Description
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, inextricably linked to the earliest celebrations of a festival 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.
Author: Harry Rand
Publisher: McFarland and Company, Inc.
Published: 09/01/2023
Pages: 246
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.74h x 5.83w x 0.71d
ISBN13: 9781476689913
ISBN10: 1476689911
BISAC Categories:
- Music | History & Criticism | General
- Religion | Holidays | Christmas & Advent
About the Author
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.