The Chorus.

Hail, Father Christmas! hail to Thee!
Honour'd ever shalt thou be!
All the sweets that love bestows,
Endless pleasures, wait on those
Who, like vassals brave and true,
Give to Christmas homage due.

Wynkyn de Worde first printed Christmas carols in 1521, but there were many MS. carols in existence before then. Here is a very pretty one from Mr. Wright's fifteenth-century MS.:—

To blys God bryng us al and sum.
Christe, redemptor omnium.

In Bedlem, that fayer cyte,
Was born a chyld that was so fre,
Lord and prince of hey degre,
Jam lucis orto sidere.
Jhesu, for the lowe of the,
Chylder wer slayn grett plente
In Bedlem, that fayer cyte,
A solis ortus cardine.
As the sune schynyth in the glas,
So Jhesu of hys moder borne was;
Hym to serve God gyffe us grace,
O Lux beata Trinitas.
Now is he oure Lord Jhesus;
Thus hath he veryly vysyt us;
Now to mak mery among us
Exultet cœlum laudibus.

The next carol I give has always been a popular favourite, and can be traced back to the fourteenth century, when it was called "Joyes Fyve." In Mr. Wright's fifteenth-century MS. it is "Off the Five Joyes of Our Lady." It afterwards became the "Seven Joys of Mary," and has expanded to

The Twelve Good Joys of Mary.

The first good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of One,
To see her own Son Jesus
To suck at her breast-bone.
To suck at her breast-bone, good man,
And blessed may he be,
Both Father, Son and Holy Ghost,
To all eternity.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Two,
To see her own Son Jesus
To make the lame to go.
To make the lame, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Three,
To see her own Son Jesus
To make the blind to see.
To make the blind to see, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Four,
To see her own Son Jesus
To read the Bible o'er.
To read, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Five,
To see her own Son Jesus
To raise the dead alive.
To raise, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Six,
To see her own Son Jesus
To wear the crucifix.
To wear, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Seven,
To see her own Son Jesus
To wear the Crown of Heaven.
To wear, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Eight,
To see our blessed Saviour
Turn darkness into light.
Turn darkness, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Nine,
To see our blessed Saviour
Turn water into wine.
Turn water, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Ten,
To see our blessed Saviour
Write without a pen.
Write without, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Eleven,
To see our blessed Saviour
Shew the gates of Heaven.
Shew the gates, etc.
The next good joy our Mary had,
It was the joy of Twelve,
To see our blessed Saviour
Shut close the gates of Hell.
Shut close, etc.

"On Christmas Day in the Morning" and "God rest You, Merry Gentlemen," are both very old and popular, the latter extremely so; in fact, it is the carol most known. The next example was first printed by the Rev. Arthur Bedford, who wrote many books and published sermons between 1705 and 1743, but his version began somewhat differently:—

A Virgin unspotted, the Prophets did tell,
Should bring forth a Saviour, as now it befell.