Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-12-29
WAITS AND SINGING
OF CHRISTMAS CAROLS
The Oldest Printed Collection Dates
Back To 1871

Everybody is familiar enough with
the phenomenon Of Christmas carol
ing. Those who knew their washing
ton Irving well, their Dickens well, or
their Thackeray well, know how It
was done in "the middle years. and
those who know England, and indeed
many other countries, at ALL know
how 1t is done today. Only the stu
dent OF such matters. however. is
drawn 10 study the question further
and to follsw the carol singer down
The Years beyond Thackeray or Dick
ems or Irving.
The first Christmas carol. Bishop
TAYLOR has it, was heard by the shep-
herds IS they watched their fiocks on
the night Of the nativity. and the Gus
tom OF singing sacred canticles" on
the even OF Christmas early became
a recognized practice Some Of them
we're hymns. pure and simple, and
some OF them were very far removed
from anyone's concept of hymn
They we're handed down from gener-
alton 10 generation. appearing in
nany districts in different forms, and,
/ Tor centuries, in all probability, the
great Hass Of tnem we're never COM
itted to writing.
The Oldest collection printed in Eng
land comprises those Of Wynkyn de
Worae. in 1921. and OF Kele. soon
after. Marion, in his Hosiery Of
English Poetry" notices a license,
granted in 1852 to one John Tysdale,
for printing 'Certayne goodiy carowls
to be songe to the glory of God; and
again, "Crestenmas carowls auc-
torisshed by my Lord of London" In
the next century, especially, perhaps,
in the early and latter parts OF ii,
caroling at Christmas time was joy
full and popular thing So much so.
indeed, that one William Slayter
gathered together in a duodecimo vol
ume, in the year 1912, a collection "of
the songs Of Sion intended for Christ
mas carols and fitted to divers OF the
most noted and common but solemn
tunes, everywhere in this land ia
miliarly used and known"
So it went on through the Eigh-
taenth Century, on into the Nineteenth
and over the border into the Twen-
tieth The costume Of the carolers
changed: their lantern, in these days.
may have given way. on occasion, to
the electric torch; the music, too, may
have become more elaborate, and yet
no touch of carol singing would be
complete without some of the old, old
/ songs such as Good King Wenceslas
Looked Out" or q Saw Three Ships
Come Sailing In or "he First Noel. :
As for waits, they are. of course,
really something quite distinct from
carol singers, although often con-
fused with them. Strictly speaking
waits are always instrumentalists.
In the earliest times in which mem
ton is made Of them, namely, in the
Fourteenth Century. they were sim
ny watchmen, who sounded horns or
even played a tune on flute or fiage-
olet to mark the hours. Later on they
became well established function
aries, and are provided for in the
black book Of the royal household ex.
penses Of Edward IV. London and 80
the chief boroughs had their cor
poration waits from, at least, the Six
teenth Century onward, and in Lon
don. they wore a special uniform OF
blue gowns with red sleeves and caps
and a silver collar or chain round
their necks It was a part of their
duty to play before my Lord Mayor
when he made his annual progress
through the city. or. in company with
the aldermen, entertained distin-
guished guests to dinner.
After a time, the ordinary night
Waterman began to arrogate to him
self the right to entertain the good
citizens at Christmas time, and to call
round on Boxing Day to receive due
reward for his services. In 1929
came the institution of the police, and
the waits, as a semi-ofIicial body, dis
appeared Their place, however, was
taken by unofficial waits, little bands
OF musicians. good, bad, and indiffer-
ent, who are to be found to this day
serenading their neighbors in every
town and village throughout the coun-
try on Christmas eve.-Christian
Science Monitor.