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The Truth about Christmas Carols

Composer Howard Goodall uncovers the surprising and often secret history of the Christmas carol including how, over the centuries, carols have been banned by both church and state.

There could be nothing more sweet and sentimental than the sound of traditional carols performed by a velvet-voiced choir at Christmas. Or so you would think. Composer Howard Goodall uncovers the surprising and often secret history of the Christmas carol.

Far from being accepted as part of the celebrations of Jesus's birth, over the centuries carols have been banned by both church and state. The carols we sing seem set in stone, and yet they can have up to 400 regional variations. Individual carols have caused controversy - While Shepherds Watched had to be cleaned up by the Victorians for being too crude, and there's a suspicion that O Come All Ye Faithful was a call to 18th-century Jacobites to rebel.

The documentary celebrates the enduring power of the carol with a variety of performances from folk singer Bella Hardy to the choir of Truro Cathedral.

58 minutes

Last on

Wed 10 Dec 202500:35

Music Played

  • Frank Sinatra

    Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

  • Maddy Prior & The Carnival Band

    I Saw Three Ships (Original)

  • Belle and Sebastian

    O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Credits

RoleContributor
PresenterHoward Goodall
ProducerJonathan Mayo
Executive ProducerJean-Claude Bragard

Broadcasts

  • Christmas Day 200817:00
  • Christmas Day 200818:00
  • Sun 20 Dec 200919:00
  • Mon 21 Dec 200919:00
  • Fri 17 Dec 201021:30
  • Sun 19 Dec 201020:00
  • Tue 20 Dec 201122:30
  • Christmas Eve 201219:30
  • Tue 18 Dec 201820:00
  • Wed 19 Dec 201801:00
  • Fri 4 Dec 202019:00
  • Sat 5 Dec 202003:00
  • Tue 21 Dec 202123:35
  • Mon 19 Dec 202200:50
  • Mon 8 Dec 202500:30
  • Wed 10 Dec 202500:35

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