The 12 Days of Christmas

The Outlaw Carol That Wouldn't Die
Erscheinungsjahr 2023
ISBN: 978-1-4766-8991-3
Verlag: McFarland

Buch, Englisch, 277 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm, Gewicht: 408 g

In the whole body of Christmas carols sung in English, among the most famous and beloved is a song universally called “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Although its association with the holiday remains unquestioned, the tune was originally a raucous drinking song with wildly different connotations. This book documents the unfamiliar and distant history of one of the world’s most well-known holiday songs. The surprising history of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” is inextricably linked to the earliest celebrations of Christmas, a festival that was suppressed by the Church itself.

The rowdy and mischievous tone of traditional Christmas has vanished, as have the songs that accompanied the festival of drinking, gambling, fighting, feasting and sex. Modern participants of Christmas may be either embarrassed or pleased to discover the scandalous roots of a beloved holiday classic.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Rand, Harry

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Musikwissenschaft Musikgattungen Geistliche Musik, Religiöse Musik
• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Praktische Theologie Liturgik, Christliche Anbetung, Sakramente, Rituale, Feiertage
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte

Über Autor(innen)

Author of numerous acclaimed books and articles translated in over 20 languages, Harry Rand served as senior curator, Cultural History, Smithsonian Institution. A native New Yorker, he received a PhD from Harvard University and was the first art historian invited to the World Economic Forum in Davos. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland.