Christmas
Greetings Card
second half 19th century (made)
second half 19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Singing carols during the Christmas season originated with the pagan tradition of singing and dancing at the Winter Solstice. Musical traditions were eventually incorporated into Christian festivals and special kinds of hymns, known as canticles, were performed in Nativity plays at the time of St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century.
With Oliver Cromwell's rise to power in 1647, the Puritan religion forbade carol singing and the tradition remained suppressed for well over 150 years. However, in the early 19th century William Sandys and Davies Gilbert, set about collecting and publishing traditional Christmas music of various English regions, awakening a popular interest in Christmas songs. This card combines the popular Christmas themes of children and caroling.
With Oliver Cromwell's rise to power in 1647, the Puritan religion forbade carol singing and the tradition remained suppressed for well over 150 years. However, in the early 19th century William Sandys and Davies Gilbert, set about collecting and publishing traditional Christmas music of various English regions, awakening a popular interest in Christmas songs. This card combines the popular Christmas themes of children and caroling.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Christmas (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper card |
| Brief description | Christmas card with carol-singing motif, Harry Arnold, England, 19th century |
| Physical description | Five children sing Christmas carols on a winter night. The rooftop silhouettes of houses are outlined from behind a picket fence, brick wall and hedgerow capped with snow. Three young girls stand shoulder to shoulder reading hymns from a book and sheets of paper. The central figure is the tallest. The choir of girls is flanked on either side by a boy playing his musical instrument. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Singing carols during the Christmas season originated with the pagan tradition of singing and dancing at the Winter Solstice. Musical traditions were eventually incorporated into Christian festivals and special kinds of hymns, known as canticles, were performed in Nativity plays at the time of St Francis of Assisi in the 13th century. With Oliver Cromwell's rise to power in 1647, the Puritan religion forbade carol singing and the tradition remained suppressed for well over 150 years. However, in the early 19th century William Sandys and Davies Gilbert, set about collecting and publishing traditional Christmas music of various English regions, awakening a popular interest in Christmas songs. This card combines the popular Christmas themes of children and caroling. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 28904:8 |
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| Record created | November 21, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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