Calendars of Carols

Not an Advent Calendar for several reasons.  First, the initial entry this year is November 11, the Feast of St. Martin (a.k.a., Martinmass). Nov. 16 marks the 40th day before Christmas (St. Philip's Mass), followed by the traditional arrival of Sinterklaas in The Netherlands (a.k.a. Santa Claus in the US). Also, I haven't adhered strictly to the distinction between an Advent carol, a Christmas carol, or an Epiphany carol except on certain days.

The selection of carols and hymns included on these calendars is somewhat arbitrary, although I've consulted the Daily Lectionary for several denominations to get a feel for an hymn or carol, and appropriate scripture, which would be used in religious services on some days, especially the Sundays in Advent, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, the feast days within the Octave of Christmas, New Year's Day, and the Epiphany.

For a great set of lists, see the Oremus website: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany. The excellent Cyberhymnal site also has lists for Advent and Christmas/Epiphany. Both of these sites are highly recommended.

On this site, you can search on for the phrases "For Advent," "For Christmas Eve," "For Christmas" and "For Epiphany" (use the quotes). I haven't been real rigorous about adding this type of a header to each such carol or hymn, but many do have this type of an identification.

The venerable Project Gutenberg previous had a literary Advent Calendar containing 24 literary selections. After that page disappeared, I created this substitute based on the content on their original page:  A Literary Advent Calendar; all credit for this goes to the original author or authors.

On this site are pages for three feast days within the Octave of Christmas that contain links to hymns and carols:

• Dec. 26, Hymns to St Stephen

• Dec. 27, Hymns To St. John The Evangelist

• Dec. 28, The Hymns Of The Holy Innocents

Only carols and hymns in the public domain are linked. The last daily entry is January 6th, Epiphany. There are also a couple of entries on and just before Candlemas, February 2.

Think of these calendars as a starting point. Feel free to copy and modify to meet your own needs!

November, 2009

December, 2009

January, 2010

Notes:

My understanding is that Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands on the Saturday that is three weeks prior to his feast day, December 6. If this is in error, please .

I have released a volume of Advent poetry titled "The Bridegroom Cometh." It is available at Lulu.com: Douglas Anderson's Christmas Storefront.

The Bridegroom Cometh
Poetry For The Advent