Christmas Songs: Traditional Hymns and Carols

Christmas carols are those songs with catchy melodies that are heard practically everywhere during the Christmas holidays. Between traditional songs and more recent songs, Christmas carols are part of the tradition and of all countries with a Christian tradition.

Each Christmas song has a specific theme, obviously linked to the traditional aspects of the holiday: the Christmas tree, the birth of Jesus, Santa Claus, the snowman, the lights, etc.

Christmas carols help us create the perfect atmosphere to celebrate the Christmas season! What are the most sung Christmas Hymns? In this article we see the history of ancient Christmas songs.

Advent has begun and with it the Christmas songs return and the desire to listen to sweet little songs, full of bells, that speak of peace and love, awakens in us: and immediately we all feel a little better. Why then is not understood given that the religious sense of this holiday has been almost completely lost, which has now been relegated only to Santa Claus and various elves.

Religious Christmas carols are , in effect, a form of prayer, joyful, pleasant to hear, but no less solemn and heartfelt. Indeed, putting one's love for Jesus into music, celebrating by singing joyfully the harmony of the feast that recalls His miraculous birth is probably one of the highest forms of devotion. But the popular Christmas carols of Catholic Christians are certainly not the first and only form of song and music applied to religion.

Music has always been considered by men as a way to get in touch with their gods. Our prehistoric ancestors already used the sound of drums, with which they accompanied their wild dances, as a form of communication with what they could not see or hear, but only perceive all around them. With the affirmation of the great civilizations of the past, music has become increasingly important, especially for its strong spiritual charge. The Chinese believed that it contained the secret of perfect cosmic balance, for the Greeks it was the cure of the soul, and the Indians believed that it came directly from the gods.

Returning to the Catholic Christian religion, we realize how fundamental music and song have been in the history of the Church, having its origins in the Jewish musical tradition on the one hand, and the Greek one on the other. Music has always accompanied the most important moments of celebrations, becoming a true form of prayer and adoration.

Let's think of Gregorian chants, sung masses, hymns. There are songs and music suitable for every period of the liturgical year, and Christmas , perhaps the holiday that is traditionally celebrated most by Catholic Christians, has been the inspiration for many unforgettable songs.

But let's not get lost in disquisitions. In this blog we talk about music and so between now and Christmas I would like to talk to you about some Christmas carols, their tradition, lyrics and music. Let's start right away with Christmas hymns. Do you think they are dated? You are very wrong.

In this article we will discover (or rediscover!) the most famous Christmas songs to help you prepare for the Christmas atmosphere and to start training your voice and improving your singing technique, especially if you are taking singing lessons or if you have decided to follow a singing course in your city!

1. Silent Night

Among the best Christmas carols, Silent Night is undoubtedly one of the most famous. It is a song born in Austria at the beginning of the 19th century. Silent Night, written by Joseph Mohr, a priest from Salzburg who composed it with the music teacher Franz Xaver Gruber for the midnight mass of December 24, 1818, as a hymn for the newfound peace after the terrible Napoleonic Wars that had bloodied Europe.

This song was also used during a Christmas truce between the French, British and Germans in 1914 during the First World War (watch the film Joyeux Noël - A Truth Forgotten by History if you want to know more).

Although the theme of the song is purely religious, Silent Night has become a universal symbol of Christmas. It is also a perfect song for those who want to start singing, since through its melody you can practice intonation, breathing, and much more.

2. Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells although is not a true Christmas carol, since it does not directly mention this holiday, and could be considered more of a winter song, the truth is that it is one of the Christmas carols in English par excellence. It was composed in the mid-19th century in the United States. Jingle Bells is perhaps the most famous traditional Christmas carol in the world. Jingle Bells is written by James Lord Pierpont in 1857. Over the decades, this song has been covered by an infinite number of famous interpreters, especially in the English version.

3. O Christmas Tree

This song is of German origin: it was composed in the 17th century with the original title O Tannenbaum. If you want to practice your singing skills by singing Christmas carols, this song is the perfect choice: both adults and children know it and it's quite simple to memorize!

4. I Will Follow Him

A very famous American Christmas song, the song I will follow Him was first recorded by Petula Clark in 1962 with the title Chariot and was immediately a huge success, so much so that it entered the major American charts. After countless versions and translations and being included in the soundtrack of the 1992 film Sister Act, it was given further success by the Dutch conductor, violinist and composer André Rieu, who recorded an iconic version in his album New York Memories (2006).

5. White Christmas

It was Bing Crosby who brought the song White Christmas to worldwide success. It is the best-selling single in history, with over 50 million records. The spirit of harmony and comfort that descends into the hearts, just like snow, on Christmas night is universal.

It has become a great Christmas classic, thanks to its melancholic and catchy melody. The song has been covered by many artists over the decades, and the countless existing versions are also perfect for a karaoke night!

6. You Came Down from the Stars

You Came Down from the Stars was written and composed by Alfonso Maria de' Liguori, an Italian bishop, composer and saint, founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer who lived in the 19th century. He wrote many songs in Italian and Neapolitan, including the famous Christmas carol, which was originally in Neapolitan: Quanno Nascette Ninno.

7. O Come All Ye Faithful

The origins of Adeste fideles, a Christmas carol of uncertain authorship, are varied and complex. Sir John Francis Wade, an English composer and musician, transcribed it around 1744, adapting some stanzas (1, 5, 6 and 7) from an Irish carol to be sung by a Catholic choir in northern France, where Catholics forced to leave England to escape persecution by the Protestants had found refuge. Other stanzas were added later by Étienne-Jean-François Borderies, a French bishop, theologian and man of letters who wrote many hymns, in 1794, and a final stanza by an anonymous author.

In addition to the original Latin version, the English version O Come All Ye Faithful is also famous, also the result of various interventions. It was initially translated by Frederick Oakeley, a pastor of the Church of England, who later converted to Catholicism, and then other stanzas were added over time.

8. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Also born in England is God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen, a traditional Christmas carol from the 15th – 16th century, which became famous only in 1800 and is also mentioned in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Among the most recent interpretations is that of Pentatonix (PTX), a famous a cappella vocal group that has won 3 Grammy Awards.

One of the ancient Christmas songs still relevant today. Also in the 15th-16th century we find another very famous Christmas carol entitled God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen of English origin. This is also an ancient hymn but still performed today in every part of the world.

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen was first published in 1833 in London, when it appeared in the volume Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern , a collection of carols edited by William Sandys, a London lawyer and member of the Percy Society.

This song is also present in the second movement of Victor Hely-Hutchinson's Carol Symphony from 1927 as well as being cited in the very famous book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

The lyrics of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen highlight how well the anonymous author of these words knew the Holy Scriptures. In a few lines he makes us understand the true meaning of Christmas: Let nothing frighten you, remember Christ, our Savior, was born on Christmas Day. An invitation therefore to all people to let themselves be carried away by the joy of the birth of Jesus.

Famous are the reinterpretations of this Christmas carol by Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey and Annie Lennox, among all those (and they are really many) who have reinterpreted it.

9. Joy To The World

Composed in 1719 by Isaac Watts, a theologian and hymn writer, it is the result of a re-adaptation of Psalms 97 and 98 and celebrates the joy for the coming of the Messiah. The melodic line is that of Handel's Messiah, later rearranged. God rest ye merry, gentlemen,

10. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

The first song I want to tell you about is entitled Veni veni Emmanuel, published for the first time in Cologne in 1710. This is a song whose author of the melody is unknown, but it probably comes from a processional hymn of French nuns from the 15th century.

The Latin text is a hymn specifically for the Advent period, in particular for the Fourth Sunday, and it seems to date back to the 8th century, inspired by the “O” antiphons sung at vespers during the period preceding Christmas. The title of this song instead derives from the words of the prophet Isaiah (7:14) “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanel”.

Emmanuel in Hebrew means God with us. In the seven stanzas that compose it, the arrival of the son of God is invoked for the liberation of the people of Israel from exile and the refrain says: Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel will be born for you, O Israel.

This is a song whose melody was monodic, but over time it has also been adapted to polyphony (a famous harmonization for four voices by Kodaly) and, especially abroad, performed in a modern key by many artists. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is in fact a Christmas carol that is widely used especially in Anglo-Saxon countries.