Annotation:Old Christmas (1)
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OLD CHRISTMAS. Old-Time, Breakdown. USA, Kentucky. A Major. AEae tuning (fiddle). AABB. The tune bears no relation to West Virginia fiddler French Carpenter's "Old Christmas Morning." The title can be found in lists of tunes played at the Berea, Kentucky, 1915 fiddle contest. Alan and Elizabeth Lomax recorded the tune in 1937 for the Library of Congress from two different Kentucky fiddlers, Boyd Asher and George C. Nicholson.
The term 'Old Christmas' refers to the date of Christmas prior to the introduction of the Georgian Calendar in the mid-18th century, (which fell on January 6th in the Georgian system). Old Christmas continued to be celebrated in isolated pockets in the Appalachians well into the latter 19th century.
Source for notated version: Manon Campbell (Hallie, Letcher County, Ky., 1977) [Titon].
Printed sources: Titon (Old-Time Kentucky Fiddle Tunes), 2001; No. 114, p. 142.
Recorded sources: BG-CD1, Bruce Greene - "Five Miles of Ellum Wood" (1996).
Hear the tune played on youtube.com [1]