The Orange Beach Garden Club is hosting a Christmas caroling event at the Orange Beach History Museum on Tuesday, December 17th, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Families and friends are invited to celebrate the Christmas season with a sing-along featuring classic holiday songs performed by the Expect Excellence Music Program. The museum will be decorated with historical holiday displays, offering a glimpse into the charm of Christmases from the past.

Visitors will enjoy complimentary cookies and hot apple cider as they tour the museum. The event aims to spread holiday cheer and create a warm and welcoming community experience.

The caroling event is free to attend, and all are welcome to join in celebrating the festive spirit.

If you’ve ever wondered when Christmas carols first came about, the answer lies in the 14th century – although their evolution dates back even further. Even before Christianity, it is thought that midwinter songs existed to keep up people’s spirits, along with dances, plays and feasts. 

Christianity spread across Europe from the fourth to the 14th centuries, and the first carols were produced by Franciscan friars, who were followers of Saint Francis of Assisi. These took the form of a dance in a circle with linked hands and everybody singing the song. Huge numbers of Christmas carols survive from the 15th century, making it the best-preserved aspect of English medieval music.

In America, the Library of Congress states in the early 1800s, hymns, including many songs for Christmas, were published in books that were readily available to the lay person outside of churches. This made singing Christmas carols more popular. There was a revival of caroling in the early 1900s in cities and towns all across the United States including Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia. Events were advertised and described in detail in newspapers across the country.