People from all walks of life can enjoy the familiar harmonies of the season’s most-loved tradition—Christmas carols.

Christmas carols date back all the way to the fourth century, said William Studwell, NIU’s principal cataloger and NIU’s resident carol expert.

“The oldest well-known carol came from around the 12th century. But carols didn’t really become popular until the 14th and 15th centuries,” he said.

Studwell has written more than 50 articles on Christmas carol history, as well as a few books on the subject. He was interviewed by CNN three years ago this Christmas about carols.

He said carols were first written not for their religious message, but for upbeat tunes that peasants could dance to.

“In the late Middle Ages people made folk or dance carols that had to have a good beat to them,” Studwell said, noting such danceable songs as “Deck the Halls” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”

The continuity of Christmas carols is because of the dance beat, Studwell said. “Any song that stays popular year after year has to keep a good tune and good melody. Lyrics are not the most important part. Some songs have both, but the staying power is something that the mass population has to like,” he said.

Studwell said few carols were written by famous composers. “Most carols are anonymous, folk or written by obscure people. Only about a half a dozen well-known carols have a famous person associated with it,” he said.

England is the leading country for writing carols, he said, with the United States following, then France and Germany.

The act of caroling, going door to door singing, began during the 16th century. England started the tradition, and other countries followed.

“Carols and caroling have not been a continuous thing. The popularity drops with different moods in religion,” Studwell said.

Many carols were not sung in churches from 1640 to 1830 because they were folk songs, not composed by people in the church.

The popularity of carols rose dramatically in 1844, when Charles Dickens published his famous tale, “A Christmas Carol,” Studwell said.

“It provided a great interest in carols and got people singing again,” he said.

Studwell noted the lack of new Christmas carols being written in modern days.

“There have been very few famous religious carols written since World War II. The last carol written that has withstood the test of time is ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ written in 1962,” he said.

The de-emphasis on religious music is the main factor for the lack of new songs, along with the commercialization of Christmas, he said.

It takes a lot more for a song to make it these days. “If you write a song now and if it doesn’t sell a million records, it’s a flop,” he said.

Studwell said the best thing about carols is that everyone knows them and can enjoy them.

“Non-religious people, people not Christian, can sing these songs. They have become a part of popular American culture,” he said.

“Any song that stays popular year after year has to keep a good tune and good melody. Some songs have both, but the staying power is something that the mass population has to like.”