I love Christmas music. There is simply no other time of the year when we listen to as much music about a season as we do at Christmastime. Whether it’s Brenda Lee singing "Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” or Nat King Cole singing about "chestnuts roasting on an open fire and Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” just hearing these seasonal songs gets me in the right frame of mind for the big day.

How many songs are there about Christmas? According to the Museum of the Bible, there are 9,274 songs for the Yuletide event. Some of them are classic best sellers, such as "White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. Some are simply ridiculous, like the Barking Dogs rendition of "Jingle Bells.” Some songs are much more sacred, like "O Come All Ye Faithful.” What are your favorite Christmas carols? Mine is "Silent Night.” I simply cannot celebrate Christmas until I sing along with that song.

Just what is the difference between a regular Christmas song and a carol? Is one to be sung while you’re hanging out with your friends and another to be sung in a church? As it turns out, there isn’t much difference between what we might think are secular songs and sacred songs at Christmas.

The word carol is from the Old French language, and it means a joyous dancing song. Carols were not necessarily sung during the Christmas season originally, but as time went on, people began to write more music for the happiest time of the year. Before there were radios and jukeboxes to play recorded music, songs were sung by roving groups of people in homes, local eating establishments and in the market square. These entertainers were known as carolers. Originally, carols were not sung in churches. Most early singing in churches was more of a chant in Latin and was typically from the Psalms. Carols were considered street songs.

That began to change when, in 1223 A.D., St Francis of Assisi began nativity plays to commemorate the birth of Christ. His characters sang their scripted lines in the common language of the people. This caught on. People began to sing along with these joyous Christmas songs. As time went on, Christian writers borrowed popular tunes and put their lyrics to music. We don’t always know the composers of these songs either. In many cases, that’s because different writers wrote lines to the same song. However, as time went by, some of these carols made their way into the church as songs to be sung during the Advent season.

Not everyone liked Christmas carols. In the 17th century, British politician and Puritan Oliver Cromwell had caroling outlawed in Britain. The Puritans were not necessarily fond of Christmas either. They thought it was too secularized. They did not allow it to be celebrated for a period of time, although people still did at home and kept on singing. Eventually, the joy and hope of Christmas was too much and the laws that banished Christmas and caroling were merrily overturned.

I think the reason Christmas carols wouldn’t go away is because they were the music of the people and they made people feel happy – not just happy for a short time, but it gave them a real sense of hope, even in the midst of dismal times. There is that quality that you find at Christmas that shines a light on all of us and gives us a reason to rejoice. That’s what I find to be true when I hear those familiar tunes.

So when you hear a Christmas song and begin to sing along, keep in mind that you are sharing a cheerful moment with millions of people who have come before you who kept on singing carols. I hope it gets you in the right frame of mind and puts a bounce in your step. As Nat King Cole sings so well, "Although it’s been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you.”