Why is Adeste Fidelis (Oh Come All Ye Faithful) the only traditional Christmas hymn to be heard sung in Latin?

This is an interesting question; I’m tapping into my recollections from my youth and singing in boys choir.

I think you have to bear in mind that most seasonal or “Christmas” music that we hear on the radio is divided into two genres: sacred music and secular music; most of what’s heard on the popular music radio stations is secular music that mostly caters to non-religious (and more specifically, non-Christian) listeners, that focus less on celebrating Christ’s birth, and more on secular ideas (the season, the feeling, shopping for and receiving toys, and of course, Santa Clause), and were for the most part written and recorded in early-to-mid the 20th century.

And in America, you hear a lot more secular music due to the influence of popular American music and the recording industry, and as an effect of holiday shopping; as radio and television gained in popularity in the 40s and 50s as many of the crooners and jazz greats wrote and performed songs that have since become part of our poplular tradition of the Christmas season in our culture. And, as this season is the high point for shopping and retail, this music becomes an element that is ingrained in most people’s minds-going to the mall and hearing these tunes while shopping.

But sometimes, you’ll also hear recording artists throw in a church hymn or two into the mix, and in some cases, they have not been translated into English (such as the Bach/Gounod hymn “Ave Maria” which is also a popular song in Bocelli’s repertoire, and also for other greats like Sinatra), and have seeped into the popular consciousness because of their recordings.

Most of the Latin hymnals that are related to the season of Christmas were written prior to recorded music, and intended for performance in churches (mostly, these songs were composed in the 17th-19th centuries). And, there are some popular hymns that are in French, German, and Italian (such as the French Il Est Ne Le Divine Enfant, or “Born On Earth the Divine Christ Child” and Silent Night, originally a Christmas Carol in German, Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht).

There are some really beautiful Christmas songs in Latin that are not circulated on popular music radio stations, and almost all choral works sung in Latin are written in honor of Christ, God, Mary, etc…and from these there are dozens of works that are sung around the Christmas season, even though for Christians/Protestants etc., most of this music is intended for performance year-round as part of the church service.

As for the English-translated hymns heard on the radio this time of year (as in your example “O come all ye faithful”), these were translated to English for two reasons: in recording industry, for the “crossover” factor of bringing these songs to the non-religious (secular) populations and contexts, and also for English-speaking churches such as the American Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and many of the Protestant denominations (Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc.), even though the latter are less inclined to singing hymns about Christ’s birth and the Passion of Christ, and are more focused on glorifying God in general.

Don’t forget Panis Angelicus.

@gemiwing yeah, we sang that one too…great one!

Latin is easier to pronounce and thus to sing more elegantly than the romance languages.

Say “Heilige Nacht” three times without spraying the tenor on either side of you.

Don’t forget “Veni, veni, Emmanuel.”

I totally attribute it to Der Bingel and his altar boy past. What Bing sang, everybody listened to.

If you really want Christmas carols in Latin, check out this site. They have everything from “Gaudium Mundo,” a Latin version of Joy to the World, to “Rudolphus” ( Rudolphus rubrinasus, fulgentissimo naso, vidisti et si eum dicas quoque candere ) and even “Canticum Turbonis” (The Dreidel Song).

You can even buy recordings, song books, and even a copy of Quomodo Invidiosulus Nomine Grinchus Christi Natalem Abrogaverit: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Latin Edition).

I suspect typical radio stations don’t do the Latin versions because we like to understand the words and most of us never took any Latin.

Love it – fulgentissimo naso.

@Darwin Thanks for the great link.

One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Psallite Unigenito” which is sung in Latin, German, and English.

There’s also “In Dulci Jubilo” and “Veni, Veni, Emanuel”, and don’t forget Saint-Saens’ Christmas Oratorio; the whole thing is in Latin.

@Darwin

Magister meus Latinae librum hunc nobis monstrat. Recitavit nobis.

@DominicX I love In Dulci Jubilo!

The celebration of Christmas has not always been the same as it is today. Church music before the reformation would have been in Latin but during and after in Protestant churches the common vernacular was used. Also music in many churches was considered too “papist” “Merry” Christmas was more of a public celebration with exchanges between masters and peasants.

It wasn’t until about 200 years ago (long after Latin was no longer the “official” language) that the sentimental family celebration started to become popular with some of songs we sing today being written. There has always been a difference between the classical compositions and the popular, easily sung Christmas carols written in the local language. Christmas really took off during Victorian England when Prince Albert brought in the traditions of his native Germany and gave the Royal family strong middle class values and the direct forerunner of our American Christmas Thus is also the era of most of what we consider traditional carols.

The reason Adeste Fidelis is in Latin is that it originally wasn’t a song but from of a prayer in the middle ages when Latin was the common church language. It was written as a Latin song by an English choir master about 250 years ago. As it became more commonly popular it was translated into English.

@DominicX – Hope your teacher appreciates it. :-)

Wow, what great info. GA to all. Fluther rocks !

Ironically, it’s more than I could ever use on a practical level, having never taken Latin in HS. For this and other reasons I really wish I had :)

But I’ll still spend a bit of time perusing Darwin’s link.

@Buttonstc: Learning some elementary Latin would not be difficult. I have an old Latin grammar I from 1931. It has the same lessons that a text from 2009 would use.

St. Peter was considered the rock of the christian church. Petrus in Latin means rock.

Here’s part of the conventional dialog:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Peter#The_.22Rock.22_dialogue

“Jesus addresses Simon by what seems to have been the nickname “Peter” (Cephas in Aramaic, Petros [rock] in Greek) and says, “On this rock (also petra in Greek) I will build my church, which will overcome all the evil forces arrayed against it.”

it is one of the few Christmas songs that was written in Latin (Veni, veni Emmanuel being another).
There is a difference between carols and hymns. Carols were/are songs which were used in a particular season, but which were written by the people, in the vernacular, rather than forming part of a liturgical tradition, which would naturally have taken place in Latin. Think of “I saw three ships come sailing by”, “The Holly and the Ivy”, “Adam lay y-bounden”, “Deck the Halls with boughs of holly”- they are associated with the season, but have the character of a folk melody, an expression of the season written by the people. And think also of the Wassailing songs – again, part of the season, but not a hint of religion in them!
Therefore , you will not find any “carols” in the traditional sense of the word, which were written in Latin, as those in Latin would have been part of the church liturgy.
An interesting crossover is “Ding Dong Merrily On High” – in English, but using the standard wording of the liturgy, in the Gloria in Excelsis chorus.