Whatever else you get out of our pages, I hope you come away with some great ideas for "sharing the joy."Īll material, illustrations, and content of this web site is copyrighted © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,Ģ007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 by Paul D. The following three songs are currently in our catalog:Īs you may have guessed, I especially enjoyed putting the Christmas music pages together because I am a musician myself. We hope to add several here as time permits. But many other traditional African American Christmas songs deserve the same notice. The best-known African American Christmas song is probably "Go Tell it on the Mountain," which became popular with white audiences many decades ago.
But within the constantly-changing African American community, the rythms and raw emotional power of those spirituals gave birth to what we now call "Traditional" Gospel music, as well as Jazz and the Blues. In the 1800s, many white Americans noted the rich tradition of "Negro Spirituals," and some performers even attempted to emulate them in minstrel shows and other venues. Of course the safest thing for oppressed peoples to sing about was the religious beliefs that, first forced upon them by their oppressors, later gave many hope in the midst of suffering. But, though people of African descent were ripped from much of their cultural heritage, they maintained their heritage of group song, punctuated by West African rythms and vocal stylings. This section of the site is dedicated to Christmas songs that were created by people who endured brutal hardships as the result of African colonization and North American slavery. Traditional African American Carols, from Family Christmas OnlineTMĪfrican American Carols, from Family Christmas Online TM