Music is an integral part of Christmas. Many radio stations start playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving all the way through the end of the year. No matter where you go, you're bound to hear Christmas music playing. It could be Christmas carols or a host of other holiday-inspired songs.
Christmas Carol History
Photo by WhiteShot, sxc.hu
Christmas carols started being sung as early as the 13th century. The popularity of carols has risen and fallen throughout history. Their popularity waned during the Protestant Reformation and then again in the 16th century. They were revived again, however, in the mid 18th century and have been popular ever since. These were originally communal songs, written in English or Latin, to be sung during the harvest. More recently, Christmas songs have spread outside of the religious sphere and have become a major part of popular culture.
Types of Carols
- Some carols are like wassailing songs, which are generally sung during drinking and merry making.
- Many carols are sung mostly in churches during the month leading up to Christmas as well as during a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service.
- Often times, during the Christmas season, groups of singers will get together and sing carols in the streets. They may even go door to door. This practice is called caroling.
- Macaronic carols are written in a mixture of English and Latin.
Popular Carols
The following is a list of some popular carols. This is by no means a comprehensive collection, as there are countless carols and everyone has their own favorites.
- "Angels We Have Heard on High" music: traditional hymn "Gloria"; English translation by James Chadwick 1862
- "Away in a Manger" first two stanzas attributed to unknown author; third stanza written by John McFarland (1904) 1885
- "A Christmas Carol" words and music: Charles E. Ives 1894
- "Deck the Halls" based on the Welsh traditional "Oer yw'r gwr sy'n methu caru"
- "Ding Dong Merrily on High" music: Jehan Tabourot; words: George Ratcliffe Woodward
- "Do You Hear What I Hear?" written by No?l Regney and Gloria Shayne 1962
- "The First Nowell" ("The First No?l") English traditional
- "Carol of the Bells" music composed by Mykola Leontovych; original traditional Ukrainian lyrics are of pre-Christian origin; English adaptation of text by Peter Wilhousky, 1936
- "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" music: Felix Mendelssohn; words: Charles Wesley; amended by George Whitfield and Marti Madan originally as part of Festgesang; adapted and harmonized by William Hayman Cummings; descant for verse 3 added in 1961 by Sir David Willcocks for the Carols for Choirs books
- "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" English traditional
- "Good King Wenceslas" words: John Mason Neale; music: tune from Piae Cantiones
- "Here We Come A-Wassailing" English traditional
- "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; music: Johnny Marks
- "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" English traditional
- "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" words: Edmund Hamilton Sears; music: Richard Storrs Willis
- "Joy to the World" words: Isaac Watts based on Psalm 98; music: arranged by Lowell Mason based on themes in Handel's ?Messiah"
- "The Little Drummer Boy" ("Carol of the Drum") written by Katherine K. Davis 1957
- "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" ("Veni, Veni, Emmanuel") strictly an Advent hymn
- "O Holy Night" words: Placide Clappeau de Rouquemaure; translated by John Sullivan Dwight; music: Adolphe Adam
- "O Little Town of Bethlehem" words: Phillips Brooks; music (US): Lewis H. Redner; music (UK): traditional tune: "The Ploughboy's Dream"
- "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree") German traditional
- "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht! Heilige Nacht!") written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr; best known in the English translation by John Freeman Young
- "The Twelve Days of Christmas" English traditional with melody for "Five gold rings" added by Frederick Austin
- "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" English traditional
- "We Three Kings Of Orient Are" ("Three Kings of Orient") written by Rev. John Henry Hopkins 1863; strictly an Epiphany carol
- "What Child Is This?" music: traditional English song "Greensleeves;" words: William Chatterton Dix
Other Popular Christmas Tunes
The following are the top 25 most performed Christmas songs as compiled by the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers.
Photo by TouTouke, sxc.hu
- "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" ? Mel Torm?, Robert Wells
- "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" ? Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
- "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" ? Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
- "Winter Wonderland" ? Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
- "White Christmas" ? Irving Berlin
- "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" ? Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" ? Johnny Marks
- "Jingle Bell Rock" ? Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe
- "I'll Be Home for Christmas" ? Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram
- "Little Drummer Boy" ? Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone
- "Sleigh Ride" ? Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
- "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" ? Edward Pola, George Wyle
- "Silver Bells" ? Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
- "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" ? Johnny Marks
- "Feliz Navidad" ? Jos? Feliciano
- "Blue Christmas" ? Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson
- "Frosty the Snowman" ? Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins
- "A Holly Jolly Christmas" ? Johnny Marks
- "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" ? Tommie Connor
- "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" ? Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman
- "It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas" ? Meredith Willson
- "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" ? Bob Allen, Al Stillman
- "Carol of the Bells" ? Peter J. Wilhousky, Mykola Leontovich
- "Santa Baby" ? Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer
- "Wonderful Christmastime" ? Paul McCartney
These certainly aren't all the Christmas songs. There are countless others, with new ones being written each year. Keep your ears open during the Christmas season and you just might discover a new favorite.