Desert News 12/6/09: Caroling history. In 1849, Edmund Sears, a Unitarian minister in Wayland, Mass., was working on his Christmas message. Concerned about both slavery and the poverty of his congregation, he was not in a festive mood until he read the account of Christmas in Luke. He began to write a poem that focused on that long-ago night, and used it to close his Christmas message. He also edited a magazine and published the words there, where they came to the attention of composer and music critic Richard Storrs Willis, who had written a song called “Carol.” Willis noticed that Sears’ words fit perfectly with his music, and a carol was born.