Christmas Carols

Carolers from long ago.
       Special times or events have been celebrated from time immemorial by feasting, dancing, and singing. Often the dancers formed a ring and sang as they danced, first the dance and later the song being called a carol. The carol was not always strictly religious, although in the old times both the singing and dancing often took place in cathedrals and churches. Some of the carols that we still know are connected with times before the Christian era. They have now lost their dance and the melody has changed, but the ideas are very ancient. The Holly and the Ivy suggest the old Druids, and we still put up Holly and Ivy in our houses just as people did before the time of Christ. We put them up at Christmas, and we sing the carol at Christmas - but the idea at the back of it is older than Christmas, for the Church accepted all that was found to be of value in the old customs, and adapted them to set forth the newer faith. The carrying in of the Boar's Head is an old ceremony, too. It was considered a Royal Dish, and Henry II. ordered it to appear at a special feast which he gave in honor of his son.
       In the old days people thought of the New Year as the time when the trees and flowers began to come out - that is about May Day‚ so the May Day Carols celebrate the New Year's Day of ever so long ago. Gradually, however, carols have centered more and more round events in the life of Christ, and especially round the wonderful story of His Birth. Many of them have just been handed on from one person to another through hundreds of years, some have only been written down at all during the last century.  

  1. "We Three Kings of Orient Are" - or "The Quest of the Magi" written in 1857
  2. "The Cherry Tree Carol" - sung at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th Century
  3. Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire
  4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - by The Prince of Hymn Writers, Charles Wesley
  5. "White Christmas" Carol - by Irving Berlin for film Holiday Inn in 1942
  6. Silent Night
  7. The Wonderful Night Draws Near - ''No Room, No Room'' - Ruth Morris Gray
  8. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" Carol
  9. Sanctissima Carol - or "O Thou Joyful Day on the piano and sheet music also
  10. Once In Royal David's City
  11. "Peace, Good Will Towards Men" and Jason Castro sings "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
  12. Christians Awake; Salute the Happy Morn! - by John Byrom
  13. The Coventry Carol -  dates from 16th Century England
  14. While Shepherds Watched
  15. Glad Christmas Bells - carol from 1881, video has a piano version
  16. An Ancient Carol - 500 year old carol
  17. We Wish You A Merry Christmas! - a traditional English carol
  18. "A Strange Way To Save The World" by 4Him
  19. Walking In a Winter Wonderland
  20. Happy Christmas To You
  21. What the Wax Angel Saw and Mandisa sing "It's Christmas"
  22. O Little Town of Bethlehem
  23. Do You Have Room? and "A Baby Changes Everything" sung by Faith Hill
  24. God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen
  25. When Christmas Was Born  - and Matt Maher sings "Born On That Day"
  26. Carol of The Bells - by Leontovych and Wilhousky performed by The Muppets!
  27. "Joy To The World!" - is the most published hymn in America
  28. "I Saw Three Ships" Carol - earliest publishing date for this carol was in the 17th Century
  29. Give More of Yourself has the carol by Milton "It Was The Winter Wild" on video - sung by The Bach Choir, Choristers of Westminster Abbey, 1965
  30. The "Jingle Bells" Carol - or "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857
  31. Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire - sung by Nat King Cole
  32. Bring love, true love, and lat it at His feet... - A Christmas Hymn by Richard Watson Gilder
  33. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - based upon a poem from 1863
  34. "This Time of Year" - written and sung by Brook Benton in 1959
  35. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear - written by Edmund Sears, Unitarian pastor
  36. The Star of The Wise Men and a "Nativity Carol" sung by the Kings College Choir
  37. Illuminated Christmas Carol Pages
  38. Preparation for The Event - "Jesus Christ Is Born'' and many events and stars aligned that night!
  39. "Good King Wenceslas" - carol dedicated to the martyr and saint
  40. The Friendly Beasts - sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford
  41. Doing His Duty and "Joseph's Lullaby" sung by Willy Dolan
  42. Silver Bells - Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, first performed by Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell
  43. Away in a Manger - First published in the late 19th Century
  44. Mary Did You Know? - Lyrics by Mark Lowry performed by Pentatonix
  45. "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" - originally in Latin and called "Adeste Fideles" 
  46. A Wonderful Fulfillment of Prophecy - Phil Wickham sings "Manger Throne''
  47. "Oh Christmas Tree" or "O Tannenbaum"
  48.  Come Adore Him, He Is Christ The Lord - and "Adore Him" sung by Kari Jobe
  49. "Grown-Up Christmas List"
  50. The First Noel  - classic Cornish hymn, Gilbert and Sandys
  51. "Sleep Holy Babe''- Edward Caswall was the author of the hymn, a brief bio
  52. Glory to God, The Light of The World - includes music by Third Day... "Jesus Light of The World."
  53. "As With Gladness Men of Old" - written by William Dix during the time of the Great Depression
  54. Francesca Battistelli sings "Be Born In Me" 
  55. Tidings of Great Joy - and "Welcome To Our World" sung by a children's choir 
  56. When Love Was Born - sung by Mark Schultz at Fox River Christian Church
  57. The Wassail Carols - sung by bands of beggars on New Year's Eve
  58. Christmas Carol Poem - by Phillips Brooks
  59. All One In Christ - and Christmas Hymn "Christmas Never Ends"
  60. Good Christian Men Rejoice! -  a very old carol from the 1500s
  61. Somewhere in your silent days and nights...- and "Somewhere in Your Silent Night" by Casting Crowns
  62. Christian's Awake - a carol first published in 1745 
  63. Angels From The Realms of Glory
  64. "The King of Love My Shepherd Is" - a favorite hymn of Diana, Princess of Wales, was sung at her funeral...
  65. The Town of Bethlehem - "Oh little town of Bethlehem'' by Reawaken Hymns
  66. "Little Drummer Boy'' - sung by for King + Country here was written by Katherine Kennicott Davis based upon a Christian principle taught in the Parable of The Talents by Jesus
More Lovely Christmas Music from YouTube:

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