Christmas is described as a festive season therefore we should all engage in activities during the season that provide entertainment, merriment and which give pleasure. Because Christmas is about celebration, many types of festivities can be found to suit all preferences to make the season a joyful one.

A readily available option is watching Christmas movies. This can be done from the comfort of home or by spending a few hours out at the theater. A wonderful option now available for obtaining movies is to rent them via the Internet. It’s an option that allows you to get any movie you want to see – whether traditional, popular or a remake of an original title. There’s also fairly easy access to obscure movie titles, as well as movies with holiday or Christmas themes.

Although Christmas movies embody the spirit of the season, you can also take time out during Christmas to enjoy new releases that may or may not have a holiday theme. Christmas is a good time to catch notable new releases because they are  timed to be shown in theaters before the end of the year to be considered for prestigious Oscar nominations.

Performances of Christmas plays that depict the Nativity scene are also another popular entertainment during Christmas. Although these performances are done year after year, they never grow old because of creative difference in interpreting the story, and also in how each role is acted by different actors every year.

The dramatization of the Nativity demonstrates the meaning of Christmas and can also simplify the meaning of Christmas for children. Participation in the Nativity is also an important activity for children in drama groups at schools and church groups.  Along with depicting the meaning of Christmas, the Nativity play also portrays moral lessons that can serve as an inspiration for the way to become a more spiritual person and to live a better life. Watching or taking part in the Nativity play at Christmas time can therefore affect your attitude and outlook on life.

Musical entertainment at Christmas can come from pausing during shopping to listen to a choral group at the mall or downtown. It can also be entertaining to simply hum along to a Christmas carol or song being played on the radio. Carols as a tradition at Christmas is said to originate in England and France in the Middle Ages. At the time, carols were dances accompanied by singing. The tradition that Anglo-Saxons preferred was to have small choirs gather on the village green and sing carols and Christmas songs to passersby. Over time, the meaning of the word changed to refer to only certain types of songs. The tradition of carols is also believed to evolve from the angels, shepherds and Wise Men who bowed down to sing praises and to worship Baby Jesus.

For those who are really lovers of the arts, professional groups like Orchestras, Symphonies, Conservatories and Choirs also offer splendid concerts during Christmas. They will also sing Christmas carols and songs. But the harmony of their voices accompanied by a full compliment of instruments provides a richer and more melodious rendition of the carols that is unlikely to be heard anywhere else.

Probably the most popular festivities at Christmas are parties, which seem to happen everywhere all the time at Christmas. There are parties at work, home, with friends and class parties at school. Even social hubs such as bars may have special nights with different food and lower-priced drinks during Christmas.

It seems there is no end to the festivities during Christmas. It’s always important however to have a good time, to remember the unfortunate and to reach out to them and to have fun but in a responsible manner.

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The tradition of caroling and Christmas carols is believed to have originated in England when wandering musicians would go from town to town and visit castles and other homes of the rich to give impromptu performances. But there also is the belief that singing carols at Christmas likely came from the group of angels, shepherds and Wise Men who visited Jesus at his birth, because they worshiped the holy child, sang and proclaim praises unto Him. And after their visit, they continued their proclamations in the street.

The origin of the word carol however, is thought to come from the word ‘caroller,’ which is a French word that describes a circle dance with singers. And from the twelfth through the fourteenth centuries, the carol was highly popular as a dance song. The use of carols then evolved to festivals where they were sung as processional songs and others were used as part of religious mystery plays in Europe.

Some traditional qualities of a carol was that the words expressed should celebrate a topic that was seasonal, have verses and a chorus arranged alternately and have music that was suitable for dancing.

Although many of the carols that are now popular at Christmas time are very old, there are others from earlier times that didn’t survive. During the 17th century when the Protestants, led by Oliver Cromwell were in power in England, many Christmas caros were banned and consequently some were never heard again. The Christmas carols that survived the Protestant Reformation period didn’t become very popular again until the mid-19th century to the start of the 20th century.

Many of the Christmas carols that were banned, and early Christmas carols in general, had lyrics that expressed joyous and merry themes instead of the serious somber words found in church hymns. During the time when carols were banned, some composers and musicians wrote non-religious songs that had highly varied choral music, which they called carols, for Christmas. After Christmas carols again became popular, many of those songs were re-arranged with new Christian lyrics and used by the church.

Making changes to Christmas carols continues in a different way today with pop artistes singing the carols to different tunes and melodies to give them a style that characterizes the particular artiste. Having Christmas carols with tunes of contemporary or popular music of today means that they are also more likely to survive because younger listeners will be interested in hearing any music that is done by their favorite or other popular singers.

The popularity of Christmas carols in the United States increased in the 19th century, as it did in England, because many of the traditions related to Christmas came to the United States from England. The United States and England also have closely linked religious observances, which also accounts for the popularity and similarity of Christmas carols that are enjoyed in both countries.

Today, radio stations are the first to play Christmas carols, usually starting toward mid-November, to signal the coming season.  At the start of December when the Christmas season official begins, mall stores and other retail establishments will begin to pipe Christmas carols and songs through their places of business.

The singing of carols at churches, schools, and by groups performing at malls usually will be a common sight starting in early to mid-December. Carol singing as a part of Nativity plays and concerts at churches and schools is usually in full swing by mid-December as the Christmas season gets into high gear and the countdown to Christmas Day begins.

Whether it’s the traditional tune or popular makeovers of Christmas carols that you enjoy, listening to them is part of an old Christmas tradition. And any version of a Christmas carol that is played will serve the purpose of putting you in a festive mood for Christmas that you may even want to dance, just like the music of original carols was meant to do.

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