Not on my normal reading list, I picked up Stories Behind the Best-loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins while browsing through a Barnes and Noble. Though small in profile, it contains 31 3-4 page story-telling essays about individual carols, with some lyrics. Carols of all ages are covered, from “O Come O Come Emmanuel” to “Mary Did You Know”.

The author’s tone is of subdued fascination, with occasional speculation of what might have happened if events had occurred differently. Some of the essays are quite informative, such as the meaning of the gifts in “Twelve Days of Christmas”. On more than one occasion, words or lyrics were written by non-Christians, such as “White Christmas”, by Irving Berlin, a Jew. Myths are debunked, such as the organ with the broken key that necessitated Franz Gruber writing the tune to “Silent Night”.

Other items I found interesting was that Puritans wouldn’t celebrate Christmas as a special day for fear that it would be co-opted by non-Christians, and that gift-giving was originally practiced on Epiphany, 12 days past Christmas, in remembrance of the visit of the Wise Men told in Matthew 2. I’ll be saving that morsel for the twins should they want to open presents on Christmas Eve.

The lyrics were a welcome addition, but I noticed that the second and third verses of “What Child Is This” lacked two lines each, with no explanation. A couple of songs omitted stanzas that I had remembered. I would have also liked to see lyrics in their original language–”Silent Night” without its German is but half a hymn!

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it for those wanting to add to their understanding beyond the lyrics of the carols themselves. It is a very easy read.