School nativity with obscure Christmas Carols - why?

[BrocolliFloret]

DC are at two different schools and their nativities and Christmas concerts never include ANY traditional Christmas carols.

They’ve not gone secular - they still sing about the wise men, the donkey etc… but they have binned the classic carols and only use unknown modern hymns.

Anyone else find this is the case with their school, and does anyone have any idea why they do this?

Seems like a waste that they’re spending time learning and performing these dull unmemorable songs when there are so many amazing Christmas carols that would be much more enjoyable to listen to. Just me?

I think those of you saying it’s not a new thing are considerably younger than those of us saying it IS a new thing, relatively speaking. I doubt they were doing it in 1950 and they certainly weren’t doing it in 1979 to 1983 when I was involved in nativities

I remember Shake and Rattle and Roll!

Sing a camel, a camel-ing song,
Just wander, wander along.
Presents so rare, we'll carry them there,
On a camel, cam-el.

@misshavershamreturns I agree!! 'not a new thing' and 'I'm 29' in the same sentence . That's a good 15 17 years younger than me, and yet I can remember our school nativities like they were yesterday. With all the proper carols that should(!) go with it.

Oh I hate some of the songs DC sing, they seem so random. Santa Baby was a favoured one for a couple of years. The past 5 years they've sung "We are the World" and again this year. What's wrong with some proper traditional carols! At least they hear them at home.

I'm sure we only ever sung the old carols at school, Hark! Twelve Days etc. We also sang one about a donkey, but I can't find it or remember enough to look for it. Not Little Donkey.

My children are both in secondary school now so I remember well all the modern nativities I’ve had to attend.
The one that really sticks out is my DS’s last year in juniors. 60 pre-teens all stomped out onto the stage and sang Away In A Manger.
Wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

That traditional carol Hark the Herald?

Those aren't the original words....

Look it up

And then look up what the welkin is.......

What's wrong with welkin? It just means sky.

My point was that what we think as traditional is still an adaptation. Everything was new once.
And if you know all the words to the original version without google then you are either Charles Wesley reincarnated or a huge liar

I think it’s in part dependent on the flavour of Christianity in the school — DS’s C of E village primary never had traditional carols at any of the nativities he took part in, but the hymns at the services in the parish church were also all modern. Very evangelical vicar. The first time I attended the Sunday morning service, the vicar was singing ‘Jesus is the King of the Jungle’ complete with actions.

The Coventry carol.
Angel Gabriel
Can’t be bettered I love them in fact rarely play modern carols I’ve always loved the older songs.

Of course I had to Google it

But the change from welkin was over 100y ago, and the 'modern' version most of us are familiar with is about 50y old and not that different to the 100y old version. Still traditional.

We use the modern nativity plays in primary school, but we also have a carol service where the traditional carols are sung.
And and advent Mass, (because Christmas doesn't start till the 25th!) Where they sing some traditional and 20th C. Advent carols.

I never thought of the as nativities to be honest, for us they were always "the Christmas play".

Today the children in my primary school were singing Once in Royal, The Angel Gabriel, We 3 Kings and Ding Dong Merrily on High.

Little kids singing Away In A Manger invariably has me groping for the tissues, too.

The trouble with too many of the recent songs they learn at school IMO is that the tunes are so banal - they sound as if they should be a TV ad jingle for washing powder or something.

It’s not that I dislike all newer carols - John Rutter’s are lovely, but then they sound like carols, not like TV ad jingles.