Some of us remember when it was a custom, in the parishes of West Cornwall, for a few elderly persons to meet in Church, late on Christmas Eve, and sing till after midnight, a good number of cheerful, quaint old carols, which were quite different from the solemn Christmas hymns that have supplanted them.
The favourite carols, for the most part contained such legends as are preserved in the Mysteries, or Old Miracle Plays, which continued to be performed in the western parishes, on Sunday afternoons, down to Elizabeth’s reign or later. Others may have been derived from the Apocryphal Gospels.
Such, for instance, are the circumstances referred to in the Cherry-tree carol, beginning with
“Joseph was an old man, an old man was he,
When he wedded Mary, in the land of Galilee,
When Joseph and Mary walked in the garden good,
There were cherries and berries as red as the blood.”
And the Holy-well, which thus begins:—
“As it fell out, one May morning,
And upon one bright holiday,
Sweet Jesus asked of His dear mother,
If He might go out to play.”
Many other examples might be given of these legendary pieces, which are now almost forgotten.
We were delighted, however, last Christmas, to hear a few youngsters singing in Penzance streets the pleasant one called the Sunny Bank, or the Three Ships, which is also very old.
Among those of special interest may be noticed “In those Twelve Days,” “The Joys of Mary,” and “Man’s Duty.” Slightly different versions of these are common here and in Wales; and according to Mr. W. Sandys, there is a Breton song, as old as the fifth century, in the dialect of Cornouaille, called “Ar Rannou,” or “Les Series,” arranged as a dialogue between a Druid and his disciple on their ancient maxims and rites, which is similar in idea and construction to “In those Twelve Days,” or “What is that which is but one?”
The early missionaries engrafted on this ancient Armorican poem a Latin hymn, in the same form, where the series of twelve subjects is connected with the Christian religion and agrees with those of the carol,
“What is that which is but one?”
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At the end of each verse in the Druid’s Song, the Latin hymn, and the three last-mentioned carols, all the previous subjects are repeated in the style of “The House that Jack built.” The whole piece can be constructed from the last verse. That of “In those Twelve Days,” is given as an example:—
“In those TWELVE days, and in those twelve days, let us be glad,
For God of His power hath all things made.
What are they that are but twelve?
Twelve Apostles Christ did choose
To preach the Gospel to the Jews.
And in those twelve days, &c.
Eleven thousand virgins did partake,
And suffered death for Jesu’s sake.
Ten commandments God hath given,
Use them well, and go to Heaven.
Nine degrees of angels high,
Which praise God continually.
Eight beatitudes are given,
Use them well, and go to Heaven.
Seven days in the week have we,
Six to work and the seventh holy.
Six ages this world shall last,
Five of them are gone and past.
Five senses we have to tell,
God grant us grace to use them well.
Four Gospels written true—
John, Luke, Mark, and Matthew.
Three persons in the Trinity,
The Father, Son, and Ghost Holy.
Two Testaments, as we are told,
The one is New, the other Old.
We have but One God alone,
In Heaven above sits on His throne.
And in those twelve days,” &c.
Old country folk may still be often heard chanting this ancient effusion, with all its repetitions. It is more frequently, however, recited or taught to children as a kind of pious exercise for their memories at Christmastide.
Cornish people have been famous for their carols from an early date. Scawen says:—“They had them at several times, especially at Christmas, which they solemnly sung, and sometimes used in their churches, after prayers, the burthen of them being ‘Nowell, Nowell, good news, good news, of the Gospel.’”
These old joyful Christmas songs have long held their own—thanks to their wonderfully interesting legends and their lively tunes, that seem like the echoes of merry peals of bells. [179]