Traditional Christmas carols mainly focus on the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus. Other Christmas songs focus on more secular Christmas themes, such as winter scenes, family gatherings, and Santa Claus.
| Carol |
Composer /Lyricist |
Year published |
Notes |
| "Adam Lay Ybounden" |
Set by numerous composers, most notably by Boris Ord and Peter Warlock |
15th century |
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| "Angels from the Realms of Glory" |
words: James Montgomery; music (US): to the tune of "Regent Square" (UK): a slightly different arrangement of "Angels We Have Heard on High" ("Gloria") |
1816 |
|
| "Angels We Have Heard on High" |
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 |
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| "Away in a Manger" |
first two stanzas attributed to unknown author; third stanza written by John McFarland (1904) |
1885 |
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| "Boar's Head Carol" |
English traditional |
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| "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" |
translation of the French "Un flambeau, Jeannette, Isabelle!" |
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| "Calypso Carol" ("See him lying on a bed of straw") |
Michael Perry |
1969 |
Written in 1964 for a college concert |
| "Candlelight Carol" |
John Rutter |
1984 |
|
| "Carol of the Bells" |
music composed by Mykola Leontovych; 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"; sometimes called the "Bulgarian Carol" (although of Ukrainian origin) |
| "The Cherry Tree Carol" |
English traditional |
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| "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" |
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| "Christians Awake" |
John Byrom |
1746 |
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| "A Christmas Carol" |
words and music: Charles E. Ives |
1894 |
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| "Christmas Is Coming" |
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| "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on an open fire . . .") |
Lyrics by Robert Wells. Music by Mel Torme. |
1944 |
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| "Come Buy My Nice Fresh Ivy" |
music: Turlough O'Carolan, John Keegan |
1849 |
(originally titled "O'Carolan's Lament") |
| "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus" |
Charles Wesley |
1749 |
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| "Coventry Carol" ("Lullay, Thou Tiny Little Child") |
English traditional |
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| "Deck the Halls" |
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based on the Welsh traditional "Oer yw'r gŵr sy'n methu caru" |
| "Ding Dong Merrily on High" |
music: Jehan Tabourot, words: George Ratcliffe Woodward |
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| "Down in Yon Forest" |
English traditional |
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| "Do You Hear What I Hear?" |
written by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne |
1962 |
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| "The First Nowell" ("The First Noël") |
English traditional |
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| "The Friendly Beasts" |
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| "Frosty the Snowman" |
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| "Gabriel's Message" |
translated into English by Sabine Baring-Gould |
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from the Basque traditional carol "Birjina gaztettobat zegoen" |
| "Glory to God" ("Ere Zij God") |
Dutch traditional |
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| "Go Tell It on the Mountain" |
Lyrics by John W. Work |
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| "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" |
English traditional |
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| "Good King Wenceslas" |
words: John Mason Neale, music: tune from Piae Cantiones |
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| "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" |
*music: Felix Mendelssohn, words: Charles Wesley, amended by George Whitfield and Martin Madan |
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originally as part of Festgesang, adapted and harmonised by William Hayman Cummings; descant for verse 3 added in 1961 by Sir David Willcocks for the Carols for Choirs books |
| "Here We Come A-Wassailing" |
English traditional |
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| "The Holly and the Ivy" |
English traditional |
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| "Huron Carol" ("'Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") |
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| "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" |
words: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, music: Johnny Marks |
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| "I Pray on Christmas" |
written and by Harry Connick, Jr. |
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| "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" |
English traditional |
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| "In Dulci Jubilo" ("Good Christian Men, Rejoice" or "Good Christian Friends, Rejoice") |
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Macaronic carol known in several translations |
| "In the Bleak Midwinter" |
words: Christina Rossetti, music: Gustav Holst |
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| "Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" ("W żłobie leży") |
Polish traditional |
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| "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" |
words: Edmund Hamilton Sears, music: Richard Storrs Willis, |
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| "I Wonder as I Wander" |
Appalachian traditional |
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| "Jesus Christ the Apple Tree" |
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| "Jingle Bells" |
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| "Joy to the World" |
words: Isaac Watts based on Psalm 98, music: arranged by Lowell Mason based on themes in Handel's Messiah |
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| "Judea" |
music: William Billings |
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| "Let It Snow" |
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| "Little Donkey" |
written by Eric Boswell |
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| "The Little Drummer Boy" ("Carol of the Drum") |
written by Katherine K. Davis |
1957 |
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| "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" ("Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen") |
German traditional |
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| "Love Came Down at Christmas" |
words: Christina Rossetti, music: various |
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| "March of the Kings" |
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| "Mary, Did You Know?" |
words: Mark Lowry, music: Buddy Greene |
1984 /1990 |
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| "Mary's Boy Child" (Mary's Little Boy Child) |
written by Jester Hairston |
1956 |
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| "Night of Silence" |
words and music: Daniel Kantor |
|
written to be sung simultaneously with "Silent Night" |
| "O come, O come, Emmanuel" ("Veni, Veni, Emmanuel") |
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strictly an Advent hymn |
| "O Holy Night" |
words: Placide Cappeau de Rouquemaure, translated by John Sullivan Dwight, music: Adolphe Adam |
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| "O Little Town of Bethlehem" |
words: Phillips Brooks, music (US): Lewis H. Redner, music (UK): traditional tune: "Forest Green" (a.k.a. "The Ploughboy's Dream") |
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| "Of the Father's Love Begotten" ("Of the Father's Heart Begotten") |
music: tune from Piae Cantiones |
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| "Once in Royal David's City" |
words: Cecil Frances Humphreys Alexander, music: Henry John Gauntlett, (Irby) |
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| "Past Three O'Clock" (or "Past Three a Clock") |
English traditional, with verses written by George Ratcliffe Woodward |
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first published in The Cowley Carol Book with a harmonisation by Charles Wood |
| "Rocking Carol" ("Jesu, Jesu, Baby Dear" or "Little Jesus") |
Loose translation of Czech traditional carol "Hajej, nynej, Ježíšku" by Percy Dearmer |
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First published in the Oxford Book of Carols (1928); popularised by Julie Andrews (1965) & The Carpenters (1984) |
| "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" |
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| "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" |
Johnny Marks |
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First popularized by Gene Autry in 1949 |
| "Sans Day Carol" |
Cornish traditional |
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| "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" |
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| "See, Amid the Winter's Snow" |
words: Edward Caswall, music: John Goss |
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| "The Seven Joys of Mary" |
English traditional |
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| "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht! heilige Nacht!") |
written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr, best known in the English translation by John Freeman Young |
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| "Silver Bells" |
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| "Sleigh Ride" |
"Leroy Anderson" |
1948 |
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| "Star of the East" |
written by Alfred Hans Zoller, translation by George Cooper in 1890, music by Amanda Kennedy in 1883 |
1890 |
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| "The Sussex Carol" ("On Christmas Night All Christians Sing") |
English traditional |
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| "Sweet Little Jesus Boy"
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
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| "This Endris Night" |
Traditional |
15th century |
|
| "Torches" |
composed by John Joubert |
1951 |
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| "The Twelve Days of Christmas" |
English traditional |
|
with melody for "Five gold rings" added by Frederic Austin |
| "A Virgin Unspotted" ("A Virgin Most Pure") |
English traditional |
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| "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" |
English traditional |
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| "We Three Kings of Orient Are" ("Three Kings of Orient") |
written by Rev. John Henry Hopkins |
1863 |
strictly an Epiphany carol |
| "The Wexford Carol" ("Good People All, This Christmastide") |
Irish traditional |
|
Sometimes known as the "Enniscorthy Carol" |
| "What Child Is This?" |
music: traditional English song "Greensleeves", words: William Chatterton Dix |
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| "Whence Is That Lovely Fragrance Wafting" ("Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing?") ("Quelle est cette odeur agréable?") |
French traditional |
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| "While by My Sheep I Watched at Night" |
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| "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" |
words: Nahum Tate, music (UK): "Winchester Old" from Este's Psalter adapted from Christopher Tye, music (US): adapted from Handel |
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| "White Christmas" ("I'm dreaming of a . . . " |
Irving Berlin |
1942 |
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| "Winter Wonderland" |
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| Carol |
Composer /Lyricist |
Year published |
Notes |
| "Alle Jahre wieder" ("Every Year Again") |
Friedrich Silcher /Wilhelm Hey |
1837 |
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| "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" ("Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming") |
|
16th century |
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| "Es ist für uns eine Zeit angekommen" ("The Time Has Arrived for Us") |
Swiss traditional |
19th century |
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| "Ihr Kinderlein kommet" ("Oh, Come, Little Children") |
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz /
Christoph von Schmid |
1794 (music)/
1798 (lyrics)/
1832 (combination of text and music) |
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| "Kling Glöckchen" ("Ring Little Bell") |
traditional /Karl Enslin |
19th century |
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| "Lasst uns froh und munter sein" ("Let Us Be Happy and Cheerful") |
traditional from the Hunsrück |
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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 |
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| "Morgen, Kinder wird's was geben" ("Tomorrow, Children, Something Special Will Happen") |
Carl Gottlieb Haring / Philipp Bartsch |
1850 |
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| "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree") |
German traditional |
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| "Schneeflöckchen, Weissröckchen" ("Little Snow Flake, Little White Coat") |
Hedwig Haberkern |
1869 |
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| "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" ("Silent Night") |
Josef Mohr / Franz Xaver Gruber |
1818 |
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| "Tausend Sterne sind ein Dom" ("Thousands Stars Form a Dome") |
Siegfried Köhler / Siegfried Köhler |
1946 |
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| "Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her" ("From Heaven Above, I Come") |
traditional / Martin Luther |
16th century |
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| "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern" ("How Lovely Shines the Morning Star") |
Philipp Nicolai |
16th century |
|
| 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 (1895) |
|
Finland Swedish song |
| "Gläns över sjö och strand" ("Shine Over the Lake and the Beach") |
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| "När det Lider mot Jul" ("When Christmas Has Come") |
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| "Nu har vi ljus här i vårt hus" ("We have Kindled the Candles in Our House Now") |
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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" ("We Have Kindled Thousands of Christmas Lights Now") |
words and music by Emmy Köhler |
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| "Räven raskar över isen" (The Fox Is Sliding Over the Ice) |
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in Sweden it is tradition to dance around the Christmas tree and sing, this being one of the traditional songs sung |
| "Sankta Lucia" |
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| "Var hälsad, sköna morgonstund" ("All Hail to Thee, O Blessed Morn") |
words by Johan Olof Wallin; music by Philipp Nicolai |
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