MEMBERS of the Darlington Women's Club heard about the interesting history of many of our favourite Christmas carols at their most recent meeting.

James Mitchell of the National English Opera Company attended the meeting to give a talk and also led members in song.

Mr Mitchell told the meeting that Christmas carols have evolved over the centuries, often starting life as folk songs while others were written as deliberate political or religious statements, the meanings of which have since been trivialised or lost.

He spoke about the history of Good King Wenceslas, explaining that although history relates that he was indeed a good king of Bohemia about 1,000 years ago, he actually only ruled for four years before he was murdered at the age of 22 by his pagan brother, Boleslav.

The carol itself was written in 1847, using a 16th Century tune, and the story of the peasant and King Wenceslas was entirely fictitious.

Mr Mitchell also explained the history of Silent Night, written by an Austrian priest in 1816, before being translated into English in 1863, and the origins of O Holy Night and its subsequent banning by the French authorities, who felt it was "totally lacking in the spirit of religion".

Darlington Women's Club president Shirley Richardson thanked Mr Mitchell for his talk and for explaining the history behind the carols.