Fum, Fum, Fum (arr. cj renzi): “William Studwell, in The Christmas Carol Reader (New York: Harrington Park Press, 1995) writes that “It is uncertain when the carol was written, but the best guess perhaps is the Spanish Renaissance or Golden Age (the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries).” While most sources liken the "fum" to the strumming of a guitar, several mention a similarity to the tapping of a drum. J. R. Fancher, Naperville Chorus, reviewing The Many Moods of Christmas feels that the "fum" is similar to the the sound of the zambomba, a type of friction drum; a rod projecting from the ‘drumhead’ is rubbed or plucked with the hands. He also notes that the zambomba is closely associated with the flamenco tradition, including the flamenco Mass. Henry W. Simon, in A Treasury of Christmas Songs and Carols (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1973) notes that "As much as any tune in this book, it suggests the dance use made of carols, with its vigorous rhythm and the suggestion of strummed guitars in the strongly marked foom-foom-foom's.” The following was given in the House of Hope Presbyterian Church's A Service of Lessons and Carols, Sunday, December 19, 2004, Saint Paul, MN. There was no attribution of authorship.” By hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com