From Rudolph to Jingle Bells, here’s your list of Christmas carols to enjoy this December!
Winter has arrived in full swing, and so has the most anticipated festival of the year, Christmas. It’s the time for pine trees to shimmer with gifts stuffed inside giant colorful socks, children to get excited about the arrival of Santa Claus, and everything to be adorned in red and green.
Back when I was in school, the arrival of December was marked by singing Christmas carols in the school assembly and it is still one of my fondest memories related to the festival. Although we would not know all the lyrics, the mere lip-syncing of the carols gave us enough joy for the rest of the day.
For the uninitiated, a Christmas carol is considered as a subset of the broader category of Christmas music. The word ‘Carol’ actually means dance or a song of praise and joy!
So, here’s a listicle of some of the most popular Christmas carols which everyone can listen to and hum while rekindling the old Christmas feelings:
- JOY TO THE WORLD
The English minister and hymn writer Isaac Watts wrote this carol in 1719. It celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and throws light on how the world is engulfed in joy upon his arrival. The nations are called to celebrate because the Lord, also known as the King, has come to bring salvation to the world.
Listen to it here: “Joy to the world! The Lord comes; Let Earth receive her King”
- HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING
This carol first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems. It describes the angelic chorus which praises God. It’s worth noting that carol’s original opening couplet was “Hark! How all the welkin rings/ Glory to the Kings of Kings.” The popular version is a result of many alterations under various compositions.
Listen to it here: “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”
- RUDOLPH THE REDNOSED REINDEER
One of my favorite Christmas carols, and the only one I know by heart. The song was created by songwriter Johnny Marks based on the 1939 story of the same name published by the Montgomery Ward Company. The character Rudolph is depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus’s reindeer who often received ridicule for his luminous red nose. There are many recordings of this song, but it was Gene Autry’s recording that hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts the week of Christmas 1949.
Listen to it here: “Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say- Rudolph, with your nose so bright, Won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”
- GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN
It is an African-American spiritual song that was compiled by John Wesley Works Jr. in 1865. The easy-to-understand lyrics and slow tune make it one of the most popular carols even today. The carol gives a signal that Christ is born and this news should be spread everywhere through shouting from the mountaintops
Listen to it here: “Go, tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born”
- SILENT NIGHT
This carol has received widespread recognition not only among carol singers but also through many film adaptations. It was originally composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber, in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. When this carol was performed for the first time on Christmas Eve in Austria, it aimed at sending a message of peace into a time marked by war, hunger, and natural disasters.
Listen to it here: “Sleep in heavenly peace”
- JINGLE BELLS
As it is popularly said that you should leave the best for last, ‘Jingle Bells’ is one of the most popularly sung carols by everyone. While even the slightest mention of its tune can bring Christmas sentiments to everyone’s heart, the song was originally performed at a Thanksgiving church service, and it was not meant for Christmas. It was only decades later that the song got associated with the festival after it was performed on September 15, 1857, on Washington Street in Boston.
Listen to it here: “Jingle Bells!”
While there are dozens of amazing Christmas carols everyone can hear on a loop, the above six are my recommendations to all readers.
Here’s a little pro tip to enjoy the Christmas carols in a better way: put on pretty fairy lights, help yourself to a steaming cup of hot chocolate, play your favorite Christmas carols and let your heart sing: MERRY CHRISTMAS!