Unravel These Odd Lyrics For Utahns This Christmas

There's no escape if you’re a Star 98.1 fan during this festive time of year, you’re jamming to Christmas tunes and scratching your head over some of the peculiar lyrics in those old-time favorites.

Christmas carols are sprinkled with old-fashioned—and let's be honest, downright bizarre—words that you wouldn't stumble upon in your day-to-day life. Some of these terms are so archaic, they’re practically fossils. So here are some explanations for some of those stand out lines.

Jingle Bells - Bells on bobtails ring

Horses pulling sleighs were decked out with bells to alert other riders. A bobtail is a horse with its tail cut short or tied up, a common practice to keep tails out of the way.

The Christmas Song - Yuletide carols being sung by a choir

Druids and other pagans celebrated Yule, or the winter solstice, before Christianity was common in Europe. Traditions like the yule log and yuletide were incorporated into Christmas celebrations.

Deck the Halls - Troll the ancient Yuletide carol

This song, is a Welsh New Year’s Eve drinking song melody with English lyrics, according to some troll here means "to sing in a full voice." Adams suggests it comes from trollen, a Middle English verb meaning to wander around. So when you troll a carol, you’re taking it out into the streets and singing from house to house.

Silent Night - Round yon Virgin, mother and child"

Written in German in 1818, "Silent Night" depicts the peaceful scene in a manger in Bethlehem. The line "round yon Virgin" means around that Virgin Mary (the mother of Jesus).

We Wish You a Merry Christmas - Oh, bring us a figgy pudding

If you’re not British, you might not know that figgy pudding is a traditional English dessert often associated with Christmas. Despite its name, it’s not a pudding but more of a steamed cake made with alcohol and dried fruit—not always figs. For a while, "fig" was a synonym for "raisin" in English.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Take a look at the five-and-ten; it’s glistening once again

A five-and-ten (or five-and-dime) was a type of discount store popular in mid-20th century America, where items were priced at 5 and 10 cents—think of it as the 1950s version of a dollar store. The store is glistening with festive displays and bustling with holiday shoppers.

Angels We Have Heard on High - What the gladsome tidings be which inspire your heavenly song?

First published in French, this song’s gladsome means characterized by gladness. Tidings means news or information, referring to the announcement of Jesus Christ’s birth.

Read More: 25 Songs Artists Regret Recording

Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town - The kids in girl and boy land will have a jubilee

Jubilee originally referred to a year of emancipation and restoration in the Jewish faith, kept every 50 years. It later came to mean any 50-year celebration and eventually just general rejoicing.