Saturday, December 25, 2010

A Joyous Noel - Pink Saturday

The First Noel began as a folk song, and is one of our oldest carols.  It dates back at least 500 years, though it was not written down and published until the 1800s.  This wonderful old song was sung at a time in history, when not many people could read and few Bibles were in circulation. Some sources trace “Noel” to a Latin word meaning “birthday," however, most music historians believe the song originated in England--though it has been attributed to both England and France. The word “Noel” fits easily into both languages as a shout of joy at the birth of Christ.

Tradition has it that The First Noel was sung each year by English peasants as they lit their family Yule log. The Yule log was a lovely custom  adopted from the Norse peoples during the middle ages. A huge log was cut, hollowed out and filled with aromatic oils and spices. It was lit on Christmas Eve with the hope it would burn through the 12 days of Christmas ending on January Sixth!

For more precious things in pink, visit Bev at How Sweet The Sound!

6 comments:

Terra said...

Hi Beth, the postcard is charming and the story about Noel. Merry Christmas.

Kaye Swain - SandwichINK said...

What a lovely vintage card with such a cute and unique Christmas Tree and ornaments. Happy Pink Saturday. :)

Pam said...

what a lovely vintage Christmas postcard. Happy Pink Saturday and Merry Christmas

Jorgelina said...

Merry Christmas!!!

Irene said...

What a beautiful card and story thank you so much.

Aimee Dars said...

Beautiful card and such an interesting post!