hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
tbh i think it's something to do, especially in a minor key and traditional tunes, about how why your typical medieval peasant was far more tuned in to christmas as a tragic event as well as a happy one - yeah, yay christ is born, but yay christ is born cos HE'S GONNA DIE AT THE END OF THIS
compare how cheerful the wexford carol is vs. how downright dirgelike coventry carol
hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
i don't think it's exactly a coincidence either that many other hymns are explicitly political, like the canticle of the turning - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXyGh1MW2OM which tldrs to "hey rich people, GOD IS COMING YOU'RE ABOUT TO GET FUCKED AHAHAHAHA"
hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
however as much as i think these carols are much more meaningful, they're also less universal, being explicitly christian, and they're a LOT less easy to market.
a recognition of the grisly and macabre nature of christmas celebrations is not good business when you are trying to get everyone to accept a present-giving happy feast day.
hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
i also don't consider it a coincidence that a lot of these songs that seem more violent or macabre or sad have stuck around as 'peasant songs', or traditional country folk tunes. trying to make the message more upper-class is i think a similar sort of pressure to only sing about stuff that's nice and sweet and pleasant.
hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
so the songs that follow in this tradition end up a bit edgier by default, and it may be why the ones that still stick around seem so drastically out of place. they are the outliers when there has been enormous pressure to make christmas a holiday light, bright, clean, and only full of good feelings - instead of recognizing the christian holiday comes with a recognition of immense sacrifice.
hypothesis on why some christmas songs Go That Hard
when you're looking at this time of year specifically through a christian lens and christian only lens, there are a lot more songs about bringing out the tragedy and sorrow - and in things like the coventry carol that are about herod's massacre of the innocents. there's more discussion of the grisly reality of saying "hooray, a kid was born! ....SO HE CAN GO DIE FOR ALL OF OUR SAKES, MISERABLE, IN PAIN, SLOWLY SUFFERING. yay."