Our third midwinter lesson. Last time we saw the solstice festivals. Tonight we ask how a little-known feast of the early Church became the biggest festival in the world, and then, many people say, a shopping season.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: The Winter Solstice and Christmas · Part 3 of 4 · C1–C2
From Solstice to Christmas: Fairytale of New York
Part 3: how the midwinter festivals became Christmas, and how Christmas became what it is today. The early Church and the date of 25 December, the Puritans who banned it, Charles Dickens and the Victorians who reinvented it, and the commercial Christmas, with two very different songs. Cleft sentences (It was Dickens who…, It was not until 1843 that…), hedging and reporting claims (is often credited with, contrary to popular belief) and concession (for all its…, albeit), with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Is that true? That Christmas is just shopping now?
SOPHIA
Some say so. Our two songs certainly think something has gone wrong: one about a couple whose Christmas in New York goes badly, and one about children who mug Father Christmas. But we’ll hear the other side too.
PHILO
A festival with two faces, then.
Before you listen: the song
Rome, England and New York
The Church. The first record of Christmas on 25 December is a Roman calendar of 354 CE, which lists the birth of Christ for the year 336. In the East, Christians celebrated Epiphany on 6 January, which is why Armenian Christians still keep that date. Two views on the date: many historians argue that the Church chose 25 December to replace the Roman festival of the Unconquered Sun. Others contend that early Christians calculated it independently, counting nine months from 25 March, which they believed was the day of Christ’s conception (and of his death). Both views have serious scholars behind them.
Banned and reinvented. In 1647 the Puritan Parliament in England banned Christmas celebrations as unbiblical and riotous, and Massachusetts outlawed them from 1659 to 1681. It was in Victorian Britain that the modern Christmas took shape: Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol (1843) made it a festival of family, generosity and charity; the first commercial Christmas card was printed the same year; a picture of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert around a German-style tree (1848) spread the fashion for trees; and crackers appeared in the 1840s. In America, Clement Clarke Moore’s poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (1823) and Thomas Nast’s drawings gave Santa Claus his reindeer, sleigh and round belly. Contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola did not invent the red Santa, although its adverts from 1931 made him famous worldwide.
Our songs. “Fairytale of New York” (1987), by the Irish-London band the Pogues with the singer Kirsty MacColl, is a bittersweet duet between two Irish emigrants whose dreams in New York have fallen apart. It is regularly voted Britain’s favourite Christmas song. Its lyrics include insults and an offensive slur; in 2020 BBC Radio 1 played an edited version, and people still argue about whether old songs should be changed. The Kinks’ “Father Christmas” (1977), by Ray Davies, is a punk-era song in which poor children rob a shop’s Father Christmas and ask him, instead of toys, to give their fathers a job.
A festival is what people make of it: generosity or greed, family or shopping.
Listen: two Christmases that go wrong
PHILO
Listen to “Fairytale of New York”. Who are the two singers? What did they dream of, and what happened? Then listen to “Father Christmas”: what do the children want instead of toys?
SOPHIA
Note: the Pogues’ song contains rude language and an offensive word, as discussed above. Listen for the story and the feeling. Then answer Section A.
🕯️ Listen to the song: “Fairytale of New York” (Shane MacGowan and Jem Finer, 1987), by the Pogues with Kirsty MacColl.Listen to the official recording →
🎁 And listen to: “Father Christmas” (Ray Davies, 1977), by the Kinks.Listen to the official recording →
Cleft sentences for emphasis
MARCOS
It was Dickens who made Christmas a festival of charity. It was not until the 1840s that Christmas trees became popular in Britain. What changed everything was a short novel.
SOPHIA
It is / was + focus + who / that… and What… is / was… put the important information in the spotlight. Very useful in essays: It is the commercial side that critics object to.
Reporting claims carefully
DEMETRIA
Dickens is often credited with inventing the modern Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn’t invent the red Santa. It is widely assumed that… There is little evidence that…
SOPHIA
Good historians and good C2 writers hedge: they show how sure they are. Compare: Christmas is a pagan festival (too strong) and Some scholars argue that the date may have been chosen to replace a pagan festival (careful and accurate).
Concession: for all its…, albeit
PHILO
For all its commercialism, Christmas still brings families together. It is a festival of generosity, albeit an expensive one. Much as I love the song, some of its words are offensive.
SOPHIA
For all + noun = despite. albeit + adjective/noun phrase = although. Much as + clause = although (strong feeling). These let you admit one side and still argue the other.
Two views: commercialism, and changing old songs
MARCOS
Some argue that Christmas has been taken over by shops and advertising, and that the poor are forgotten, like the children in the Kinks’ song.
SOPHIA
Others point out that Christmas has always mixed the sacred and the festive, that Dickens himself wrote about generous spending, and that the season pays for many jobs. On the Pogues’ song, some say an offensive word should be cut; others say art should not be rewritten. Weigh the arguments.
Sophia’s comparison: Isaiah and Seneca
PHILO
The prophet Isaiah heard God say: “Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates… Learn to do good; seek justice, relieve the oppressed.” A feast without justice is empty. The Kinks would agree.
SOPHIA
And the Roman philosopher Seneca complained that the whole city went mad at Saturnalia: “December used to be a month; now it is a year.” People have been complaining about festive excess for two thousand years.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| It was… who / that… | cleft sentence | It was Dickens who… |
| It was not until… that… | emphasising time | It was not until 1843 that… |
| is often credited with / contrary to popular belief | careful claims | Contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola… |
| for all + noun / albeit / much as | concession | For all its commercialism, … |
| argue / contend / point out | reporting views | Others contend that… |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. What is the first record of Christmas on 25 December?
2. Who banned Christmas celebrations in England in 1647?
3. Which book (1843) made Christmas a festival of charity?
4. Did Coca-Cola invent the red Santa?
5. What do the children in “Father Christmas” ask for?
6. Who sings with the Pogues on “Fairytale of New York”?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. It was Dickens made Christmas a festival of charity.
8. It was not the 1840s that trees became popular.
9. Dickens is often with inventing the modern Christmas.
10. to popular belief, Coca-Cola did not invent the red Santa.
11. For its commercialism, Christmas still brings families together.
12. It is a festival of generosity, an expensive one.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “It was Dickens who made Christmas popular in England.”
14. “It was not until 1843 when the first card was printed.”
15. “For all its commercialism, Christmas still matters.”
16. “Contrary of popular belief, Santa is not Coca-Cola’s.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Debate. “Christmas has lost its meaning.” Two teams argue for and against, using cleft sentences, careful claims and concession.
Discuss. 1. Was Christmas a pagan festival in disguise, or a Christian one from the start? What evidence would you need? 2. Should broadcasters edit offensive words in old songs? 3. Who is forgotten at Christmas, and what could be done?
Write (240–280 words, C2 essay). “The modern Christmas was invented by the Victorians and the advertisers.” Discuss, using the history in this lesson, cleft sentences, hedging and concession.
Now play the gamebook: a miser in Alexandria, three strange visitors, and a festival day for his clerk.Play the gamebook →