Musical Differences

I figured I better post this so you'd understand how -&- why I chose -&- separated the Music the way I did in the next 3 blogs I will be posting!?!
All 4 will be dealing with Christmas Music
-but-
different types of Christmas Music if you will...there will be Hymns/Carols (when I was a kid we say the hymns as our carols) Songs -&- Kids Songs which are in a way all the same
-but-
also VERY different in many ways!?!
Who knows some songs may even make more than one list!?!

When figuring out the differences in these types of music here is what I learned:

Hymns: A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word hymn derives from Greek (hymnos), which means "a song of praise."



Carol: A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character. Today the carol is represented almost exclusively by the Christmas carol, the Advent carol, and to a much lesser extent by the Easter carol, however despite their present association with religion, this has not always been the case.


Song: A song is a piece of music for accompanied or unaccompanied voice or voices or, "the act or art of singing," but the term is generally not used for large vocal forms including opera and oratorio. The word "song" has the same etymological root as the verb "to sing" and the OED defines the word to mean "that which is sung"



Kids Song: The definition of nursery rhyme or children's song is very broad. If it's sung or recited to or by kids and their families it is a kids song in my opinion! It is also song that is easy & fun for the kids to sing!