Musically speaking, it is often said that songs written in minor keys are sadder or more melancholy than songs written in major keys. So why, if Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, are so many Christmas carols in minor keys? Think about it. There are a lot of them. Here’s a list just off the top of my head:

“Carol of the Bells”

“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman”

“O Little Town of Bethlehem”

“Angels from the Realms of Glory”

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”

“The First Nowell”

“O Holy Night”

“The Little Drummer Boy”

“I Wonder as I Wander”

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

“We Three Kings”

“What Child is This?”

“Do You Hear What I Hear?”

“Silent Night”

“Away in a Manger”

There are also quite a few others that are less well-known. The most probable (and most boring) explanation for this fact is that the original Christmas carols were or were based upon medieval liturgical music, which was usually written in scales most modern music theorists would classify as minor. Later songwriters simply copied the style because it sounded “Christmassy.”

My own (wildly speculative, completely uninvestigated, and definitely unsubstantiated) theory is that the slightly dark and pensive mood created by the use of minor keys in these carols is, like the Christmas tree and the yule log, a throwback to Europe’s pre-Christian, pagan past, an expression of half-remembered rituals meant to get our cultural ancestors through the long, dark, winter nights. Such rituals might not have been so festive in nature….

Happy Holidays!