\u2026and I am still therefore giving myself up to revelry and jollification till Twelfth Night, I hereby present you with an interesting and educational article on the history of Christmas music from the medieval period to Sufjan Stevens.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a taste, but do click the link and read (and listen to) the rest<\/a>:<\/p>\n Whether it\u2019s music by the\u00a0Sufjan<\/a>\u00a0Stevens\u00a0<\/a>or 12th-Century composers from Paris, the music of Christmas has always brought joy, awe, and festivity. Likewise, it is in celebrating the rich history of the music of Christmas that we can appreciate how traditions have changed but the meaning of the holiday has remained. Here is a short history of Christmas music from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.<\/p>\n Pre-Carolinginan\u00a0Christmas Carols<\/strong>\u00a0(aka, Music before Charlemagne)<\/p>\n The earliest Christmas music was likely written in the 4th Century by St. Ambrose of Milan, and it was actually a religious political statement. His piece,\u00a0Veni\u00a0redemptor gentium (\u201c<\/em>Come, Redeemer of the nations\u201d),\u00a0\u00a0was actually written as an anti-Arianist statement. (Arianism being the early Christian theory of inequality in the Trinity, as opposed to mainstream churches.) The context of this song evokes a sense of St. Ambrose trying to convey the equality, and therefore divinity, of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since it was written for the Advent season, it especially signifies the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth.<\/p>\n