Could YOU be singing your favourite Christmas carol wrong? Experts reveal ‘only a fraction’ of traditional carols are being performed properly – with most tunes being made up on the spot

'Hear! The Herald Angels sing Frank Sinatra's famous crooning – but was the sultan of swooning on the right note?

According to English Heritage, which recently commissioned a deep dive into the history of festive hymns, he probably wasn't.

Research by the charity has shed light on British festive traditions and revealed that in many cases most Christmas carols have never had a 'correct' melody, with current melodic standards dating back to the 19th century when attempts were made to standardize the canon.

Previously, many Christmas carols were anarchic in nature and had no formal melody, with congregations and soloists merely improvising the melody on the spot.

Leading the research is Dr Michael Carter, senior property historian at English Heritage told The Times: 'Only a fraction of medieval Christmas carols retain the original score, and it is entirely possible that in many cases these were never composed at all.

English Heritage research has shed light on British festive traditions and revealed that in many cases most Christmas carols have never had a 'correct' melody

“Most of what people think about Christmas carols is probably wrong. How we view Christmas carols today, the times of year we sing them, and even the melodies we sing – it's not quite what you think it is.”

The aim of English Heritage's research is to reconnect the British public with bygone aspects of festive history, including the correct melody for Christmas carols and dancing along outside a church.

Dr. Carter continued: 'The first Christmas carols were actually written for dancing and it would have been quite a cheerful affair.

'While this is a practice that I personally hope we revive, it is worth remembering that carols are a living tradition, evolving over the centuries, and should be celebrated in all forms, especially at Christmas .'

But how would you dance to a Christmas carol like While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night?

According to the study, the traditional way for congregations to dance to the carols would be to dance and sing during the chorus before pausing while a soloist records a verse.

If you can't imagine this going over so well in church, you might be interested to know that Christmas carols weren't sung in churches for worship until the mid-1800s, before these were more community-based secular affairs.

Dr. Carter added, “It could have been at your friends' house or going door to door.

'You could be rewarded with food and drinks, or you enjoyed hospitality in the hall of the social elite.'

And you don't have to look far to see that elements of the great communal tradition are still practiced today.

Just last week, 7,000 people turned up for a trendy service in east London at the Columbia Road Christmas Market.

Footage shared on TikTok showed dozens of people getting into a raucous Christmas spirit and integrating dance moves into Star of Wonder, Star of Night.

Just last week, 7,000 people turned up for a trendy service in east London at the Columbia Road Christmas Market

The enormous popularity of the event before its cancellation suggests that there is still life in the Christmas carol tradition

But in scenes that would only please Oliver Cromwell, the market has announced that they will be canceling all future events this year due to the massive overcrowding caused by the event going viral on TikTok.

Footage uploaded to TikTok from last week's event shows a huge crowd enjoying the festive sing-along, with the local vicar wheeling a piano down the street to accompany the carolers.

Some attendees said they had been 'packed like sardines' and feared it was a 'disaster waiting to happen', while locals blamed 'dangerous' overcrowding for announcing the event on social media.

In a statement they said: 'It is with regret that we formally announce that there will be no Christmas Carols on Wednesday 13th and 20th December on Columbia Road this year.

'The crowds of more than 7,000 people present on the road last week were so great that there was a threat to public safety.

“We are grateful to God and those who worked at the event that no serious injuries were reported.”