What Does that Mean? A Look at Some Favorite Puzzling Christmas Carols

Everyone loves to sing Christmas songs this time of year, but have you ever been singing a Christmas carol and come across a word and wondered, "What on earth does that mean?" Well here's the perfect article for you. A random poll of 50 people was conducted. They were asked to write down the words from Christmas carols which stumped them the most. Here is what was found:

The chorus from Angels We Have Heard On High came in as the most baffling phrase from a Christmas carol. The phrase is Latin, "gloria, in excelsis Deo." The literal translation is: "Glory in the heights to God," but most people translate the phrase as: "glory to God in the highest."

Good King Wenceslas was voted as the most puzzling song overall. Many people asked, "who is Good King Wenceslas anyway?" Well, good King Wenceslas is based on Saint Wenceslaus I, a Duke of Bohemia from 907 to 935. He is the patron saint of the Czech Republic. The other thing asked about this song was why the king was looking out of the "feast of Stephen." This is not in fact referring to a feast, but to St. Stephen's Day. This is the day after Christmas and is a day to remember the first Christian martyr; St. Stephen.

Here We Come A-Wassailing perplexed many of the people polled. Most people wondered if it meant that they were caroling. It does meant to go caroling, but with the request of some sort of refreshment such as food and drink in return for the singing, and a blessing of goodwill.

About half of those surveyed said that they had a sense of what the words, Yule/Yuletide, Noel, Hark and Alleluia meant, but that they could not give a definition of the words if asked. So what exactly do these words mean? Yule/Yuletide can be found in many Christmas carols including Deck the Halls. Yule was the name of a winter festival celebrated in Northern Europe before Christianity became widespread. It somewhat correlated to the Christian Christmas and so when Christianity was adopted. Yule was often used as a synonym for Christmas. Yuletide is simply another way to say Christmas time.

The word Noel, most commonly known in the song The First Noel means Christmas. It is derived from the Latin word which means "birth," of course in reference to the birth of Christ. Hark, is most notably found in the song Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and means to intently listen. As a side note, many people also wanted to know what herald angels were. Herald is a word used to describe someone who brings a message or gives an announcement. Alleluia can be found in many Christmas songs, buy most people recognize it in the song Silent Night. Alleluia is an ancient Hebrew word that was used by the Hebrews to express praise to God. The word has come down through the ages basically unchanged.