AND PALM TREES SWAY

Which song is it?

White Christmas

• The song was written by Irving Berlin in December 1937 while staying in Beverly Hills, homesick for his family back in New York

• The most familiar version is Bing Crosby's which has sold over 31 million copies to date.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know

Where the treetops glisten, and children listen

To hear sleigh bells in the snow.•

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white.

•I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write

May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white.

QUESTION 7.

Which Christmas song was originally created as a part of the advertising campaign of a department store?

Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer

• The author of lyrics, ROBERT MAY was requested to produce a poem that could be given away to children by the Santa Claus employed by Department Stores at Christmas

• In 1948, May's brother-in-law Johnny Marks, a composer, set the story to music

• In 1949 the singer Gene Autry recorded the song and it became a hit!

Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose. 

And if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows. 

All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names. 

They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games. 

Then one foggy Christmas Eve Santa came to say: 

"Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?" 

Then all the reindeer loved him as they shouted out with glee, 

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you'll go down in history! 

QUESTION 8.

Which song was originally written for Thanksgiving?

Jingle Bells

The author and composer of Jingle Bells was a minister called James Pierpoint who composed the song in 1857 for children celebrating his Boston Sunday School Thanksgiving.

Dashing through the snowIn a one horse open sleigh

O'er the fields we goLaughing all the way

Bells on bob tails ringMaking spirits bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A sleighing song tonight

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bellsJingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to rideIn a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bellsJingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to rideIn a one horse open sleigh

A day or two agoI thought I'd take a rideAnd soon Miss Fanny BrightWas seated by my sideThe horse was lean and lankMisfortune seemed his lotWe got into a drifted bankAnd then we got upsot

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bellsJingle all the wayOh, what fun it is to rideIn a one horse open sleighJingle bells, jingle bellsJingle all the wayOh, what fun it is to rideIn a one horse open sleigh yeah

POP/ROCK CHRISTMAS SONGS

QUESTION 9.

Which Christmas song is a protest song against the Vietnam War?

Happy Xmas (War is Over)

• The lyric is based on a campaign in late 1969 by John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, who rented billboards and posters in eleven cities around the world that read: "WAR IS OVER! (If You Want It) Happy Christmas from John and Yoko".

• The single was released in 1971 in the US, it was re-released in the UK on Dec, 20 1980, directly following John Lennon's death on Dec,8 1980.

So this is ChristmasAnd what have you doneAnother year overAnd a new one just begunAnd so this is ChristmasI hope you have funThe near and the dear oneThe old and the young

A very merry ChristmasAnd a happy New YearLet's hope it's a good oneWithout any fearAnd so this is ChristmasFor weak and for strongFor rich and the poor onesThe world is so wrong

And so happy ChristmasFor black and for whiteFor yellow and red onesLet's stop all the fight A very merry ChristmasAnd a happy New YearLet's hope it's a good oneWithout any fearAnd so this is ChristmasAnd what have we doneAnother year overAnd a new one just begunAnd so this is ChristmasI hope you have funThe near and the dear oneThe old and the youngA very merry ChristmasAnd a happy New YearLet's hope it's a good oneWithout any fearWar is over overIf you want itWar is over

QUESTION 10.

Which is the biggest-selling single which has never been the 1st in UK charts?

Last Christmas

• A song by “Wham”, released in 1984

• Although the song is the biggest-selling single, it was beaten by Band Aid

“Do They Know It’s Christmas”

• Band Aid were a British and Irish charity supergroup, founded in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia by releasing the record "DO THEY KNOW IT'S CHRISTMAS?" for the Christmas market.

• It went straight to the first position in the UK chart, stayed there for five weeks and sold over three million copies.

It's ChristmastimeThere's no need to be afraidAt Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shadeAnd in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joyThrow your arms around the world at Christmastime

But say a prayer

Pray for the other onesAt Christmastime it's hard, but when you're having funThere's a world outside your windowAnd it's a world of dread and fear

Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tearsAnd the Christmas bells that ring there are the clangingchimes of doomWell tonight thank God it's them instead of you

And there won't be snow in Africa this ChristmastimeThe greatest gift they'll get this year is life(Oooh) Where nothing ever growsNo rain nor rivers flowDo they know it's Christmastime at all?

(Here's to you) raise a glass for everyone(Here's to them) underneath that burning sunDo they know it's Christmastime at all?

Feed the worldFeed the world

QUESTION 11.

Which song was planned to be a part of the musical (which never emerged)?

Happy New Year

• By ABBA in 1980, from album “Super Trouper”• Written in Barbados in January 1980, ‘Happy New Year’

was originally intended for a musical about a New Year’s Eve, one of Björn and Benny’s many attempts to get started with a more ambitious piece of musical drama.

No more champagneAnd the fireworks are throughHere we are, me and youFeeling lost and feeling blueIts the end of the partyAnd the morning seems so greySo unlike yesterdayNows the time for us to say...

Happy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have a vision now and thenOf a world where every neighbour is a friendHappy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have our hopes, our will to tryIf we dont we might as well lay down and dieYou and i

Sometimes I seeHow the brave new world arrivesAnd I see how it thrivesIn the ashes of our livesOh yes, man is a foolAnd he thinks hell be okayDragging on, feet of clayNever knowing hes astrayKeeps on going anyway...

Happy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have a vision now and thenOf a world where every neighbour is a friendHappy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have our hopes, our will to tryIf we dont we might as well lay down and dieYou and i

Seems to me nowThat the dreams we had beforeAre all dead, nothing moreThan confetti on the floorIts the end of a decadeIn another ten years timeWho can say what well findWhat lies waiting down the lineIn the end of eighty-nine...

Happy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have a vision now and thenOf a world where every neighbour is a friendHappy new yearHappy new yearMay we all have our hopes, our will to tryIf we dont we might as well lay down and dieYou and i

Sources:• http://www.carols.org.uk/index.htm• http://www.wf-f.org/Hymns-carols.html• http://www.christmasmagazine.com/en/spirit/classic02.asp• http://www3.pair.com/montrsmu/quiz.html• http://www.actionext.com/names_c/collin_raye_lyrics/

white_christmas.html• http://www.businessinberkshire.co.uk/christmasinberkshire/

news11.html• http://www.funtrivia.com/submitquiz.cfm?quiz=153898• http://www.abbasite.com/infocus/index.php?ret=/infocus/

index.php&id=1425&flash=no• Wikipedia

Thank you for your attention!

Merry Christmas and enjoy the singing throughout the holiday season!