It’s day 13 of our Advent Calendar and Senior Librarian, Louise Birch is returning for a second visit to Robert Chambers ‘The Book of Day: A Miscellany of Popular Antiquities in Connection with the Calendar, Including Anecdote, Biography, & History, Curiosities of Literature and Oddities of Human Life and Character.’ Vol. 2 (1864). We’ll leave it to the man himself to introduce you to Christmas carollers.

“Amid so many popular customs at Christmas, full of so much sweet and simple poetry, there is perhaps none more charming that that of the Christmas carols, which celebrate in joyous and yet devout strains the Nativity of the Saviour. “

“The carol, as subjoined, is sung on Christmas-morning by children in Yorkshire, who bear along with them, on the occasion, a Christmas-tree as a badge of their mission”

‘Well-a-day! well-a-day!

Christmas too soon goes away,

Then your gooding we do pray,

For the good time will not stay –

We are not beggars from door to door,

But neighbours’ children known before,

So gooding pray,

We cannot stay,

But must away,

For the Christmas will not stay,

Well-a-day! well-a-day.’

See you tomorrow for Day 14 of our Heritage advent Calendar.