This is perhaps the favourite old English carol with a tune as old as itself and known to everyone. It is one of the oldest extant carols, dated to the 16th century or earlier. The earliest known printed edition of the carol is in a broadsheet dated to c. 1760. Often sung in the open air like the first great Christmas carol sung in Judea, this tune in particular was a favourite of strolling bands of minstrels and groups of little children, going from door to door in the streets and highways of old England. From that day to this, this song has expressed the joy and hope of the Christmas season.
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