Details
Similar to Austria, Catalonia holds a rich custom of Christmas carols. These are typically secular songs, meant to be performed by anyone throughout the Christmas season. Catalan author Joan Amades (1890-1959) noted that these holiday tunes were traditionally sung by shepherds at church entrances on Christmas Eve, with some melodies tracing back to the 15th century. Given their historical roots, the lyrics tend to be quite grounded and straightforward. One such carol is Joseph and Mary (Josep i Maria), which features English lyrics.