I really like Brethren’s version of All Is Well; actually, there are several tracks on their Christmas album that I enjoy.
I also love Lauren Daigle’s Noel.
And no one asked, but the Christmas song I hate the most is “Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney.
I know he’s a talented person, but I just cannot with this song. To me, it just feels repetitive and not-festive and man, I just do not understand how this song is as popular as it is.
Sometimes I start to hate Christmas songs because they get over-played, but this one I have disliked from the moment I first heard it.
Favorite- pretty much any version, but particularly Tracey Chapman’s version of O, Holy Night.
Least Favorite – Baby, It’s Cold Outside
My university’s choirs had a big event every December where the members of the choirs performed a very impressive concert–like two hours long–and served a fancy sit-down dinner to an auditorium full of people. My mom used to drive up every year and we would go. They always closed out the concert with a song called “Still, Still, Still,” which I have never heard elsewhere but which is my favorite Christmas song. There are performances online, of course, by various choirs.
Least favorite is “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.” How horrifying and inappropriate for children at Christmas.
I actually just went searching for this, and decided that I don’t like the choir versions as much because you can’t hear the lyrics as well. Plus, it’s such a delicate song, too many voices overwhelm it. It’s basically a lullaby, and sounds best (I think) sung by a single voice. Like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFNQy21egy0
Kind of a weird video with the dudes in the background, but I love the woman’s simple performance.
And for singing at the end of Christmas Mass, nothing beats belting out “Joy to the World.” 🙂
No way I could possibly pick a favorite. I’m still digging the Advent hymns right now, too. Definitely hymns over songs though.
Least favorite– Santa Baby. Any version.
I love, “O Come All Ye Faithful”. It’s my favorite.
The absolute worst is, Santa Baby. Could it please be banned in the name of Christmas?!
“Simply Having a Wonderful Christmastime” is, like “Last Christmas” and “All I Want for Christmas is You,” can best be described as basic songs for basic people. Maybe that’s a bit harsh but I just never got how people latched on to those songs.
But to be more positive (in a weird way) I really love Christmas songs that have a hint of melancholy to them if not in words than at least in music.
I love the somber tone of Oh Come, O Come Emmanuel. I think a big part is that we can relate the earnestness that the Israelites awaited the coming of the Messiah much like we now await His Return.
I also adore “Silent Night” and really love it sung in German (Stille Nacht.) I feel the German language gets a bit of a bad rep as sounding harsh but I think Stille Nacht disproves this or at least provides a good counter,
Some other notable favorites are: “I Wonder as I Wander,” “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” “Hard the Herald Angels Sing” etc.
For non hymns I love Judy Garland’s performance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in Meet Me in St. Louis. All other versions are inferior and usually change the lyrics to be less bleak. But if you’ve seen the movie you know the song fits perfectly.
The other one is a bit non-traditional I guess in that it’s not really a Christmas song but Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne” gets a lot of play at Christmastime and I love it. I actually have some personal connections with the song and it always brings up a lot of memories for me so I enjoy it a lot. Jonathan Coulton’s cover of it is also excellent.
Hark the Herald is my personal favorite. Running close behind is Go Tell It to the Mountain, they r such joyful songs. To me that’s what Christmas is all about. Joy the Savior is born. I agree on Sant Baby
I love “O Holy Night” and “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and Casting Crown”s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The Longfellow poem that became the original hymn is so powerful and poignant. Amy Grant’s Hime for Christmas album is my all-time favorite. Chris Rice’s “Welcome to Our World” is a simple masterpiece.
Least favorite- “Last Christmas”. Soooo repetitive!
Amen on the Paul McCartney song. A close second is Felix Navidad. My favorite song that moves my soul is “Mary Did You Know”.
Overall, I’m not huge on commercial Christmas music, but I do enjoy the PTX Christmas album that came out, I think, last year. I’m a sucker for a capella and they are so creative.
My favorite hymn is “We Three Kings.” It has a rich, deep sound, and plenty of opportunity for amusing parody if you’re a kid.
Do you know the NKOTB song “Funky, Funky Christmas”? Yeah, that’s my nope song. ha.
The haunting melody of O Come, O Come Emmanuel makes it my absolute favorite carol. The rendition by Barlow Girl is wonderful. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is another one I love, especially the version by John Gorka, on Winter’s Solstice III, from Windham Hill Records. Recommend that whole CD.
As for ones I dislike, John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War is Over), is on the top of the list. I know that it was released in 1971 so I should take that time in history in consideration, but I just can’t stand it. Feliz Navidad is so overplayed in stores that I don’t like it either. There’s more but I’ll stop there.
Kristen, if the following isn’t allowed, please delete my comment. In case anyone wants to watch/listen to wonderful music of the season, Parkside Church will be live streaming their Christmas concert at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 18th. It will be available to be viewed any time after.
https://www.parksidechurch.com/visit/news-and-events/christmas/
Okay. I had to come back. “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” is a current favorite. Some beautiful, beautiful renditions online.
The Holly and The Ivy is one of my favorites. I also like Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley
As for worst, there are too many to list, but the one seasonal song (though not Christmas) that creeps me out the most this time of year is Auld Lang Syne.
“Blue Christmas” is my husband’s favorite too. He ruined it for our kids, though, by singing it all the time–he is a terrible singer, I have to say. So last Christmas, I found an Elvis Christmas album and put that song on for my husband (and also a little bit to tease my kids . . .) and discovered, to my surprise, that I REALLY like that Elvis Christmas album. So you just never know, I guess.
The Elvis Christmas album is the best! I’m not an Elvis fan but had an older relative who was crazy about him. I heard that album every year growing up and really came to love it. A lot of people don’t realize how beautifully he sings hymns.
Thank you for being honest about that McCartney song – it is truly awful. Even worse than any version of Santa Baby, which is my second-least holiday song! Christmas albums by Amy Grant and Dolly & Kenny are at the top of the list for me 🙂
I love the German hymns “Stille Nacht” (Silent Night) and “Tochter Zion” (Thine Be the Glory uses the same tune).
“Last Christmas” is my least favorite…
The Germans really seem to know how to celebrate Christmas.
“The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole and “O Holy Night” are my favorites.
I see that it’s listed in someone else’s favorites, but my least favorite is Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas”. I can’t change the station fast enough when it comes on.
Mary’s Boy Child by Boney M
Handel’s Messiah
Most anything from Trans Siberian Orchestra
Joy to the World
The Elvis Christmas album is the best! I’m not an Elvis fan but had an older relative who was crazy about him. I heard that album every year growing up and really came to love it. A lot of people don’t realize how beautifully he sings hymns.
I think my ultimate favourite is “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”. The lyrics move me deeply, and this year it seems more apropos than ever. Other favourites include “Sing We Now of Christmas” (love a good medieval carol!), “See Amid the Winter Snow”, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” and “What Can I Bring Him?”. Also, no Christmas is complete without a good private sing-a-long to Benjamin Britton’s “Ceremony of Carols”. Preferably when no one else is home!
The one I hate with a fiery, flaming passion is “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” Culturally tone-deaf and a dirge to boot.