CAROL, a song of praise sung at Christ mas or Easter. It originally meant a song ac companied with dancing, in which sense it is frequently used by the old poets. It appears to have been danced by many performers, by taking hands, forming a ring and singing as they went round. It has been said that the oldest carol was that sung by the heavenly host when the birth of the Saviour was announced to the shepherds on the plains of Bethlehem. It is probable that the practice of singing carols at Christmas-tide arose in imitation of this, as the majority of the carols declared the good tidings of great joy; and the title of Nods, nowells or novelles, applied to carols, would seem to bear out this idea. Carol singing is of great antiquity among Christian communities, as the carol by Aurelius Prudentius, of the 4th century, will show. The Middle Ages were especially familiar with these songs. 'The first
authorization for a collection of such carols to be made was issued to Thomas Tysdale (1562). For a while they disappeared under the Puritan regime, but with the Restoration a new book appeared called 'The New Carols for the Merry Time of Christmas, to Sundry Pleasant Tunes.' In England, the custom of •waits," i.e., groups of boys and men who go about singing in the village, still prevails in some sections. 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing,' (1739) and (While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night' are two well-known carols. Collections have been made by H. R. Bramley and Sir J. Stainer under the title Carols, Old and New' (London 1874) ; and by Martha E. Rickert, (Ancient Christmas Carols, 1400-1700' (New York 1910).