This Ancient custom is carol singing, and though this is limited neither to Britain nor to the country, it is in traditional and picturesque surroundings that it may be heard to it's best advantage. The origin of the word "carol", which is lost in antiquity, seems to have originally suggested a ring dance and the ceremony among other pagan rituals found it's way into that of the Christian church. Old carols retain many of the features of folksong. The photograph above shows boys of the Heritage Craft School at Chailey in Sussex singing carols at the entrance to the chapel.