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As religious observances in the United States and England were closely linked the popularity of Christmas carols grew in both countries in the 19th century. Many Christmas traditions are relatively recent such as Santa Claus and reindeer and bear no relation to Christmas carols. Today Christmas songs are also fast becoming a tradition.
Today carols are regularly sung at Christian religious services . Some compositions have words which are clearly not of a religious theme, but are often still referred to as "carols".
It is often difficult to draw a distinction between a Christmas carol and a Christmas song. To be sung by a church choir or sung in the street by amateurs, a song would have to have a fairly rapid, regular beat, which would therefore exclude a meandering crooning song such as "White Christmas". A country music song such as "Blue Christmas" might qualify, but in this case it would have to be adopted by many choirs, over many years to be truly "vernacular", and so far it has failed to gain wide acceptance.
Traditionally, carols have often been based on medieval chord patterns, and it is this that gives them their uniquely characteristic musical sound. Some carols like "Personent hodie" and "Angels from the Realms of Glory" can be traced directly back to the Middle Ages, and are among the oldest musical compositions still regularly sung.
Though many Christmas carols were written prior to the 20th century, several modern compositions have been written in more recent times. Many of the carols written by Alfred Burt are sung regularly in both sacred and secular settings, and are among the more well-known modern Christmas carols.
Merry Christmas and enjoy singing the wonderful words and lyrics to the Christmas Carols and Christmas Songs featured on Hellokids.