Tune of the Day: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
This old folk song is said to come from the West Country of England in the sixteenth century, but almost nothing else is known about it.
The origin of the carol seems to lie in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas eve. By the way, it's amazing what a brief mention in a 16th-century Christmas carol can do for an obscure little dessert called “figgy pudding”. Every year, thousands of people around the world become curious about the figgy pudding mentioned in the chorus of this secular English carol (“Oh bring us a figgy pudding”). For the curious, these delicacies were not dissimilar to modern day white Christmas puddings, and of course included figs as the main ingredient. It must be some seriously good pudding, since apparently the carolers of the lyrics refuse to leave until they get some!