By: Joseph Gaylord
One of the most iconic elements of the holiday season is the music. Carols, hymns, pop songs, classical and folk music all have their places at different kinds of holiday celebrations. While we often just listen to them as pretty background music, most of the songs, especially the oldest ones, have deep traditions and meanings surrounding them. If you are including a winter holiday in your game as a way of celebrating the season with your playgroup, (you should, here’s a very handsome and witty author explaining why and how: https://rpgcounterpoint.com/2024/12/17/happy-holidays-roll-for-intitative/), building in some musical or poetic cues could not only add flavor, but become part of the adventure itself. Let’s explore how:
(Side note: As someone who is Roman Catholic, the examples I have drawn from reflect my own experiences. Clearly, there are many beautiful songs from all faiths that would be appropriate for winter celebrations – feel free to draw on your own cultural experiences to do so!)
Mythical detail: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Come, O Come Emmanuel is a beautiful hymn, and probably the oldest Christmas carol we know of. It goes back to the 8th century as a form of plainchant. It’s a curious piece because although it sounds repetitive, each verse begins with a different title for the messiah drawn from ancient prophecy:
“O come, O come, Emmanuel.”
“O come, Thou Wisdom from on high.”
“O come, Thou Rod of Jesse.”
“O come, Thou Day-spring.”
“O come, Thou Key of David.”
“O come, Thou Lord of Might.”
“O come, Desire of Nations.”
This litany of titles calls back to the prophetic roots of the Christmas holiday. Each has a specific meaning that listeners would already know, or would learn about by singing this song. As such, it contains a wealth of theological information about the holiday, as do a number of others.
Using this in game: A song like this could easily let you hide bits of obscure lore in plain sight. A lesser known title for a deity might unlock a puzzle, or deeds or lineages attributed to them could be relevant to understanding some research or prophecy the party has come across.
Historical significance: I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Heard the Bells is probably my favorite carol. It’s sad and mournful and yet also triumphant. This is because of its origins. The poem which would become the song was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas 1863, in the midst of the American Civil War. His wife had recently died and his son had been severely wounded in battle in a conflict which had already killed hundreds of thousands. In that context, who could celebrate Christmas without being maudlin?
Using this in game: Making reference to recent or past events in the context of a holiday celebration makes a lot of sense. It can be a moment of peace, but that among a war or other tragedy is complex. You might have a group singing a song that references an ongoing war as a way of alerting the players to important events, or even as the hook for an adventure.
Use in ritual: Once in Royal David’s City
Once in Royal David’s City is always the first song in the Anglican service of Lessons and Carols. This ritual is how the Church of England begins its Christmas celebrations. The best known celebration is at Kings College, in Cambridge, but it is performed around the world. As such, to many Anglicans, Once in Royal David’s City begins Christmas itself. This relationship isn’t unique to this song, either. Various versions of the Alleluia Chorus or The Gloria play pivotal roles in Christmas celebrations, as well.
Using this in game: Rituals are great fodder for TTRPGs, maybe a celebration cannot begin, or only gains magical power, by singing or chanting. Maybe the ritual is part of a puzzle built by a priest or observant person with the song’s text as a specific clue or key.
Popular culture: Twas the Night Before Christmas
Twas the Night Before Christmas is different from most of the list, it’s less traditional, more secular, and a poem, rather than a song. I chose it because it has a very specific impact on the way many people see Christmas. Many elements of how we see Santa Claus, especially in the US, are based not on the historical Nicolas of Myra, but on this poem. The sleigh, the reindeer, the fur, coming down the chimney, the association with elves, even the fact that he’s fat, all of that (except the color scheme, thanks Coca-Cola) comes from this poem. Many older traditions were covered over and replaced in popular imagination by this image of Santa Claus.
Using this in game: Powerful, mythical figures often factor into TTRPGs. A song or poem that provides a distorted image of them would be a very interesting piece of misdirection in a holiday adventure. Something as simple as using the title “The old woman” for a frost goddess, only to have her appear incognito as a young maiden and needing to decipher older traditions to learn her identity could be an interesting story element.
Hidden messages: Rise Up Shepherd and Follow
Rise Up Shepherd and Follow is a Christmas song that emerges from the Black spiritual tradition of the American South. It goes back at least to 1867, and may have existed before. It tells the story of the shepherds meeting the angels on Christmas and being told to follow the star to the manger where Jesus was born. The third verse is:
If you take good heed to the angel’s words;
Rise up, shepherd, and follow;
You’ll forget your flocks, you’ll forget your herds;
Rise up, shepherd, and follow.
Superficially that’s a beautiful story drawn more or less directly from the Gospel. However, reread those lyrics in the context of a song written by people shortly before or after being liberated from slavery, mostly on plantations in the American South. Suddenly “you’ll forget your flocks, you’ll forget your herds” is both a call to religious devotion and a subversive proclamation of freedom.
Using this in game: There are a range of moments groups might use music to coordinate or spread messages. Positively, a group of freedom fighters may use songs to coordinate their work. Negatively, a secretive cult might have a song that serves as a calling card to identify members. Decoding or using those subtle messages hidden in seemingly benign text could be a fascinating challenge for adventurers within a social or mystery adventure.
Older traditions: The Wren and the Furze
The Wren and the Furze is a bit more obscure than the others on the list. It’s a part of a Celtic tradition of “Wren Day” when people would ritually or literally hunt for a wren on December 26. They would take the bird or an effigy and sing for gifts of food, money, and alcohol while wearing special costumes, usually made of straw. If this doesn’t sound like a typical Christmas, that’s because it isn’t. It’s become part of Christmas traditions, but it seems like it was part of druidic rituals around the winter solstice that got co-opted. There are similar connections for songs like O Christmas Tree or The Holly and the Ivy but this one is a particularly direct holdover.
Using this in game: A lost religious tradition, or one that hides itself in contemporary worship is a potential hook for many TTRPGs, from D&D to Call of Cthulhu to Kids on Bikes. Moreover, the combination of traditions in a way that preserves some of a more ancient ritual could not only present chances to have players “rediscover” the older tradition, but could be layered on to any of the other examples here.
…And a Partridge in a Pear Tree! Conclusions
Music and poetry are powerful carriers of culture, and ones that become much more visible at holidays. Holiday songs, especially older ones, come with layers of meaning, tradition, and history to unpack that can make them far more complex than they initially seem. This depth and complexity offers opportunities to GMs to use holiday music in a lot of interesting ways, turning what would easily be overlooked as simple set dressing into a meaningful game piece. Even if this information doesn’t make it into your games, knowing how many GMs enjoy puzzles and trivia, I hope the insights here add a little bit of interest to the playlist at your next holiday party.
Happy Holidays!
About the Author
Joseph Gaylord has been playing TTRPGs for 25 years, with almost 50 titles to his name on DMsGuild as an author, coauthor or contributor, including The Great Meltwater Festival, and 10 New Year’s Nemeses. He is on most social media as LabLazarus.
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