I've volunteered to spend a day in a citizen persona providing some violin and fiddle music at the Hunter-Dawson State Historical Site in Missouri on December 9, and I'd like to mix some period Christmas music into my repertoire.

Does anyone have information on what some favorite or most popular songs of the season might have been? Oh, I can easily enough find out what dates most Christmas carols and songs might have been written. But I just thought that some of you from your own readings might have some suggestions on what some favorite songs might have been. Right now, I can think of late 1700's and early 1800's pieces like "Silent Night", "Joy to the World", "Here We Come A-Wassailing", "Away in a Manger" (to an earlier melody that differed from the one we know more commonly today), "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing", "Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella", "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel", "What Child is This" ("Greensleeves") . . . Those are just a few period correct songs that come to mind at the moment.

Who can suggest more?

Murray Therrell
Paragould, AR