List of Christmas carols

File:El Noi de la Mare (guitar).ogg|El Noi de la Mare (guitar)|thumb]] List of Christmas Carols

Christmas carols are traditional songs sung during the Christmas season to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and spread Christmas cheer. These songs vary widely in origin, with some dating back to the Middle Ages and others being composed in more recent times. This article provides a list of notable Christmas carols, categorized by their country of origin or the language in which they were first written.

Traditional Christmas Carols

English

• "Silent Night" – Originally composed in German ("Stille Nacht") by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, in 1818. It has been translated into many languages and is one of the most popular Christmas carols worldwide.
• "O Holy Night" – A carol based on the French song "Minuit, chrétiens" (Midnight, Christians) written by Adolphe Adam in 1847. The English version was translated by John Sullivan Dwight.
• "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" – First published in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems, its lyrics were written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. The current tune was adapted by Felix Mendelssohn in 1840.
• "The First Noel" – A traditional English Christmas carol, possibly dating from the 17th century. The word Noel comes from the French word for Christmas, derived from the Latin word 'natalis' which means birth.

German

• "O Tannenbaum" (O Christmas Tree) – A German Christmas song based on a traditional folk song. It became associated with the traditional Christmas tree by the early 20th century and translated into several languages.
• "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night) – See the English section for details.

French

• "Minuit, chrétiens" (O Holy Night) – See the English section for details.

Latin

• "Adeste Fideles" (O Come, All Ye Faithful) – A hymn attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), with the earliest copies of the hymn bearing his signature, dated 1743. It has been translated into many languages.

Modern Christmas Carols

Modern Christmas carols are those composed in the 19th century onwards, often reflecting more secular themes of the holiday season.

• "White Christmas" – Written by Irving Berlin in 1942, this song reminisces about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. Bing Crosby's version is the world's best-selling single with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide.
• "Jingle Bells" – One of the best-known and commonly sung American songs in the world, it was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857.

See Also

• Christmas music
• Christmas traditions
• History of Christmas