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The latest news and information from the Achievements team.

  1. The origin of carol singing.

    Our tradition of carol singers going from house to house is a result of carols being banned within churches in Medieval times, due to them disrupting the service.

    The word “carol”  means to sing and dance in a circle, deriving from the ancient Greek ‘choros’, which means “dancing in a circle,” and from the Old French word ‘carole’, a song to accompany dancing. Carols were introduced to Church services by St Francis of Assisi, and the tradition spread through Europe; however the intrusive nature of the singing and dancing led them to be banned from Church. The traditional time to sing carols is from St Thomas Day (21st December) until Christmas Day morning.

    Carols, alongside other traditional celebrations of Christmas, were banned completely from 1647-1660 by the Puritan government.

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