Welcome to Village Carols Season

In South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire something wonderful is stirring. 

People are gargling and running through their vocal exercises because today, Armistice Sunday, is the start of the Village Carols Season. 

Village Carols predate modern carols by over a century and are sung with alternative words and verses to those we are used to hearing at church services. They were originally sung in churches and chapels accompanied by local musicians. But from the 1830s onwards they were driven out by the Oxford Tractarian Movement. This was a society of High Church men who believed that the Anglican church had got too 'folksy' and needed to return to older, more staid and reverential Catholic-like practices. Indeed, many of the Tractarians did eventually convert to Catholicism.

   

Meanwhile, the carol singers shifted their location to the pubs and alehouses. Sadly, in many parts of the country the tradition started to die out. However in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, the tradition survived and began to grow. And soon it spread to neighbouring towns and villages. 

'The Sheffield Carols soon prompted other towns and villages to re-establish their local carolling tradition, borrowing a few songs from South Yorkshire for good measure', says Dr Ian Russell, the UK's leading authority on the subject. 'There was a time when it was just a few people singing in a room but now everybody wants to sing. In some pubs song sheets are handed out and everyone wants to be involved. The carols are stronger than ever and other parts of the country have seen what's happening in South Yorkshire over the years, borrowed a few songs from the area and from Newcastle to Kent, are launching their own local carols.'

The Sheffield Carols season is now known more commonly as the Village Carols season and lasts from Armistice Day right through until Christmas.

Although there is a core of local carols sung at most venues, each place has its own mini-tradition. Visitors are welcome to attend but should be prepared to join in and not just be bystanders. Some 'sings' are unaccompanied, some have musicians, but there is always a warm welcome and a willingness to help any newcomers with words and tunes. 

Although most carols have four parts, it tends to be the bass line offset against the tune which is usually heard, but some singers quite happily change from one to the other – and nobody minds. 

There are still a few places where the tradition continues of singing on a Christmas tour round the village, at various houses or at a central place. These include Eyam, Foolow and Coal Aston. 

If you want to know more about the tradition, it's fully explained in this excellent article on the TradFolk website - click here. That link also has some fantastic videos of performances. 

Meanwhile, there's a list of 2022 venues and events here. 

Get those tonsils warmed up!