It's that time of the year...what is your favorite Christmas Carol?

[gopiscrap]

25 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	O Come All Ye Faithful
	1 (4%)
	Silent Night
	2 (8%)
	The First Noel
	0 (0%)
	Away in a Manger
	1 (4%)
	O Holy Night
	9 (36%)
	We Three Kings
	0 (0%)
	The Holly and the Ivy
	0 (0%)
	Let it Snow
	1 (4%)
	Jingle Bells
	0 (0%)
	other (name it)
	11 (44%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
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[LexVegas]

1. Christmas Canon. nt

[Roland99]

2. Muppet Christmas Carol

Oh wait....

[MontanaMama]

3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.

[dhol82]

27. I might change my vote.

LOVE that song!

[True Dough]

4. Other (x2)

Neither is a classic carol, but they are my favourite songs of the season:

#1:

A close 2nd:

[MontanaMama]

66. Ooooh..your #1 pick

makes me waver on my #1. Great song. ☮️

[Sancho]

5. White Christmas...

[voteearlyvoteoften]

54. Yes! ⛄️

Makes me miss New England.

[rsdsharp]

96. The song is actually set in Southern California.

Virtually no one ever sings the introduction to the song:

The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There's never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, L.A
But it's December the twenty-fourth
And I am longing to be up North

[llmart]

55. Like the song and lyrics...

but once I found out Bing was abusive to his family I no longer liked him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. None of the above, and the last two aren't Christmas carols.

They are secular holiday songs. I particularly dislike "Silent Night" because as it is sung it inevitably gets slower and slower, and in most cases flatter and flatter, and by the end it sounds like an out-of-tune dirge. I do like the version of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" with the tune written by Ralph Vaughan Williams (the better-known one also gets slow and flat).

[gopiscrap]

18. you are absolutely right

the last two aren't Christmas Carols. You must have had some sacred music training. I have also...a lot of it!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Years and years.

I now sing in a small early music ensemble, so I'm kind of saturated in it.

[gopiscrap]

39. when I was a child I auditioned for the Vatican Boychoir

and was accepted and sang with them for a year

[MineralMan]

78. Can you tell us about your experience with that?

I'd be fascinated to read it.

[gopiscrap]

102. I was born in Germany and had been pegged with vocal talent

by the time I was 6 years old. I sang solo's at the Cathedral in Frankfurt when I was nine. At 10 and half I auditioned for the seated professional boy choir of the Cathedral and was accepted and started doing their solo's. My director had me send in a tape and then I was asked to do a personal audition and was seated for their second tier choir. This was the traveling choir. We only sang in St. Peters twice once at our commissioning and also at our homecoming otherwise our home congregation was St. John Lateran the bishop's seat of Rome.

We lived in dorms with house parents for most of the weeks (Sun eve thru Thur afternoon) except for when we were on the road. We practiced twice a day for 90 minutes each time and were tutored more or less classroom style for four hours a day.

We were able to sing in 51 nations. During that year. I kick myself now because we were also given a lot of touring opportunities but I didn't appreciate it as an 11-12 year old. As an example we were in Egypt and being given a tour of the pyramids and our hotel had a pool. At that point in my life I cared more about the pool than the pyramids.

What it did for me, was give me an immense appreciate=ion for good sound choral music and also good liturgy. It taught me how to connect people from all over the world and gave me an ability to acclimate just about anywhere I am placed. I am deeply appreciative of the chance not few ever receive and because of it, I have been involved in church music all my life. In fact I am singing at an Eritrean Orthodox funeral Mass on December 28th in Asmara Eritrea for a dear friend of mine who passed away.

[MineralMan]

109. What an interesting story!

I also sang in choirs as a boy, but never in a major or traveling organization. At about the same age as you were, I was a boy soprano and was often a soloist with various choirs. I didn't think a thing of it, really, at the time. I had a clear, clean voice and perfect pitch, so someone was always having me sing. I was always happy to do that.

There was a period of about two years, later, as my voice changed that I did not sing, but then, I returned to the choir as a bass/baritone who could range up into the tenor range easily. Once again, i was singing solo parts. After high school, I developed stage fright and stopped singing solo music abruptly, although I continued choral singing for a number of years after.

Eventually, I stopped singing and focused on playing the oboe. Still, I continued singing for myself. I remember one time, during a rehearsal of Handel's Messiah, the orchestra was rehearsing the arias, but the Bass vocalist did not show up for the rehearsal. The conductor said we'd have to rehearse that piece at another time. So, I said, "I'll sing the aria." I stood up and did the "But who may abide/Refiner's Fire" aria. Nobody there had ever heard me sing before, but I knew that music from having performed it when I was younger. The director was surprised, to say the least.

I'm glad you had the opportunity to do what you did as a youngster. How wonderful!

[gopiscrap]

114. wow your story is somewhat like mine

my voice broke at the end of my time with the Vatican and I stopped doing solos for about 18 months and then started again partly because I was paid and also during funerals I got out of class.

I never did well with an instrument tho. Wish I would have taken that part of my musical education a little more seriously. When I was 19 I led a national tour of myself and six others around the US for 15 months on behalf of the three synods of the Lutheran Church. (I actually one night, delivered a baby on the side of the road in Kentucky) during that tour.

When I first came to the US my music director was Richard Proulx. If you're familiar with liturgical church music you might be familiar with his name.

[MineralMan]

115. I am familiar with Richard Proulx, but I stopped singing in

church choirs when I became an atheist. After that, the only vocal work I did was baroque music, and very little of that, really. I switched almost entirely to performing on the oboe, which I did as a semi-pro musician. I got paid sometimes, but not well enough to make it a career.

Now, at age 73, my vocal range has changed. I'm a basso profundo or a Russian-style Octavist these days, but don't sing except very casually. There's not much call for someone to sing growly bass. The years have taken their toll, along with not singing regularly. If you hear me now, it will be an octave below the rest at a funeral or something like that. Usually, I just remain silent and let others handle the singing. When I sing now, people tend to turn and look at me in surprise.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

80. Wow, how cool!

That must have been a really interesting and exciting experience.

[gopiscrap]

117. it was wish I would have been older tho

I would have appreciated it more.

[Sancho]

7. Best recent performance of a Christmas song...

[Ms. Toad]

13. Anything by Pentatonix - anytime. n/t

[lark]

103. OMg, I just love their version of Hallejuliah!

It gives me chills every time I hear it, and I always listen to it during this season. It just feels appropriate.

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

8. Baby, It's Cold Outside

seriously tho, I like the Peanuts one.

[PJMcK]

85. THIS

It's a comedy song and the woman knows exactly what is going on in the song. The song isn't about consent it's about two people seducing one another. The context of the time when the song was written is critical to understanding the interaction between the man and the woman.

As a reverse example, imagine how a contemporary rap song would be viewed by someone in the 1940s. Accordingly, this issue and controversy is mind-numbingly foolish.

Actually, it's not even a holiday song! Nowhere in the song does it refer to Christmas.

Frank Loesser was not only a genius songwriter but a creative entertainment attorney as well. Check out this lyric from his song (written with the incredible Burton Lane) "The Lady's In Love With You" and note its incredible elegance and brevity:

AND WHEN YOUR FRIENDS ASK YOU OVER TO JOIN THEIR TABLE
BUT SHE PICKS THAT FAR AWAY BOOTH FOR TWO,
WELL, SIR, HERE'S JUST HOW IT STANDS,
YOU'VE GOT ROMANCE ON YOUR HANDS
BECAUSE THE LADY'S IN LOVE WITH YOU.

[MrsCoffee]

93. Nah. It's a creepy song.

[PJMcK]

99. Okay, if you feel that way

Mr. Loesser and his wife used to perform the song at parties and in night clubs and it would be received with laughter from the audience.

There have been dozens and dozens of recordings of the song and it received the Academy Award in 1949.

Times change, I guess.

To be clear, it's not one of my favorites. I just find the controversy more than a bit odd.

[MrGrieves]

9. This one

[violetpastille]

10. The Carol of the Bells "The Scary Christmas Song"

It's so relentlessly aggro, paranoid and over the top stress inducing! It's perfect!

Merrymerrymerrymerry CHRISTMAS! Merrymerrymerrymerrymerry CHRISTMAS!

[Brother Buzz]

26. I like Dan Hicks' cover of Carol of the Bells. Nothing says Christmas better than scat and yodeling

[violetpastille]

28. That was delightful! Thank you!

[Judi Lynn]

44. If they could only have been a little more relaxed!

Really liked the squirrels.

Thank you.

[llmart]

56. I've always liked George Winston's version of "Carol of the Bells".

[lark]

107. Wow, I totally don't get that from the song! In fact, I love dancing to it and do it often.

Paranoid? Wow! I do agree it''s over the top, and that's why I love it so much, so full of total passiona and verve, such beautiful music.
I really don't like this version though, the talk in the background distracts greatly from the music, IMO. But then I want nothing to come between me and this amazing music.

Different strokes for different folks.

[violetpastille]

110. I don't want to spoil it for you!

But yes, it reminds me of the Exorcist soundtrack.

Brother Buzz posted a version above that is so adorable - I've been doing my own crooning scat version around the house.

[lark]

112. I've never watched the Exorcist!

Never. I hated scary movies, would have bad nightmares every time, so quit watching them early on. Even today, I can watch things on tv and be ok but still won't see a scary movie at the theater. Too stressful for me.

[pangaia]

11. Little Drummer Boy

I am a percussionist, and this time of year it is almost all Nutcrackers and orchestra concert Christmas pop tunes, church gigs with maudlin, sentimental church choirs....
Sitting through what feel like 9 hours just to play the Halleluja Chorus timpani part, although the Mozart orchestration has more.. (Maybe I'll just play those parts anyway. LOL)))

Eight rehearsals and gigs in this week alone and it's only Dec .. what 5?

I am tired of them all..
I wake up to SLEIGH RIDE and go to sleep with SLEIGH RIDE.

SOMEBODY, please take it out of my head.!!!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

14. It's a living.

[pangaia]

16. LOLOL

Foooor the word god omneeee potennnnt raaaaiiin nith...

[gopiscrap]

19. Ah "The Messiah"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. I love singing "Messiah" which I will be doing this weekend

(the whole damn thing except for a couple of the more obscure choruses, because the instrumentalists are all union and it's too expensive to keep them on for more than two hours) - and the most fun part is when we get to the Hallelujah Chorus the audience stands up and tries to sing along, but only until the counterpoint kicks in and then they just stand there and look confused, like somehow they forgot that it does that.

Messiah is actually a brilliant work; too bad Hallelujah is the only part people know.

[gopiscrap]

40. I love it, I was just listening to it in the car today

[pangaia]

89. Yeah, those damn unions..

Just kidding, just kidding.



Bach choruses, known sometimes as 'trumpet and drum pieces. are actually fun for a timpanist,' as historically informed performance or HIP, comes into play. What drums (trumpets, or even winds,.. well, while we're at it- string instruments) can be used. All depending on the situation, conductor, venue, size of orch, etc....

There are several makers of baroque timpani around who make excellent reproductions.. Also, sticks?? Calf or goat heads??

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

90. The best thing about hiring union musicians is that you get the good ones!

[pangaia]

91. usually....

There is no audition to join the Musicians' Union.

[gopiscrap]

21. I love it...I have sung the Messiah more times

than I care to remember

[ProudLib72]

12. Since I am at war with X-mas

Eight Crazy Nights

Note: I'm not really at war with Christmas. But I really do like this song.

[TheBlackAdder]

23. Two Trump Supporters. The lesser, says he's iced out of Hollywood because he's Republican.

[ProudLib72]

32. Stop politicizing Chanukah!

[TheBlackAdder]

15. The Dusty Towne Holiday Special

.

.

[A HERETIC I AM]

17. Merrill

[misanthrope]

22. O' Connor

Much more so than Burnett

[DesertRat]

25. Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

Just kidding. I hate Christmas music.

[Bradshaw3]

29. Jingle Balls

Pick your favorite:

https://www.google.com/search?q=jingle+balls&rlz=1CAHPZR_enUS715US715&oq=jingle+balls&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i61l2j0l3.9452j1j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

[chillfactor]

30. Oh Holy Night

as sung by Luciano Pavarotti!

[gopiscrap]

37. Yes

[Hekate]

31. The Holly and the Ivy

I love the refrain "O the rising of the Sun and the running of the Deer" -- it has spoken to me from earliest childhood.


The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir

[gopiscrap]

38. I like this one also

[TeamPooka]

33. Christmas Rapping by The Waitresses

[dweller]

34. aloha

https://m.

✌🏼️

[912gdm]

35. other

This is the soundtrack of my nightmares.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

36. Mine is "And so This is Christmas/War is Over"

by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, in 1971.

"And so this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year older
And a new one just begun.
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young.

A very merry Christmas
And a happy new year.
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear.

And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and for poor ones
The world is so wrong.
And so happy Christmas
For Black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight.

A very merry Christmas
And a happy new year.
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear."

[Tom Rinaldo]

69. +1 n/t

[maryellen99]

41. Christmas Time is Here from A Charlie Brown Christmas nt

[Judi Lynn]

42. Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Holy Night!

(Resist the compulsion to sing along with this one.
You might break something.)

[madamesilverspurs]

43. "Some Children See Him"

Quite possibly the sweetest of Alfred Burt's carols.

?t=63


.

[Nay]

61. I love James Taylor's voice so much -- I never heard this carol. So beautiful. nt

[DFW]

45. Two rather diverse ones in a tie for me

Fairy Tale of New York by the Pogues:

and: I Ain't Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas by Stan Freeberg

[Raine]

46. All I Want for Christmas is You.. nt

[bedazzled]

72. Me too! Ever hear the vince valiant version? Wow!

I also like father christmas by the kinks and the twelve pains of christmas by bob rivers. The true spirit of acquisition.

[pnwest]

47. Carol of the Bells

[rownesheck]

48. I have 3...

Paul McCartney's version of "simply having a wonderful christmastime" (i don't know the actual name of it)

Run Dmc's "Christmas in Hollis"

"Christmas Wrapping" (or rapping?) by The Waitresses.

Have them on repeat throughout the season.

[lilactime]

49. A couple I love...

https://m.

https://m.

[scarletlib]

50. Carol of the Bells, Silver Bells, Felice Navidad

[MFM008]

51. Hark the Harold Angels sing

Do you Hear What I hear.
I cant stand jazzed up Christmas music.

[Sedona]

52. Christmas baby please come home

[Haggis for Breakfast]

118. This is also the title of a christmas song by Charles Brown.

"Please Come Home for Christmas." Don Henley did a cover version of it too, but he didn't change a thing as the song is just perfect as it is.

I don't know how to post songs/videos to DU, but you can google either one of them. VERY blues-y.

[samnsara]

53. i have never even heard of holly and ivy :(

...but I like greensleeves.. and little drummer boy

[Soxfan58]

57. Do they know its Christmas

Live Aid

[UniteFightBack]

58. Up on the rooftop. nt

[bearsfootball516]

59. Carol of the Bells

[get the red out]

60. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Love the minor key.

[FSogol]

62. My two favs are: Good King Wenceslas and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas

Not the best version, but still a fav.

[brooklynite]

63. well, definitely George C. Scott, but of course...

Oh, was that not what you were asking about?

[JNelson6563]

64. Here's a cool version of Carol of the Bells

[japple]

65. Jackson Browne's The Rebel Jesus--not a carol

[Greybnk48]

67. Joy to the World!

I may be the only atheist on the planet Earth that LOVES Christmas carols, but I do, and this is a long favorite! But I love them all.

[Glorfindel]

82. Me, too! "Joy to the World" has always been my favorite. It's so happy and upbeat.

I love this version:

And the music is by G. F. Handel!

[Greybnk48]

83. Love that version! Thanks!

And it affects me the same way!

[elocs]

68. Even as an atheist, I've always liked 'Silent Night'.

It's such a simple and calming melody and it takes me back to when I was a little boy in a more simple time.

[KatyMan]

70. 12 Days of Christmas...

But this version:

[hatrack]

71. Coventry Carol

Either that or the Singing Dogs version of Jingle Bells.

[Tom Rinaldo]

73. OK, it's not a Carol, BUT: The Kinks - Father Christmas

&feature=youtu.be

[SaintLouisBlues]

116. +1

[crazycatlady]

74. None

I HATE holiday music period. Too many years in retail have ruined it for me.

[Polybius]

75. Britney Spears - My Only Wish (This Year)

[MineralMan]

76. "Here Comes Santa Claus!"

[ghostsinthemachine]

77. This one, of course...

https://vimeo.com/249752000

[bdamomma]

79. this one gets to me

Ave Maria.

[LongtimeAZDem]

81. Blue Christmas, Leon Redbone version

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

84. Joan Baez, Cantique de Noel

[Adrahil]

86. "God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen"

Reminds me of "A Christmas Carol" and I love that story.

[airmid]

97. My favorite as well for much the same reason.

[Cairycat]

87. Once In Royal David's City

"Since 1919, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at the King's College Chapel Cambridge has begun its Christmas Eve service, with Dr Arthur Henry Mann's arrangement of "Once in Royal David's City" as the Processional hymn.[1] Mann was organist at King's between 1876 and 1929.[2] In his arrangement, the first verse is sung by a boy chorister of the Choir of King's Chapel as a solo. The second verse is sung by the choir, and the congregation joins in the third verse." (Wikipedia)

The lone boy singing the first verse always sounds so haunting and lovely. We used to always listen to the Nine Lessons and Carols on the shortwave (!) on BBC, now it's easy to get online, at what is a fairly convenient time in the US.

[gopiscrap]

104. I loved that also

[rzemanfl]

88. "I've Got Some Presents for Santa" n/t

[rurallib]

92. "We Need A Little Christmas" and

and "Christmas Dream"

It changes several times through the season

[Honeycombe8]

94. OTHER: I keep changing my mind! I can't choose just one!

Please Come Home for Christmas
White Christmas
Have a Holly Jolly Christmas
Walking in A Winter Wonderland
The Little Drummer Boy

[WeekiWater]

95. We Three Kings

It is not necessarily my favorite but I’ve heard it played in a couple of church settings and it blew me away. By far my favorite when played and sang in a certain manner.

[Casandia]

98. Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

by Burl Ives

The song from the Rudolph tv special is the best recording IMO

[brush]

100. "Winter Wonderland".

[lark]

101. Chorale of the Bells!

OMG, I love love love this song, so beautiful so passionate. It always brings tears of joy to my eyes the first time I hear it. each year. It's my favorite - by a country mile.

I just really love Christmas songs. Other faves are:

Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt and Taylor Swift versions
Baby, All I Want for Christmas is You - Moira
Joy to the World - my favorite classic, so joyful & full of energy (even though I'm not a believer)
Mamma's Red Shoes (don't know real title) but this one makes me cry since mom died

[AmandaRuth]

105. Brenda Lee Papa Noel

way way way back, i used to make Christmas tapes for gifts, and I would always start with this one.

[stopbush]

106. Technically, "O Holy Night" is not a Xmas carol

The composer called it “Cantique de Noël,” which translates as “Christmas Song (or Hymn).”

[stopbush]

108. The Wexford Carol

[Blue_true]

111. The Little Drummer Boy and Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer.

I always tear up when I hear those.

[struggle4progress]

113. The Cherry Tree Carol