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→General Christmas songs: Frosty the Snowman - sorry, Gene Autry was the one who first made it famous
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* "[[The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)]]" ([[1946]]) (composed by [[Mel Torme]] and first performed by [[Nat King Cole]])
* "[[The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)]]" ([[1946]]) (composed by [[Mel Torme]] and first performed by [[Nat King Cole]])
* "[[The First Noel]]"
* "[[The First Noel]]"
* "[[Frosty the Snowman]]" ([[1950]]) – popularised by [[The Jackson 5]]
* "[[Frosty the Snowman]]" ([[1950]]) – popularized by [[Gene Autry]]. Countless artists have recorded it in the years since.
* "[[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]]" – introduced by [[Judy Garland]] in the film '[[Meet Me In St. Louis]]''; covered by [[Luther Vandross]] and then later covered by [[Vince Gill]] ([[1996]])* "[[Jingle Bells]]"
* "[[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]]" – introduced by [[Judy Garland]] in the film '[[Meet Me In St. Louis]]''; covered by [[Luther Vandross]] and then later covered by [[Vince Gill]] ([[1996]])* "[[Jingle Bells]]"
* "[[Jingle Bell Rock]]" – best-known version is by [[Bobby Helms]], released in [[1957]].
* "[[Jingle Bell Rock]]" – best-known version is by [[Bobby Helms]], released in [[1957]].

Revision as of 01:42, 28 December 2005

A Christmas song is a song which is normally sung during the time period leading up to, and sometimes shortly past, Christmas day, and usually has lyrical content addressing the holiday, the winter season, or both. These songs recognizably fall into several different groupings, depending on both the content and age of the songs.

Songs which are traditional, even some without a specific religious context, are often called Christmas carols. Songs with religious reference are also called Christmas hymns. For example, the Christian-centered "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the totally secular "Deck the Hall(s)" could easily both be found on Christmas-based record albums by choirs and other church-sounding artists.

Some songs of more recent vintage, often introduced in films, are specifically about Christmas, but are typically not overtly religious, and are not typically classified as Christmas carols. The archetypal example is 1942's "White Christmas", although many other holiday songs have become perennial favorites, such as Gene Autry's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".

A significant subset of the secular songs are regarded as "Christmas" songs due to the time of year they are most often sung, despite never mentioning anything about Christmas or even about Santa Claus. These songs include traditional favorites such as "Winter Wonderland". These songs fall into the generic "winter holiday" classification, as they carry no religious connotation at all.

Another subset of the popular holiday songs, apart from the more sincere ones, are the many parodies or twists on existing songs, which are usually classified as "Novelty songs". They range from the cuteness of "The Chipmunk Song", by Alvin and the Chipmunks, to the Cold War gallows humor of "Christmas at Ground Zero" and the morbid humor of "The Night Santa Went Crazy", both by Weird Al Yankovic.

Some songs have little relationship to Christmas, but are hyped up over the period. Each year, record companies compete for the Christmas number one single spot, usually, but not always, with a Christmas-related song. This is parodied in the film Love Actually, whereby an artist records a cover version of a song and adds a Christmas twist to it, all the time admitting that it is "rubbish".

In the UK Cliff Richard is famed for his many attempts, with some success, to get the Christmas number one single.

List of Christmas songs

General Christmas songs

The following songs are well known for being performed by more than one different artists:

Best known by one particular artist

The following songs are best known for being created and/or performed by one particular artist:

Not intended as a Christmas song

Some songs are frequently associated with Christmas because of the time they were released rather than explicit references to the holiday. They are sometimes given a Christmas feel by adding sleigh bells or by recording a Christmas video.

  • "Can we Fix it?" – Bob the Builder (2000)
  • "If We Make it Through December," Merle Haggard (1973). The song is a lament of a father who loses his job at the factory just as the holidays are approaching. Depressed over his predicament during what normally should be a "happy time of year," he observes that his little girl "don't understand why Daddy can't afford no Christmas cheer." The song reached No. 1 on Billboard magazine's Hot Country Singles chart on December 22 1973 ... just in time for Christmas.
  • "Mad World" – Michael Andrews featuring Gary Jules (2003) (this Tears for Fears cover is included on several Christmas compilation albums. It was Christmas Number One in the UK in 2003, ahead of the livelier "Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End)" by British rock band The Darkness.)
  • "The Power of Love" – Frankie Goes to Hollywood (1984) (was released close to Christmas 1984, and was thus given a Nativity themed video and album cover. The song could be argued to be more suited to Halloween, with its references to vampires.)
  • "Somethin' Stupid" – Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman (2001) (reached no. 1 in the UK christmas charts, therefore commonly associated with christmas)
  • "Sound of the Underground" – Girls Aloud (2002) (reached no. 1 in the UK christmas charts, therefore commonly associated with christmas)
  • "Stop The Cavalry" – Jona Lewie (1980) (released in late November when the record company spotted the line "Wish I was at home for Christmas")
  • "Stay Another Day" – East 17 (1994) (added sleigh bells)
  • "Last Christmas" – Wham! (1984) (reached no. 2 in the UK christmas charts, beaten by Band Aid- Feed the World) George Michael originally wrote the song "Last Easter",the record company asked him to change it to Christmas as it would catch a larger audience

Christmas albums

Some artists record albums dedicated to Christmas or winter. These collections often contain covers of well-known Christmas songs or carols.

Some bands produce Christmas albums exclusively for their fan clubs, including The Beatles who first released such an album in 1963 [1]. Also popular are the Various Artists collections such as The Best Christmas Album in the World...Ever!.

German language Christmas songs

German language Christmas carols tend to be less blitheful and more ceremonious than English ones:

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