List of Christmas carols
Encyclopedia
A Christmas carol
Christmas carol
A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

 is a carol
Carol (music)
A carol is a festive song, generally religious but not necessarily connected with church worship, and often with a dance-like or popular character....

 whose lyric
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

s center on the theme of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 or that has become associated with the Christmas season even though its lyrics may not specifically refer to Christmas. Both types of Christmas carols are included in this list.

Traditional Christmas carols mainly focus on the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

. Other Christmas songs focus on more secular Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 themes, such as winter scenes, family gatherings, and Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

.

Catalamierda

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Fumen catalàs, Fumen catalàs, Fum!" ("El vint-i-cinc de desembre, catalàs mes tontos") fofoooooo, faffaaa, let's destroy catalàs! 16th Century The word 'fum' "may imitate the sound of a druk catalan (or perhaps the strumming of their illness)
El noi de la mare

English

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Adam Lay Ybounden
Adam Lay Ybounden
"Adam lay ybounden", originally titled Adam lay i-bowndyn is a 15th century macaronic English text of unknown authorship. The manuscript on which the poem is found, , is held by the British Library, who date the work to c.1400 and speculate that the lyrics may have belonged to a wandering minstrel;...

"
Set by numerous composers, most notably by Boris Ord
Boris Ord
Boris Ord , born Bernhard Ord, was an English organist, composer and musical director best known as the choir master of King's College, Cambridge....

 and Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock
Peter Warlock was a pseudonym of Philip Arnold Heseltine , an Anglo-Welsh composer and music critic. He used the pseudonym when composing, and is now better known by this name....

15th Century
"Angels from the Realms of Glory
Angels from the Realms of Glory
"Angels from the Realms of Glory" is a Christmas carol written by English poet James Montgomery. It was first printed in the Sheffield Iris on Christmas Eve 1816, though it only began to be sung in churches after its 1825 reprinting in the Montgomery collection The Christian Psalmist and in the...

"
words: James Montgomery
James Montgomery
James Montgomery was a British editor, hymnwriter and poet. He was particularly associated with humanitarian causes such as the campaigns to abolish slavery and to end the exploitation of child chimney sweeps....

; music (US): to the tune of "Regent Square" (UK): a slightly different arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....

" ("Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...

")
1816
"Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....

"
based on traditional hymn "Gloria" (a French traditional carol "Les Anges dans nos Campagnes"); English translation by Bishop James Chadwick, tune arranged by Edward Shippen Barnes 1862
"Away in a Manger
Away in a Manger
"Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...

"
first two stanzas attributed to unknown author; third stanza written by John McFarland (1904) 1885
"Boar's Head Carol
Boar's Head Carol
The Boar's Head Carol is a macaronic 15th century English Christmas carol that describes the ancient tradition of sacrificing a boar and presenting its head at a Yuletide feast...

"
English traditional
"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
"Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle" is a Christmas carol which originated from the Provence region of France in the 16th century. The song is usually notated in 3/8 time....

"
translation of the French "Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle!"
"Calypso Carol
Calypso Carol
The Calypso Carol is a popular modern Christmas carol, with the opening line "See him lying on a bed of straw".It has often been introduced by BBC announcers and others as a traditional folk carol from the West Indies. The calypso of the title refers to its West Indian flavour, and the words have...

" ("See him lying on a bed of straw")
Michael Perry
Michael Perry (hymnwriter)
Michael Arnold Perry was one of the UK's leading hymnwriters of the 20th century. He was closely associated with Jubilate Hymns.-Early life:Michael Perry was born in Beckenham, Kent on 8 March 1942...

1969 Written in 1964 for a college concert
"Candlelight Carol
Candlelight Carol
Candlelight Carol is a Christmas carol with music and lyrics by the English choral composer and conductor John Rutter. The carol was written in 1984, and was first recorded by Rutter's own group, the Cambridge Singers on their 1987 album Christmas Night...

"
John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...

1984
"Carol of the Bells
Carol of the Bells
"Carol of the Bells" is the common English language title of a Christmas carol of Ukrainian origin, which has in recent years grown in popularity, particularly in English-speaking countries. The work was originally a choral miniature composition by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych based on...

"
music composed by Mykola Leontovych
Mykola Leontovych
Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych was a Ukrainian composer, choral conductor, priest, and teacher of international renown. His music was inspired by Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian nationalist music school, along with Kyrylo Stetsenko, Alexander Koshetz, and Yakiv Stepovy...

; original traditional Ukrainian lyrics are of pre Christian origin; English adaptation of text by Peter Wilhousky, 1936
1916 based on a pagan epiphany song sung on the New Year known in Ukrainian as "Shchedryk
Shchedryk
Shchedryk is a Ukrainian shchedrivka, or New Year's carol. It was arranged by composer and teacher Mykola Leontovych in 1916, and tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of wealth that will come with the following spring...

"; sometimes called the "Bulgarian Carol" (although of Ukrainian origin)
"The Cherry Tree Carol" English traditional
"Children, Go Where I Send Thee
Children, Go Where I Send Thee
"Children, Go Where I Send Thee" is a traditional African-American spiritual song. This song is also known as "The Holy Baby" or "Born in Bethlehem." There are many versions of this song, the lyrics below were collected by Jean Ritchie from a school for black children in Kentucky. The verses give a...

"
"Christians Awake" John Byrom
John Byrom
John Byrom or John Byrom of Kersal or John Byrom of Manchester FRS was an English poet and inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand. He is also remembered as the writer of the lyrics of Anglican hymn Christians Awake, salute the happy morn.- Early life :John Byrom was descended from an old...

1746
"Christmas is all Around me" "Billy Mack", fictional character 2006
"A Christmas Carol" words and music: Charles E. Ives 1894
"Christmas Is Coming
Christmas is Coming
"Christmas Is Coming" is a nursery rhyme and Christmas carol with lyrics as follows:The musical version of the rhyme was popularized by The Kingston Trio as "A Round About Christmas", on their album The Last Month of the Year. It was also featured on a Christmas album John Denver and the Muppets:...

"
"Come Buy My Nice Fresh Ivy
Come Buy My Nice Fresh Ivy
Come Buy My Nice Fresh Ivy is a Christmas Carol which originated in Ireland.The music is O'Carolan's Lament , by Turlough O'Carolan.The lyrics were written by John Keegan...

"
music: Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough Carolan, also known as Turlough O'Carolan, was a blind, early Irish harper, composer and singer whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. He was the last great Irish harper-composer and is considered by many to be Ireland's national composer...

, John Keegan
John Keegan
Sir John Keegan OBE FRSL is a British military historian, lecturer, writer and journalist. He has published many works on the nature of combat between the 14th and 21st centuries concerning land, air, maritime, and intelligence warfare, as well as the psychology of battle.-Life and career:John...

1849 (originally titled "O'Carolan's Lament")
"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...

1749
"Coventry Carol
Coventry Carol
The "Coventry Carol" is a Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew...

" ("Lullay, Thou Tiny Little Child")
English traditional
"Deck the Halls" based on the Welsh traditional "Oer yw'r gŵr sy'n methu caru"
"Ding Dong Merrily on High
Ding Dong Merrily on High
"Ding Dong Merrily on High" is a Christmas carol. The tune first appeared as a secular dance tune known as "le branle de l'Official" in Orchésographie, a dance book written by Jehan Tabourot...

"
music: Jehan Tabourot, words: George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward was an Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance...

"Down in Yon Forest
Down In Yon Forest
"Down in Yon Forest" is a traditional English Christmas carol dating to the Renaissance era.The carol has been arranged in modern English by Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Jacob Niles and John Rutter, among others...

"
English traditional
"Do You Hear What I Hear?
Do You Hear What I Hear?
"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a Christmas song written in October 1962 with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne Baker. The pair were married at the time, and wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis...

"
written by Noël Regney
Noel Regney
Noël Regney , World War II veteran and French songwriter, composed the Christmas standard "Do You Hear What I Hear?" with his then-wife Gloria Shayne Baker in 1962. Originally from Alsace, France, he moved to New York City and then eventually Connecticut, where he lived out the remainder of his life...

 and Gloria Shayne
1962
"The First Nowell" ("The First Noël") English traditional
"The Friendly Beasts
The Friendly Beasts
"The Friendly Beasts" is a traditional Christmas song about the gifts that a donkey, a cow, a sheep, a camel, and a dove gave to Jesus at the Nativity. The song seems to have originated in 12th-century France, set to the melody of the Latin song Orientis Partibus. The current English words were...

"
"Frosty the Snowman
Frosty the Snowman
"Frosty the Snowman" is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950. It was written after the success of Autry's recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the previous year; Rollins and Nelson shipped the...

"
"Gabriel's Message
Gabriel's Message
"Gabriel's Message" or "The angel Gabriel from heaven came" is a Basque Christmas folk carol about the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the archangel Gabriel that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ the Son of God...

"
translated into English by Sabine Baring-Gould
Sabine Baring-Gould
The Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, Lew Trenchard Manor near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it...

from the Basque traditional carol "Birjina gaztettobat zegoen"
"Glory to God
Glory to God
"Glory to God" is a Christmas carol popular among American and Canadian Reformed churches that have Dutch roots. It is translated from the Dutch "Ere Zij God" and is one of the most beloved carols sung in the Protestant churches in the Netherlands....

" ("Ere Zij God")
Dutch traditional
"Go Tell It on the Mountain
Go Tell It on the Mountain (song)
"Go Tell It on the Mountain" is an African-American spiritual song, compiled by John Wesley Work, Jr., dating back to at least 1865, that has been sung and recorded by many gospel and secular performers...

"
Lyrics by John W. Work
"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" English traditional
"Good King Wenceslas
Good King Wenceslas
"Good King Wenceslas" is a popular Christmas carol about a king who goes out to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen . During the journey, his page is about to give up the struggle against the cold weather, but is enabled to continue by following the king's footprints, step for step,...

"
words: John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale
John Mason Neale was an Anglican priest, scholar and hymn-writer.-Life:Neale was born in London, his parents being the Revd Cornelius Neale and Susanna Neale, daughter of John Mason Good...

, music: tune from Piae Cantiones
Piae Cantiones
Piae Cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum is a collection of late medieval Latin songs first published in 1582. It was compiled by Jacobus Finno or Jaakko Suomalainen , a clergyman who was headmaster of the cathedral school at Turku...

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, having been written by Charles Wesley. This is not the version widely known today. A sombre man, Wesley had requested and received slow and solemn music for his lyrics, not the...

"
*music: Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...

, words: Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley
Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, son of Anglican clergyman and poet Samuel Wesley, the younger brother of Anglican clergyman John Wesley and Anglican clergyman Samuel Wesley , and father of musician Samuel Wesley, and grandfather of musician Samuel Sebastian Wesley...

, amended by George Whitfield and Martin Madan
Martin Madan
Martin Madan was an English barrister, clergyman and writer, known for controversial views on marriage expressed in his book Thelyphthora.-Life:...

originally as part of Festgesang, adapted and harmonised by William Hayman Cummings
William Hayman Cummings
William Hayman Cummings , born in Sidbury in Devon, was an English musician, tenor and organist at Waltham Abbey....

; descant for verse 3 added in 1961 by Sir David Willcocks
Sir David Willcocks
Sir David Valentine Willcocks CBE MC is a British choral conductor, organist, and composer. His son, Jonathan Willcocks, is also a composer.- Biography :...

 for the Carols for Choirs
Carols for Choirs
Carols for Choirs, published by Oxford University Press, edited by Sir David Willcocks with Reginald Jacques and John Rutter, is the most widely-used source of carols in the British Anglican tradition, and among British choral societies.There are four books in the original series and a portmanteau...

 books
"Here We Come A-Wassailing
Here We Come A-Wassailing
Here We Come A-wassailing is an English traditional Christmas carol and New Years song, apparently composed c. 1850...

"
English traditional
"The Holly and the Ivy
The Holly and the Ivy
"The Holly and the Ivy" is an English traditional Christmas carol. The carol contains intermingled Christian and Pagan imagery, with holly and ivy representing Pagan fertility symbols. Holly and ivy have been the mainstay of Christmas decoration for church use since at least the fifteenth and...

"
English traditional
"Huron Carol
Huron Carol
The "Huron Carol" is a Canadian Christmas hymn , written in 1643 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia"...

" ("'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime")
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1864 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.- Origin :...

"
words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...

, music: Johnny Marks
Johnny Marks
Johnny Marks was an American songwriter. Although he was Jewish, he specialized in Christmas songs and wrote many standards, including "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" , "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" , "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" , and "A Holly...

"I Pray on Christmas
I Pray On Christmas
"I Pray on Christmas" is a Christmas carol with music and lyrics by Harry Connick Jr. First released in 1993 on his multi platinum album When My Heart Finds Christmas...

"
written and by Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...

"I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)
I Saw Three Ships
"I Saw Three Ships " is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. A variant of its parent tune "Greensleeves", the earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833...

"
English traditional
"In Dulci Jubilo
In Dulci Jubilo
In dulci jubilo is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J.M...

" ("Good Christian Men, Rejoice" or "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice")
Macaronic carol known in several translations
"In the Bleak Midwinter
In the Bleak Midwinter
"In the Bleak Midwinter" is a Christmas carol based on a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti written before 1872 in response to a request from the magazine Scribner's Monthly for a Christmas poem....

"
words: Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...

, music: Gustav Holst
Gustav Holst
Gustav Theodore Holst was an English composer. He is most famous for his orchestral suite The Planets....

"Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
"Infant holy, Infant lowly" is based on a traditional Polish Christmas carol, "W żłobie leży". This song was translated to English by Edith M.G.Reed...

" ("W żłobie leży")
Polish traditional
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" words: Edmund Hamilton Sears, music: Richard Storrs Willis,
"I Wonder as I Wander
I Wonder As I Wander
"I Wonder as I Wander" is a Christmas carol written by John Jacob Niles. The carol has its origins in a song fragment collected on July 16, 1933 by folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles....

"
Appalachian traditional
"Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
Jesus Christ the Apple Tree is a poem written by an unknown New Englander in the 18th century. It has been set to music by a number of composers, including Jeremiah Ingalls and Elizabeth Poston ....

"
"Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells
"Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...

"
"Joy to the World
Joy to the World
"Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...

"
words: Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts
Isaac Watts was an English hymnwriter, theologian and logician. A prolific and popular hymnwriter, he was recognised as the "Father of English Hymnody", credited with some 750 hymns...

 based on Psalm 98
Psalm 98
Psalm 98 is one of the psalm in the biblical Book of Psalms. One of the Royal Psalms, Psalm 93-99, praising God as the King of His people.-Judaism:*Is the fourth paragraph of Kabbalat Shabbat....

, music: arranged by Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason
Lowell Mason was a leading figure in American church music, the composer of over 1600 hymn tunes, many of which are often sung today. His most well-known tunes include Mary Had A Little Lamb and the arrangement of Joy to the World...

 based on themes in Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

's Messiah
Messiah (Handel)
Messiah is an English-language oratorio composed in 1741 by George Frideric Handel, with a scriptural text compiled by Charles Jennens from the King James Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. It was first performed in Dublin on 13 April 1742, and received its London premiere nearly a year later...

"Judea" music: William Billings
William Billings
William Billings was an American choral composer, and is widely regarded as the father of American choral music...

"Let It Snow
Let It Snow
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in 1945. The song was written in July 1945 in Hollywood, California during one of the hottest days on record. First recorded by Vaughn Monroe, it became a popular...

"
"Little Donkey" written by Eric Boswell
"The Little Drummer Boy" ("Carol of the Drum") written by Katherine K. Davis
Katherine K. Davis
Katherine Kennicott Davis was a composer, pianist, and author of the famous Christmas tune "The Little Drummer Boy".-Biography:...

1957
"Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" ("Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen") German traditional
"Love Came Down at Christmas
Love Came Down at Christmas
"Love Came Down at Christmas" is a Christmas poem by Christina Rossetti. It was first published without a title in Time Flies: A Reading Diary in 1885...

"
words: Christina Rossetti
Christina Rossetti
Christina Georgina Rossetti was an English poet who wrote a variety of romantic, devotional, and children's poems...

, music: various
"March of the Kings"
"Mary, Did You Know?
Mary, Did You Know?
"Mary, Did You Know?" is a Christmas song and Marian hymn with lyrics written by Mark Lowry and music written by Buddy Greene.-Background:Mark Lowry wrote the words in 1984 "when his pastor asked him to write the program for the living Christmas tree choir presentation. The music was written by...

"
words: Mark Lowry
Mark Lowry
Mark Alan Lowry is a Christian comedian, songwriter, and singer, best known for co-writing the song “Mary, Did You Know?”. Lowry performed with the Gaither Vocal Band from 1988–2001 and, in January 2009, he re-joined the group along with other "GVB" alumni Michael English and David Phelps...

, music: Buddy Greene
Buddy Greene
Buddy Greene is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and harmonica player. Most of his recordings consist of gospel music, with a distinctly Southern flavor. Much of his music is influenced by country music and bluegrass music. Greene grew up in Macon, Georgia...

1984 /1990
"Mary's Boy Child
Mary's Boy Child
"Mary's Boy Child" is a 1956 Christmas song, written by Jester Hairston. With its religious content, it is also widely performed as a Christmas carol....

" (Mary's Little Boy Child)
written by Jester Hairston
Jester Hairston
Jester Joseph Hairston was an American composer, songwriter, arranger, choral conductor, and actor. His notable compositions include "Amen," a gospel-tinged theme from the film Lilies of the Field and a 1963 hit for The Impressions, and the Christmas song "Mary's Boy Child".-Early life:Hairston...

1956
"Night of Silence
Night of Silence
Night of Silence is a Christmas carol and Roman Catholic Advent hymn, written in 1981 by American composer, Daniel Kantor, and then published in 1984 by GIA Publications. The carol is a quodlibet, the term used for a partner song that can be sung simultaneously with another song....

"
words and music: Daniel Kantor written to be sung simultaneously with "Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...

"
"O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...

" ("Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
Veni, Veni, Emmanuel
Veni, Veni, EmmanuelThis favourite carol was originally written in Latin text in the 12th Century. The author of the words and composer to the music is unknown. It is, however, believed that the melody was of French origin and added to the text a hundred years later. The Latin was translated into...

")
strictly an Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...

 hymn
"O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...

"
words: Placide Cappeau de Rouquemaure
Placide Cappeau
Placide Cappeau was a French poet and the author of the well-known poem, "Minuit, chrétiens" , which was set to music by Adolphe Adam. He was born on 25 October 1808 at 8 p.m. in Roquemaure...

, translated by John Sullivan Dwight
John Sullivan Dwight
John Sullivan Dwight was a Unitarian minister, transcendentalist and America's first influential classical music critic.-Biography:...

, music: Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...

"O Little Town of Bethlehem
O Little Town of Bethlehem
"O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a popular Christmas carol. The text was written by Phillips Brooks , an Episcopal priest, Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Philadelphia. He was inspired by visiting the Palestinian city of Bethlehem in 1865. Three years later, he wrote the poem for his...

"
words: Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks
Phillips Brooks was an American clergyman and author, who briefly served as Bishop of Massachusetts in the Episcopal Church during the early 1890s. In the Episcopal liturgical calendar he is remembered on January 23...

, music (US): Lewis H. Redner, music (UK): traditional tune: "Forest Green" (a.k.a. "The Ploughboy's Dream")
"Of the Father's Love Begotten" ("Of the Father's Heart Begotten") music: tune from Piae Cantiones
Piae Cantiones
Piae Cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum is a collection of late medieval Latin songs first published in 1582. It was compiled by Jacobus Finno or Jaakko Suomalainen , a clergyman who was headmaster of the cathedral school at Turku...

"Once in Royal David's City
Once In Royal David's City
Once In Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys' hymnbook Hymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music...

"
words: Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander
Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander
Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander , was a hymn-writer and poet.She was born in Dublin, the daughter of Major John Humphreys and Elizabeth . She began writing verse in her childhood...

, music: Henry John Gauntlett, (Irby)
"Past Three O'Clock
Past Three O'Clock
"Past Three O'Clock" is a Christmas carol, loosely based on the traditional cry of the city night watchman:Numerous variations of the carol include an arrangement by William Llewellyn as a "quodlibet" for choir: London Waits .Recordings of the carol include those by the Choir of Clare College,...

" (or "Past Three a Clock")
English traditional, with verses written by George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward
George Ratcliffe Woodward was an Anglican priest who wrote mostly religious verse, both original and translated from ancient authors. The best-known of these were written to fit traditional melodies, mainly of the Renaissance...

first published in The Cowley Carol Book with a harmonisation by Charles Wood
Charles Wood
Charles Wood may refer to:*Charles Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax , British politician and peer*Charles Wood, 3rd Earl of Halifax , British peer*Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax , English politician...

"Rocking Carol" ("Jesu, Jesu, Baby Dear" or "Little Jesus") Loose translation of Czech traditional carol "Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku" by Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer
Percy Dearmer, was an English priest and liturgist best known as the author of The Parson's Handbook, a liturgical manual for Anglican clergy. A lifelong socialist, he was an early advocate of the public ministry of women and concerned with social justice...

First published in the Oxford Book of Carols
Oxford Book of Carols
The Oxford Book of Carols was published in 1928 by Oxford University Press. Its influence derives from its anthologists Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams and their choice of carol tunes, provision of new words for old tunes and the continuing reinvigoration of English church...

 (1928); popularised by Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...

 (1965) & The Carpenters
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
An Old-Fashioned Christmas is a Christmas album from The Carpenters, released in 1984 after the death of singer/drummer Karen Carpenter.The album project had its genesis in several unused tracks from the Carpenters' previous Christmas album, 1978's Christmas Portrait. Richard Carpenter took these...

 (1984)
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Rockin' around the Christmas Tree
"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958 on Decca 9-30776.-Background:...

"
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer with a glowing red nose. He is popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer" and, when depicted, is the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve. The luminosity of his nose is so great that it illuminates the team's path through...

"
"Sans Day Carol
Sans Day Carol
The "Sans Day Carol" or "St. Day Carol" is one of the many Cornish Christmas carols written in the 19th century. This carol and its melody were first transcribed from the singing of Thomas Beard, a villager in St Day in the parish of Gwennap, Cornwall. The fourth verse is a translation from the...

"
Cornish traditional
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
"Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is a Christmas song. It was written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie, and was first sung on Eddie Cantor's radio show in November 1934....

"
"See, Amid the Winter's Snow
See, Amid The Winter's Snow
"See, Amid The Winter's Snow", also known as "Hymn For Christmas Day", is a Christmas carol. It was written by Edward Caswall , with music composed by Sir John Goss ....

"
words: Edward Caswall
Edward Caswall
Edward Caswall was an Anglican clergyman and hymn writer who converted to Roman Catholicism.He was born at Yateley, Hampshire, July 15, 1814 son of Rev. R. C. Caswall, sometime Vicar of Yateley, Hampshire...

, music: John Goss
"The Seven Joys of Mary" English traditional
"Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!") written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr
Josef Mohr
Joseph Mohr, sometimes spelt Josef was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and composer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night".-Biography:...

, best known in the English translation by John Freeman Young
"Silver Bells"
"Sleigh Ride
Sleigh Ride
"Sleigh Ride" is a popular light orchestral piece composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946; he finished the work in February 1948. Lyrics, about a person who would like to ride in a sleigh on a winter's day with another person,...

"
"Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson
Leroy Anderson was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler...

"
1948
"Star of the East
Star of the East (song)
"Star of the East", originally named "'" is a popular Christmas carol written in the 1800s.The words were written by Alfred Hans Zoller and translated to English by New York lyricist George Cooper in 1890. The music was arranged by composer Amanda Kennedy in 1883, for a song called "Star of the Sea"...

"
written by Alfred Hans Zoller, translation by George Cooper
George Cooper
George Stephen Cooper , was an Australian cricket Test match umpire.He umpired two Test matches between 1948 and 1950...

 in 1890, music by Amanda Kennedy in 1883
1890
"The Sussex Carol" ("On Christmas Night All Christians Sing") English traditional
"Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Sweet Little Jesus Boy is a Christmas song composed by Robert MacGimsey and published in 1934. Its style is similar to African-American spirituals. It has been recorded by many choirs and solo artists....

"
"This Endris Night
This Endris Night
This Endris Night is a 15th-century English Christmas carol. It has also appeared under various other spellings...

"
Traditional 15th century
"Torches" composed by John Joubert
John Joubert (composer)
John Joubert is a British composer of South African descent, particularly of choral works. He has lived in Moseley, a suburb of Birmingham, England, for over 40 years. A music academic at the universities of Hull and Birmingham for 36 years, Joubert took early retirement in 1986 to concentrate on...

1951
"The Twelve Days of Christmas
The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" is an English Christmas carol that enumerates a series of increasingly grand gifts given on each of the twelve days of Christmas. Although first published in England in 1780, textual evidence may indicate the song is French in origin...

"
English traditional with melody for "Five gold rings" added by Frederic Austin
Frederic Austin
Frederic Austin was an English baritone singer, a musical teacher and composer in the period 1905–30. He is best remembered for his restoration and production of The Beggar's Opera by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch, and its sequel, Polly, in 1920–23...

"A Virgin Unspotted
A Virgin Unspotted
A Virgin Unspotted is a Christmas carol. It originates from 1661, when the oldest known version was written in "New Carolls for this Merry Time of Christmas". It is said to be based on A Virgin Most Pure, a similar carol.- References :**...

" ("A Virgin Most Pure")
English traditional
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is a popular secular sixteenth-century English carol from the West Country of England. The origin of this Christmas carol lies in the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy...

"
English traditional
"We Three Kings of Orient Are" ("Three Kings of Orient") written by Rev. John Henry Hopkins
John Henry Hopkins
John Henry Hopkins was the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont and was the eighth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.-Early life and career:...

1863 strictly an Epiphany carol
"The Wexford Carol
Wexford Carol
The Wexford Carol is a traditional religious Irish Christmas carol originating from County Wexford, and specifically, Enniscorthy , and dating to the 12th century. The subject of the song is that of the nativity of Jesus Christ....

" ("Good People All, This Christmastide")
Irish traditional Sometimes known as the "Enniscorthy Carol"
"What Child Is This?
What Child Is This?
"What Child Is This?" is a popular Christmas carol written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, English writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression...

"
music: traditional English song "Greensleeves
Greensleeves
"Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song and tune, a ground of the form called a romanesca.A broadside ballad by this name was registered at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580 as "A New Northern Dittye of the Lady Greene Sleeves". It then appears in the surviving A Handful of...

", words: William Chatterton Dix
"Whence Is That Lovely Fragrance Wafting" ("Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing?") ("Quelle est cette odeur agréable?
Quelle est cette odeur agréable?
Quelle est cette odeur agréable? is a 17th century traditional French Christmas carol about the Nativity....

")
French traditional
"While by My Sheep I Watched at Night"
"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
"While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" is a Christmas carol describing the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate, Nahum Tate....

"
words: Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate was an Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became England's poet laureate in 1692.-Life:Nahum Teate came from a family of Puritan clergymen...

, music (UK): "Winchester Old" from Este's Psalter adapted from Christopher Tye
Christopher Tye
Christopher Tye was an English composer and organist, who studied at Cambridge University and in 1545 became a Doctor of Music both there and at Oxford.He was choirmaster of Ely Cathedral from about 1543 and also organist there from 1559...

, music (US): adapted from Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

"Winter Wonderland
Winter Wonderland
"Winter Wonderland" is a winter song, popularly treated as a Christmastime pop standard, written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and Richard B. Smith . Through the decades it has been recorded by over 150 different artists.-History:...

"

Filipino

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Ang Pasko ay Sumapit" (Christmas Has Come) Tagalog lyrics by Levi Celerio
Levi Celerio
Levi Celerio was a Filipino composer and lyricist who was born in Manila, Philippines. Celerio was a prolific song-writer, with over 4,000 songs to his credit. He is perhaps best-known for being a leaf-player, a feat for which he was put into the Guinness Book of World Records...

, original Cebuano by Vicente Rubi, Mariano Vestil
1933 A loose translation of the original Cebuano
Cebuano language
Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino...

 Kasadya ni'ng Táknaa
Kasadya Ning Taknaa
Kasadya Ning Taknaa is a Cebuano Christmas carol composed in 1933 by Vicente Rubi with lyrics by Mariano Vestil. Its famous counterpart is Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit, a modified version of the song written by Levi Celerio with lyrics in Tagalog ; however, Celerio is often given all songwriting credit...


Finnish

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"En etsi valtaa, loistoa" ("Give Me No Splendour, Gold, or Pomp") words by Zachris Topelius (1887; Finnish translation by Martti Korpilahti, 1909); music by Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

 (1895)
Translated from Finland Swedish "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt"
"Joulun kellot" ("Christmas Bells") words by Helmi Auvinen (1897); music by Armas Maasalo (1914)
"Tonttu"

French

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Il est né, le divin enfant
Il est né, le divin Enfant
Il est né, le divin Enfant is a French Christmas carol, based on a seventeenth-century melody, but with the lyrics first appearing between 1875 and 1876....

"
Traditional French c.1875
"Les Anges dans nos campagnes" Translated into English as "Angels We Have Heard on High
Angels We Have Heard on High
"Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....

"
"Minuit Chrétiens" words: Placide Clappeau de Rouquemaure Translated into English as "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...

"
"Noël nouvelet" 15th century Translated into English as "Sing We Now of Christmas"
"Patapan
Patapan
"Patapan" is a French Christmas carol in Burgundian dialect, later adapted into English. It was written by Bernard de La Monnoye and first published in Noël bourguignons in 1720...

" ("Guillô, pran ton tamborin!")
Burgundian traditional
"Quelle est cette odeur agréable?
Quelle est cette odeur agréable?
Quelle est cette odeur agréable? is a 17th century traditional French Christmas carol about the Nativity....

"
Translated into English as "Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing?"
"Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle" 1553 Translated into English as "Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella"

German

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Alle Jahre wieder
Alle Jahre wieder
Alle Jahre wieder is a well known Christmas carol, written in 1837 by Johann Wilhelm Hey and set to music by Friedrich Silcher. The last two verses are omitted from many editions...

" ("Every Year Again")
Friedrich Silcher
Friedrich Silcher
Phillipp Friedrich Silcher , was a German composer, mainly known for his lieder , and an important folksong collector.-Life:...

 /Wilhelm Hey
1837
"Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
"Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" , most commonly translated to English as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" or "A Spotless Rose", is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin.-History:...

" ("Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming")
16th century
"Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen
Es Ist Für Uns Eine Zeit Angekommen
Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen is a traditional Swiss Star Boys' singers Christmas carol from the Canton of Lucerne. Lyrically, there are some regional variations...

" ("The Time Has Arrived for Us")
Swiss traditional 19th century
"Ihr Kinderlein kommet
Ihr Kinderlein kommet
"Ihr Kinderlein, kommet" is a German Christmas carol.The lyrics were written by Catholic priest and writer Christoph von Schmid in 1798. His poem, titled "Die Kinder bei der Krippe" , had originally eight verses and was first published in 1811...

" ("Oh, Come, Little Children")
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz was a German musician and composer. Today he is best known as the composer of the melody for Matthias Claudius's poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" and the Christmas carol "Ihr Kinderlein kommet".-Life:Schulz attended the Michaelis School from 1757 to 1759 and then the...

 /
Christoph von Schmid
Christoph von Schmid
Christoph von Schmid was a writer of children's stories and an educator.His stories were very popular and translated into many languages. His best-known work in the English-speaking world is The Basket of Flowers .-Biography:He studied theology and was ordained priest in 1791...

1794 (music)/
1798 (lyrics)/
1832 (combination of text and music)
"Kling Glöckchen
Kling Glöckchen
Kling, Glöckchen, or "Ring, Little Bell," is a German Christmas carol from the 19th century. The lyrics were written by Karl Enslin to a traditional German folk tune. According to other sources, it was set to music in 1884 by Benedikt Widmann .-Melody and lyrics:-External links:*...

" ("Ring Little Bell")
traditional /Karl Enslin 19th century
"Lasst uns froh und munter sein
Lasst uns froh und munter sein
"Lasst uns froh und munter sein", is a traditional German Christmas carol from the Hunsrück/Taunus region. There are some regional variations in the lyrics.The second verse is not widely used...

" ("Let Us Be Happy and Cheerful")
traditional from the Hunsrück
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...

this song is traditionally sung at Nicholas Eve on December 5
"Leise rieselt der Schnee" ("Softly Falls Every Snow Flake") Eduard Ebel / Eduard Ebel about 1900
"Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" ("Maria Walks Amid the Thorns") traditional from Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...

"Morgen, Kinder wird's was geben" ("Tomorrow, Children, Something Special Will Happen") Carl Gottlieb Haring / Philipp Bartsch 1850
"O Tannenbaum
O Tannenbaum
"O Tannenbaum", or, in its English version, "O Christmas Tree", is a Christmas carol of German origin.A Tannenbaum is a fir tree or Christmas tree...

" ("O Christmas Tree")
German traditional
"Schneeflöckchen, Weissröckchen" ("Little Snow Flake, Little White Coat") Hedwig Haberkern 1869
"Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" ("Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...

")
Josef Mohr
Josef Mohr
Joseph Mohr, sometimes spelt Josef was an Austrian Roman Catholic priest and composer, who wrote the words to the Christmas carol "Silent Night".-Biography:...

 / Franz Xaver Gruber
1818
"Tausend Sterne sind ein Dom" ("Thousands Stars Form a Dome") Siegfried Köhler / Siegfried Köhler 1946
"Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" ("From Heaven Above, I Come") traditional / Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

16th century
"Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern
Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern , BWV 1, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the feast of the Annunciation and first performed it on 25 March 1725....

" ("How Lovely Shines the Morning Star")
Philipp Nicolai 16th century

Hungarian

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Mennyből az angyal" ("Angels from Heaven")
"Csendes éj" ("Silent Night")
"Pásztorok, Pásztorok"

Irish

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Don Oíche úd I mBeithil"

Italian

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...

"
"Gesù bambino
Gesu Bambino
"Gesu Bambino" is an Italian Christmas carol composed by Pietro Yon in 1917. It was translated to English by Frederick H. Martens. It is interesting to note that the traditional Christmas song I Saw Three Ships derives its melody from "Gesu Bambino," though the former is a simpler version of the tune...

" ("The Infant Jesus")
Pietro Yon
Pietro Yon
Pietro Alessandro Yon was an Italian-born organist who made his career in the United States.Yon was born in Settimo Vittone, , and studied at the conservatories of both Milan and Turin, also attending the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome...

1917
"Tu scendi dalle stelle
Tu scendi dalle stelle
"Tu scendi dalle stelle" is the best known Christmas carol originating in Italy...

" ("From Starry Skies Thou Comest")
Italian traditional
"Dormi, dormi, bel Bambin
Dormi, dormi, bel Bambin
Dormi, dormi, bel Bambin is an Italian Christmas carol. It is particularly popular in Corsica. The carol is supposed to be a cradle song of the Virgin Mary....

"

Latin

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Adeste Fideles
Adeste Fideles
"Adeste Fideles" is a hymn tune attributed to English hymnist John Francis Wade . The text itself has unclear beginnings, and may have been written in the 13th century by John of Reading, though it has been concluded that Wade was probably the author.The original four verses of the hymn were...

" ("O Come All Ye Faithful")
attributed to John Francis Wade
John Francis Wade
John Francis Wade was an English hymnist who is credited with writing and composing the hymn "Adeste Fideles" ....

, Latin words translated by Frederick Oakeley
Frederick Oakeley
Frederick Oakeley was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England the sixth son of Sir Charles Oakeley, second baronet, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He was ordained in 1828 and in 1845 converted from Church of England to Catholicism, whereupon he became Canon of Westminster in 1852....

c. 1743
"Gaudete
Gaudete
Gaudete is a sacred Christmas carol, composed sometime in the 16th century. The song was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs published in 1582...

" ("Rejoice")
sacred Christmas carol 1500s popularised by Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span
Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

 (1973)
"In Dulci Jubilo
In Dulci Jubilo
In dulci jubilo is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J.M...

" ("Good Christian Men, Rejoice")
"O Sanctissima
O Sanctissima
O Sanctissima is a Roman Catholic hymn in Latin to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is claimed that the tune of the hymn is Sicilian.The tune is sometimes called Sicilian Mariners Hymn or Mariners Hymn.The words of the first verse of the hymn in Latin are:...

" ("O du Fröhliche" or "Oh, How Joyfully")

Norwegian

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Musevisa
Musevisa
Musevisa is a Norwegian Christmas song by singer-songwriter Alf Prøysen in 1946. Prøysen wrote the lyrics for the song in 1946, to a traditional tune. Musevisa is a secular song, where a family of anthropomorphic mice are preparing for Christmas. The mouse-mother specifically warns her children...

"
Alf Prøysen 1946 Lyrics are by Prøysen, set to a traditional tune.

Polish

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Ach, ubogi żłobie" Traditional
"Anioł pasterzom mówił" Traditional
"Bóg się rodzi
Bóg sie rodzi
"Bóg się rodzi" is a Polish Christmas carol , with lyrics written by Franciszek Karpiński in 1792. Its stately melody is traditionally known to be a coronation polonaise for Polish Kings dating back as far as during the reign of Stefan Batory in the 16th century...

" ("God is born")
Franciszek Karpiński
Franciszek Karpinski
Franciszek Karpiński was the leading sentimental Polish poet of the Age of Enlightenment. He is particularly remembered for his religious works later rendered as hymns and carols. He is also considered one of the most original Polish writers of the early partitions...

1792
"Cicha noc" ("Silent Night")
"Do szopy, hej pasterze" Traditional
"Dzisiaj w Betlejem" ("Today in Bethlehem") Traditional
"Gdy się Chrystus rodzi" Traditional
"Gdy śliczna panna" Traditional
"Hej w dzień narodzenia" Traditional
"Jezus malusieńki" Traditional
"Lulajże, Jezuniu" Traditional Frédéric Chopin used this Christmas carol in the Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20
"Mędrcy świata, Monarchowie" Traditional
"Mizerna cicha" Traditional
"Przybieżeli do Betlejem" Traditional
"Tryumfy Króla Niebieskiego" Traditional
"W żłobie leży" (Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
"Infant holy, Infant lowly" is based on a traditional Polish Christmas carol, "W żłobie leży". This song was translated to English by Edith M.G.Reed...

)
Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.He was born February 2, 1536 in Grójec, to a family of lesser landless gentry...

17th century
"Wśród nocnej ciszy" Traditional
"Wesołą nowinę" Traditional
"Z narodzenia Pana" Traditional

Romanian

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"O, ce veste minunată!
O, ce veste minunata!
O, ce veste minunată is a Christmas carol, sung primarily in Romanian-speaking communities and countries. Like many other traditional songs, there are umpteen versions of it. E.g...

"
Traditional
"Pluguşorul
Plugusorul
' is a Romanian and Moldovan New Year's tradition and carol. literally means "little plough" in Romanian, "-ul" being enclitic definite article....

"
Traditional related rather to New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...

"Deschide uşa, creştine!" Traditional
"Linu-i lin." Traditional
"Florile dalbe
Florile Dalbe
Florile Dalbe was a semimonthly literary magazine published in Bârlad, Romania by the Academia Bârlădeană". The first issue of the magazine was issued on January 1, 1919 and it appeared regularly until December 15, 1919...

"
Traditional
"Domn,domn sa-năltăm!" Traditional
"Leganelul Lui Iisus" Traditional
"Asta-i seara de Craciun" Traditional
"Ho,ho,ho!" Stefan Banica JR. 2009

Spanish

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad (song)
"Feliz Navidad" is a Christmas song written in 1970 by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano. With its simple Spanish chorus "Feliz Navidad" is a Christmas song written in 1970 by the Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano. With its simple Spanish chorus "Feliz Navidad" is a...

"
José Feliciano
José Feliciano
José Feliciano is a Puerto Rican singer, virtuoso guitarist and composer known for many international hits including the 1970 holiday single "Feliz Navidad".-Childhood:...

1970
"Arre borriquito" Traditional
"Noche de paz" ("Silent Night")
"Blanca Navidad" ("I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas")
"Los peces en el río" Traditional
"Pastores venid" Traditional
"Campanas de Belén" Traditional
"A la Nanita Nana
A la Nanita Nana
A la Nanita Nana is a Colombian Christmas carol dating from the 18th century. Mostly sung during the time of novenas....

"
Traditional 18th century

Swedish

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt" ("Give Me No Splendour, Gold, or Pomp") words by Zachris Topelius (1887); music by Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

 (1895)
Finland Swedish song
"Gläns över sjö och strand" ("Shine Over the Lake and the Beach")
"När det Lider mot Jul" ("When Christmas Has Come")
"Nu har vi ljus här i vårt hus" ("We have Kindled the Candles in Our House Now") in Sweden it is tradition to dance around the Christmas tree and sing, this being one of the traditional songs sung
"Nu tändas tusen juleljus
Nu tändas tusen juleljus
Nu tändas tusen juleljus, is a Christian traditional Swedish language Christmas song, written in 1898 by the Swedish song text writer Emmy Köhler . Translated into English, the title literally means "Now are lit a thousand Christmas candles"...

" ("We Have Kindled Thousands of Christmas Lights Now")
words and music by Emmy Köhler
"Räven raskar över isen" (The Fox Is Sliding Over the Ice) in Sweden it is tradition to dance around the Christmas tree and sing, this being one of the traditional songs sung
"Sankta Lucia"
"Var hälsad, sköna morgonstund" ("All Hail to Thee, O Blessed Morn") words by Johan Olof Wallin; music by Philipp Nicolai

Ukrainian

Carol Composer /Lyricist Year published Notes
"Schedryk" (New Year's wishes)

See also

  • Christmas carol
    Christmas carol
    A Christmas carol is a carol whose lyrics are on the theme of Christmas or the winter season in general and which are traditionally sung in the period before Christmas.-History:...

  • Christmas music
    Christmas music
    Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly thereafter.-Early:...

  • List of Christmas hit singles
  • List of Filipino Christmas carols
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