Richard Hyman, age 14, of Tacoma, Wash., for his question:
WHO WROTE THE FIRST CHRISTMAS MUSIC?
The first hymns written especially for the Christmas season date back to the 400s. They were written in Latin and dealt with the birth of Christ and other theological subjects.
Carols, which deal with the more human side of the Christmas story, were first sung in the 1200s. During the Middle Ages, people began acting out the events of the Nativity as part of the development of "mystery plays." Carols had an important part in these plays.
After the religious services were completed, the carolers strolled down the street, still singing. In this way, street caroling was born.
"O Come, All Ye Faithful," also known as "Adeste Fideles," is one of the world's most popular carols. No one knows who wrote the original Latin words, but we do know that Frederick Oakley, an English musician, translated the text into English in 1841.
Charles Wesley, the brother of famed theologian John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), wrote the words for "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in 1739. The beautiful music was added in the late 1800s.
"Silent Night," perhaps the most famous of all carols, was written in 1818 by Joseph Mohr, a parish priest, in Oberdorf, Austria. On the same night that Mohr wrote the words, church organist Franz Gruber composed the music. The carol was sung for the first time at the Christmas midnight service.
The word "carol" comes from a French round dance called a "carole" and it was also a name used for an English pagan song dance performed to celebrate the shortest days of winter.
Some of the world's finest music has been written for Christmas. Johann Sebastian Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," written in 1734, follows the text of the books of Matthew and Luke in the Bible. George Frederick Handel first presented his spectacular "Messiah" in Dublin in 1742.
There is a great deal of traditional Christmas literature.
Washington Irving introduced the idea of the old English Christmas to the United States in the early 1820s in "The Sketch Book" and "Bracebridge Hall." Then Clement Moore wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for his children in 1822. A friend persuaded him to publish it in 1823 and it immediately became a best seller.
Perhaps the most famous example of Christmas literature can be found in Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol."
"A Christmas Carol" was the first of five stories Dickens wrote between 1843 and 1848. He called the collection "Christmas Books." The four other stories, in the order of publication are: "The Chimes," "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Battle of Life" and "The Haunted Man."