Yesterday at mass, I opened a missalette and sang the Christmas carol, What Child is This? The infant Jesus was featured in the lyrics.
The congregation sang other carols. All of these songs were composed between 1600 and 1900. Again, the lyrics mentioned the birth of Christ.
Jesus gets cold shouldered after 1900. Lots of Christmas songs have been composed but hardly any mention the infant in the manger. Hit songs include Frosty the Snowman, Jingle Bell Rock, Sleigh Ride, Let it Snow, to name of few. The most popular song of the modern era remains White Christmas sung by Bing Crosby. I can identify only one song, Little Drummer Boy, that mentions the birth of Jesus.
I can’t surmise why modern composers have tuned out Jesus. Christmas, after all, celebrates his birth.
One fact intrigues me. The most popular Christmas song of them all—it blows away the competition even in modern times—is Silent Night. That carol dates back to 1816. It ends with the words, ‘Christ the Savior is Born.
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