Christmas music comprises a variety of

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

s of music regularly performed or heard around the

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

. Music associated with

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

may be purely

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject matter ranges from the nativity of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, to gift-giving and merrymaking, to cultural figures such as Santa Claus, among other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons. While most Christmas songs prior to 1930 were of a traditional religious character, the Great Depression era of the 1930s brought a stream of songs of American origin, most of which did not explicitly reference the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more secular traditional

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

themes and customs associated with Christmas. These included songs aimed at children such as "

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was the ...

" and "

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...

", as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous

crooner Crooner is a term used to describe primarily male singers who performed using a smooth style made possible by better microphones which picked up quieter sounds and a wider range of frequencies, allowing the singer to access a more dynamic range ...

s of the era, such as "

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. I ...

" and " White Christmas", the latter of which remains the best-selling single of all time as of 2018. ''

Elvis' Christmas Album ''Elvis' Christmas Album'' (also reissued as ''It's Christmas Time'') is the third studio album and first Christmas album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley on RCA Victor, LOC -1035, a deluxe limited edition, released October 15, 1957, ...

'' (1957) by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

is the best-selling Christmas album of all time, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. Performances of Christmas music at public

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...

, in churches, at shopping malls, on city streets, and in private gatherings is an integral staple of the Christmas holiday in many cultures across the world. Radio stations often convert to a 24-7 Christmas music format leading up to the holiday, starting sometimes as early as the day after Halloween – as part of a phenomenon known as "

Christmas creep Christmas creep is a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers introduce Christmas-themed merchandise or decorations before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, which in the United States is on the day after Th ...

History

Early music

Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th-century

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, in Latin-language

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

s such as ''

Veni redemptor gentium "Veni redemptor gentium" (Come, Redeemer of the nations) is a Latin Advent or Christmas hymn by Ambrose of Milan in iambic tetrameter. The hymn is assigned to the Office of Readings for Advent, from December 17 through December 24, in the Liturgy ...

''. By the 13th century, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed. Christmas carols in the English language first appear in a 1426 work of John Awdlay, an English chaplain, who lists twenty five "''caroles of Cristemas''", probably sung by groups of wassailers who would travel from house to house. In the 16th century, various Christmas carols still sung to this day, including " The 12 Days of Christmas", " God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen", and "

O Christmas Tree "" (; "O fir tree", English: O Christmas Tree) is a German Christmas song. Based on a traditional folk song which was unrelated to Christmas, it became associated with the traditional Christmas tree. History The modern lyrics were written in 1824 ...

", first emerged. Music was an early feature of the

and its celebrations. The earliest examples are hymnographic works ( chants and

litanies Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Judaic worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin '' litania'' from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (''li ...

) intended for liturgical use in observance of both the Feast of the Nativity and Theophany, many of which are still in use by the Eastern Orthodox Church. The 13th century saw the rise of the carol written in the vernacular, under the influence of Francis of Assisi. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is treated in a style that is familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England. Christmas carols in English first appear in a 1426 work of

John Audelay John Audelay (or Awdelay; died c. 1426) was an English priest and poet from Haughmond Abbey, in Shropshire; one of the few English poets of the period whose name is known to us. Some of the first Christmas carols recorded in English appear among ...

, a

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

priest and poet, who lists 25 "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house. Music in itself soon became one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and Christmas music includes some of the noblest compositions of the great musicians.

Puritan prohibition

During the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

government under Cromwell, the

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" ...

prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as Pagan and sinful. Like other customs associated with popular

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Christianity, it earned the disapproval of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

. Famously, Cromwell's interregnum prohibited all celebrations of the Christmas holiday. This attempt to ban the public celebration of Christmas can also be seen in the early history of

Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...

. The

Westminster Assembly of Divines The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopte ...

established Sunday as the only holy day in the calendar in 1644. The new liturgy produced for the English church recognized this in 1645, and so legally abolished Christmas. Its celebration was declared an offense by Parliament in 1647. There is some debate as to the effectiveness of this ban, and whether or not it was enforced in the country. Puritans generally disapproved of the celebration of Christmas—a trend which continually resurfaced in Europe and the USA through the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Royal restoration

When in May 1660 Charles II restored the Stuarts to the throne, the people of England once again practiced the public singing of Christmas carols as part of the revival of Christmas customs, sanctioned by the king's own celebrations. The

Victorian Era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

saw a surge of Christmas carols associated with a renewed admiration of the holiday, including "

Silent Night "Silent Night" (german: "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht", links=no, italic=no) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an ...

", "

O Little Town of Bethlehem "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is a Christmas carol. Based on an 1868 text written by Phillips Brooks, the carol is popular on both sides of the Atlantic, but to different tunes: in The United States, to "St. Louis" by Brooks' collaborator, Lewis ...

", and "

O Holy Night "O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that co ...

". The first Christmas songs associated with Saint Nicholas or other gift-bringers also came during 19th century, including " Up on the Housetop" and " Jolly Old St. Nicholas". Many older Christmas hymns were also translated or had lyrics added to them during this period, particularly in 1871 when

John Stainer Sir John Stainer (6 June 1840 – 31 March 1901) was an English composer and organist whose music, though seldom performed today (with the exception of ''The Crucifixion'', still heard at Passiontide in some churches of the Anglican Communi ...

published a widely influential collection entitled "''Christmas Carols New & Old''". William Sandys's ''Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern'' (1833), contained the first appearance in print of many now-classic English carols, and contributed to the mid-Victorian revival of the holiday. Singing carols in church was instituted on Christmas Eve 1880 (

Nine Lessons and Carols Nine Lessons and Carols, also known as the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols and Service of Nine Lessons and Carols, is a service of Christian worship traditionally celebrated on or near Christmas Eve. The story of the fall of humanity, the ...

) in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, England, which is now seen in churches all over the world. According to one of the only observational research studies of Christmas caroling, Christmas observance and caroling traditions vary considerably between nations in the 21st century, while the actual sources and meanings of even high-profile songs are commonly misattributed, and the motivations for carol singing can in some settings be as much associated with family tradition and national cultural heritage as with religious beliefs. Christmas festivities, including music, are also celebrated in a more secular fashion by such institutions as the

Santa Claus Village Santa Claus Village ( fi, Joulupukin Pajakylä) is an amusement park in Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland. It was opened in 1985. Location and transportation Santa Claus Village is located about northeast of Rovaniemi and about fr ...

, in

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; sme, Roavvenjárga ; smn, Ruávinjargâ; sms, Ruäʹvnjargg) is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland, and its southern part Per� ...

, Finland.

Alms

Nicolae Ionescu - Children carolers in Bucharest, 1929

The tradition of singing Christmas carols in return for alms or charity began in England in the seventeenth century after the Restoration. Town musicians or 'waits' were licensed to collect money in the streets in the weeks preceding Christmas, the custom spread throughout the population by the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries up to the present day. Also from the seventeenth century, there was the English custom, predominantly involving women, of taking a

wassail Wassail (, , most likely from Old Norse ''"ves heill"'') is a beverage made from hot mulled cider, ale, or wine and spices, drunk traditionally as an integral part of wassailing, an ancient English Yuletide drinking ritual and salutation ei ...

bowl to their neighbors to solicit gifts, accompanied by carols. Despite this long history, many Christmas carols date only from the nineteenth century onwards, with the exception of songs such as the " Wexford Carol", " God Rest You Merry Gentlemen", "As I Sat on a Sunny Bank", "

The Holly and the Ivy "The Holly and the Ivy" is a traditional British folk Christmas carol, listed as number 514 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The song can be traced only as far as the early nineteenth century, but the lyrics reflect an association between holly a ...

", the " Coventry Carol" and "

I Saw Three Ships "I Saw Three Ships (Come Sailing In)" is an English Christmas carol, listed as number 700 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by ...

Church feasts

The importance of Advent and the feast of

Christmastide Christmastide is a season of the liturgical year in most Christian churches. In some, Christmastide is identical to Twelvetide. For the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Church and Methodist Church, Christmastide begins on 24 December ...

within the church year means there is a large repertoire of music specially composed for performance in church services celebrating the Christmas story. Various composers from the

Baroque era The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including th ...

to the 21st century have written

Christmas cantata A Christmas cantata or Nativity cantata is a cantata, music for voice or voices in several movements, for Christmas. The importance of the feast inspired many composers to write cantatas for the occasion, some designed to be performed in church serv ...

s and motets. Some notable compositions include: *

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

: ''Mass "Puer natus est nobis"'' (1554) *

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading ...

: '' O magnum mysterium'' (1569) *

Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Pale ...

: '' Resonet in laudibus'' (1569) *

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

: '' Weihnachtshistorie'' (1664) *

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

: several cantatas for Christmas to Epiphany and ''

Christmas Oratorio The ''Christmas Oratorio'' (German: ''Weihnachtsoratorium''), , is an oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach intended for performance in church during the Christmas season. It is in six parts, each part a cantata intended for performance on one of ...

'' (1734) * Jakub Jan Ryba: '' Czech Christmas Mass "Hey, Master!"'' (1796) * Anton Bruckner: '' Virga Jesse floruit'' (1885)

Classical music

Many large-scale religious compositions are performed in a concert setting at Christmas. Performances of George Frideric Handel's

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' are a fixture of Christmas celebrations in some countries, and although it was originally written for performance at

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, it covers aspects of the Biblical Christmas narrative. Informal

Scratch Messiah A Scratch ''Messiah'', People's ''Messiah'', Come Sing ''Messiah'', Sing-it-yourself ''Messiah'', Do-it-yourself ''Messiah'' (DIY ''Messiah''), or Sing along ''Messiah'' (the first two British and Australian usage, the last three common in North ...

performances involving public participation are very popular in the Christmas season.

's ''

'' (, ), written for Christmas 1734, describes the birth of Jesus, the annunciation to the shepherds, the adoration of the shepherds, the circumcision and naming of Jesus, the journey of the

Magi Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius t ...

, and the adoration of the Magi. Antonio Vivaldi composed the Violin Concerto RV270 "''Il Riposo per il Santissimo Natale''" ("For the Most Holy Christmas").

Arcangelo Corelli Arcangelo Corelli (, also , , ; 17 February 1653 – 8 January 1713) was an Italian composer and violinist of the Baroque era. His music was key in the development of the modern genres of sonata and concerto, in establishing the preeminence of th ...

composed the ''

Christmas Concerto Concerto grosso in G minor, Op. 6, No. 8 by Arcangelo Corelli, known commonly as the ''Christmas Concerto'', was commissioned by Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni and published posthumously in 1714 as part of Corelli's '' Twelve concerti grossi, Op.&nbs ...

'' in 1690.

Peter Cornelius Carl August Peter Cornelius (24 December 1824 – 26 October 1874) was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. Life He was born in Mainz to Carl Joseph Gerhard (1793–1843) and Friederike (1789–1867) Cornelius, actors i ...

composed a cycle of six songs related to Christmas themes he called '' Weihnachtslieder''. Setting his own poems for solo voice and piano, he alluded to older Christmas carols in the accompaniment of two of the songs. Other classical works associated with Christmas include: *

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

, 9 vocal settings and 2 instrumental settings : ** ''Messe de Minuit'' H.9 for soloists, choir, flûtes, strings and bc (1690) ** ''In nativitatem Domini canticum'' H.314 for 4 voices, 2 flutes, 2 violins and bc (1670) ** ''Canticum in nativitatem Domini'' H.393 for 3 voies, 2 treeble instruments and bc (1675) ** ''Pastorale de Noël'' H.414 for soloists, choir, 2 treeble instruments and bc (1683-85) ** ''Oratorio de Noël'' H.416 for soloists, choir, flutes, strings and bc (1690) ** ''Dialogus inter angelos et pastores Judae in nativitatem Domini'' H.420 for soloists, choir, flutes, strings and bc (1695?) ** ''In nativitate Domini Nostri Jesu Christi canticum'' H.421 for 3 voices and bc (1698-99) ** ''Pastorale de Noël'' H.482 for soloists, choir, 2 treeble viols and bc (1683-85) ** ''Pastorale de Noël'' H.483 H.483 a H.483 b for soloists, choir, 2 flutes, 2 treeble viols and bc (1683-85) ** ''Noël pour les instruments'' H.531 for flutes, strings and bc (1688?) ** ''Noël sur les instruments'' H.534 for flutes, strings and bc (1698) * ''

Christus Christus may refer to: * Christ (title) People * Petrus Christus (c. 1410s – c. 1475), Dutch painter * Sir Christus (1978–2017), Finnish musician Music * ''Christus'' (Liszt), an oratorio * ''Christus'' (Mendelssohn), an unfinished oratorio ...

'' (1847) an unfinished oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn * '' L'enfance du Christ'' (1853–54) by Hector Berlioz * '' Oratorio de Noël'' (1858) by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchai ...

'' (1892) by

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

* '' Fantasia on Christmas Carols'' (1912) and ''

Hodie ''Hodie'' (''This Day'') is a cantata by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Composed between 1953 and 1954, it is the composer's last major choral-orchestral composition, and was premiered under his baton at Worcester Cathedral, as part of the Three Choi ...

'' (1954), both by Ralph Vaughan Williams * '' A Ceremony of Carols'' (1942) by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

Christmas carols

Songs which are traditional, even some without a specific religious context, are often called

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a carol (a song or hymn) on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French ori ...

s. Each of these has a rich history, some dating back many centuries.

Standards

A popular set of traditional carols that might be heard at any Christmas-related event include: * "

Angels We Have Heard on High "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol to the hymn tune "Gloria" from a traditional French song of unknown origin called "", with paraphrased English lyrics by James Chadwick. The song's subject is the birth of Jesus Christ as narr ...

" (in the UK the text of "

Angels from the Realms of Glory "Angels from the Realms of Glory" is a Christmas carol written by Scottish poet James Montgomery.Bradley, Ian. ''The Penguin Book of Carols''. Penguin (1999), p27–29. . It was first printed in the '' Sheffield Iris'' on Christmas Eve 1816, ...

" is sung to this tune) * " Away in a Manger" * " Deck the Halls" * " Ding Dong Merrily on High" * "

The First Noel "The First Nowell", also known as "The First Noel (or Noël)", is a traditional English Christmas carol with Cornish origins, most likely from the early modern period, although possibly earlier.Go Tell It on the Mountain" * " God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" * "

Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During th ...

" * "

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection ''Hymns and Sacred Poems''. The carol, based on , tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God. As it is known in the modern era, it f ...

" * "

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", sometimes rendered as "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", is an 1849 poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. In 1850, Sears' lyrics were set ...

" * "

Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...

" * "

" (''O Tannenbaum'') * "

O Come, All Ye Faithful "O Come, All Ye Faithful" (originally written in Latin as "") is a Christmas carol that has been attributed to various authors, including John Francis Wade (1711–1786), John Reading (1645–1692), King John IV of Portugal (1604–1656), and a ...

" (''Adeste Fideles'') * " O come, O come, Emmanuel" * "

" (''Cantique de Noël'') * "

" * " Once in Royal David's City" * "

" (''Stille Nacht, heilige Nach''t) * " The Twelve Days of Christmas" * " We Three Kings of Orient Are" * "

We Wish You a Merry Christmas "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" is an English Christmas carol, listed as numbers 230 and 9681 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The famous version of the carol is from the English West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is ...

" * "

What Child Is This? "What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol with lyrics written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865 and set to the tune of " Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song, in 1871. Although written in Great Britain, the carol today is more popul ...

" * " While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks" Kolędnicy 2008

These songs hearken from centuries ago, the oldest ("Wexford Carol") originating in the 12th century. The newest came together in the mid- to late-19th century. Many began in non-English speaking countries, often with non-Christmas themes, and were later converted into English carols with English lyrics added—not always translated from the original, but newly created—sometimes as late as the early 20th century.

Early secular Christmas songs

Among the earliest secular Christmas songs was " The Twelve Days of Christmas", which first appeared in 1780 in England (its melody would not come until 1909); the English West Country carol "

" has antecedents dating to the 1830s but was not published in its modern form until Arthur Warrell introduced it to a wider audience in 1935. As the secular mythos of the holiday (such as Santa Claus in his modern form) emerged in the 19th century, so too did secular Christmas songs.

Benjamin Hanby Benjamin Russell Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867), also given as Benjamin Russel Hanby, was an American composer, educator, pastor, and abolitionist who wrote approximately 80 songs. The most famous are "Darling Nelly Gray" and the ...

's "

Up on the House Top "Up on the Housetop" is a Christmas song written by Benjamin Hanby in 1864.Bronson, Fre"Signs Of The Season" Billboard Magazine; December 6, 2007. It has been recorded by a multitude of singers, most notably Gene Autry in 1953. Fresh Beat Band ...

" and Emily Huntington Miller's " Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" were among the first explicitly secular Christmas songs in the United States, both dating to the 1860s; they were preceded by "

Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...

", written in 1857 but not explicitly about Christmas, and "

," written in 1824 but only made about a Christmas tree after being translated from its original German.

Published Christmas music

Christmas music has been published as sheet music for centuries. One of the earliest collections of printed Christmas music was ''

Piae Cantiones ''Piae Cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum'' (in English ''Pious ecclesiastical and school songs of the ancient bishops'') is a collection of late medieval Latin songs first published in 1582. It was compiled by Jacobus F ...

'', a Finnish songbook first published in 1582 which contained a number of songs that have survived today as well-known Christmas carols. The publication of Christmas music books in the 19th century, such as ''Christmas Carols, New and Old'' ( Bramley and

Stainer Stainer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Greg Stainer (born 1976), British musician *Jacob Stainer (c. 1617–1683), Austrian luthier *John Stainer (1840–1901), English classical composer and organist * Pauline Stainer (bor ...

, 1871), played an important role in widening the popular appeal of carols. In the 20th century,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

(OUP) published some highly successful Christmas music collections such as ''

The Oxford Book of Carols ''The Oxford Book of Carols'' is a collection of vocal scores of Christmas carols and carols of other seasons. It was first published in 1928 by Oxford University Press and was edited by Percy Dearmer, Martin Shaw and Ralph Vaughan Williams. ...

'' (

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...

, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Dearmer, 1928), which revived a number of early folk songs and established them as modern standard carols. This was followed by the bestselling '' Carols for Choirs'' series (

David Willcocks Sir David Valentine Willcocks, (30 December 1919 – 17 September 2015) was a British choral conductor, organist, composer and music administrator. He was particularly well known for his association with the Choir of King's College, Cambr ...

Reginald Jacques Thomas Reginald Jacques (13 January 1894 – 2 June 1969) was an English choral and orchestral conductor. His legacy includes various choral music arrangements, but he is not primarily remembered as a composer. Jacques was born in Ashby-de ...

and

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

), first published in 1961 and now available in a five volumes. The popular books have proved to be a popular resource for choirs and church congregations in the English-speaking world, and remain in print today. * ''Christmas Carols, New and Old'' (1871) * '' Oxford Book of Carols'' (1928) * '' Carols for Choirs'' (1961) * '' New Oxford Book of Carols'' (1992) * ''A Shorter New Oxford Book of Carols'' (1992)

Choirmasters poll

In 2008, '' BBC Music Magazine'' published a poll of the "50 Greatest Carols", compiled from the views of choral experts and choirmasters in the UK and the US. The resulting list of the top ten favored Christmas carols and motets was: # " In the Bleak Midwinter" – Harold Darke # "

In Dulci Jubilo "In dulci jubilo" (Latin for "In sweet rejoicing") is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. N ...

" – traditional # "

A Spotless Rose "" (literally "A rose has sprung up") is a Christmas carol and Hymns to Mary, Marian hymn of German origin. It is most commonly translated into English as "Lo, how a rose e'er blooming" and is also called "A Spotless Rose" and "Behold a Rose of J ...

" –

Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucest ...

# " Bethlehem Down" –

Peter Warlock Philip Arnold Heseltine (30 October 189417 December 1930), known by the pseudonym Peter Warlock, was a British composer and music critic. The Warlock name, which reflects Heseltine's interest in occult practices, was used for all his published ...

# " Lully, Lulla" – traditional # "

Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing-day" is an English carol usually attributed as "traditional"; its first written appearance is in William B. Sandys' ''Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern'' of 1833. However, it is almost certainly of a much earlier da ...

" # " There Is No Rose" - traditional (15th c.) # "

" # "

Of the Father's Heart Begotten "Of the Father's heart begotten" alternatively known as "Of the Father's love begotten" is a doctrinal hymn based on the Latin poem "Corde natus" by the Roman poet Aurelius Prudentius, from his ''Liber Cathemerinon'' (hymn no. IX) beginning "Da ...

" # "What Sweeter Music" –

Popular Christmas songs

United States

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2016, "

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...

", written by Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934, is the most played holiday song of the last 50 years. It was first performed live by Eddie Cantor on his radio show in November 1934.

Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...

and his orchestra recorded their version in 1935, followed later by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra in 1948,

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

the Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...

, and Glenn Campbell. Bruce Springsteen recorded a rock rendition in December 1975. Long-time Christmas classics from prior to the "rock era" still dominate the holiday charts – such as " Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "

Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himbe ...

", "

Sleigh Ride "Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrument ...

" and "

". Songs from the rock era to enter the top tier of the season's canon include "

Wonderful Christmastime "Wonderful Christmastime" is a Christmas song by English musician Paul McCartney. Recorded during the sessions for his solo album '' McCartney II'' (1980), it was released in November 1979 following Wings' final album ''Back to the Egg'' earlie ...

" by

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, " All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey and

Walter Afanasieff Walter Afanasieff (born Vladimir Nikitich Afanasyev; February 10, 1958), formerly nicknamed Baby Love in the 1980s, is an American record producer and songwriter of Russian-Chinese descent. He was a collaborator with Mariah Carey on her first ...

, and "

Last Christmas "Last Christmas" is a song by British pop duo Wham!, originally released in December 1984 on CBS Records International, CBS Records internationally and as a double A-side and B-side, A-side on Epic Records with "Everything She Wants" in the UK ...

" by George Michael. The most popular set of these titles—heard over airwaves, on the internet, in shopping malls, in elevators and lobbies, even on the street during the Christmas season—have been composed and performed from the 1930s onward. (Songs published before 1925 are all out of copyright, are no longer subject to ASCAP royalties and thus do not appear on their list.) In addition to Bing Crosby, major acts that have popularized and successfully covered a number of the titles in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 include Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Andy Williams, and the Jackson 5. Since the mid-1950s, much of the Christmas music produced for popular audiences has explicitly romantic overtones, only using Christmas as a setting. The 1950s also featured the introduction of

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

s that used the holiday as a target for satire and source for comedy. Exceptions such as " The Christmas Shoes" (2000) have re-introduced Christian themes as complementary to the secular Western themes, and myriad traditional carol

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

s by various artists have explored virtually all music genres.

Most-performed Christmas songs

The top thirty most-played holiday songs for the 2015 holiday season are ranked here, all titles written or co-written by ASCAP songwriters and composers. Most of these songs in some way describe or are reminiscent of Christmas traditions, how

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

countries tend to celebrate the holiday, i.e., with caroling, mistletoe, exchanging of presents, a Christmas tree, feasting, jingle bells, etc. Celebratory or sentimental, and nostalgic in tone, they hearken back to simpler times with memorable holiday practices—expressing the desire either to be with someone or at home for Christmas. The winter-related songs celebrate the climatic season, with all its snow, dressing up for the cold, sleighing, etc. Many titles help define the mythical aspects of modern Christmas celebration: Santa Claus bringing presents, coming down the chimney, being pulled by

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

, etc. New mythical characters are created, defined, and popularized by these songs; "

", adapted from a major retailer's promotional poem, was introduced to radio audiences by Gene Autry in 1949. His follow-up a year later introduced "

Frosty the Snowman "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular Christmas song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950 and later recorded by Jimmy Durante. It was written after the success of A ...

", the central character of his song. Though overtly religious, and authored (at least partly) by a writer of many church hymns, no drumming child appears in any biblical account of the Christian nativity scene. This character was introduced to the tradition by Katherine K. Davis in her " The Little Drummer Boy" (written in 1941, with a popular version being released in 1958).

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

introduced "

Shadrack, the Black Reindeer "Shadrack, the Black Reindeer" is a song written by Zero Jones. It was notably recorded by American country singer-songwriter Loretta Lynn in 1974. It was released as a single the same year via MCA Records. It was given mixed reviews upon its init ...

" in 1974. ''The above-ranking results from an aggregation of performances of all different artist versions of each cited holiday song, across all forms of media, from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015.'' * Of the top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015, 13 (43%) were written in the 1930s or 1940s and 12 (40%) were written in the 1950s and 1960s; only five (17%) were written from the 1970s on, two (7%) were from after 1990, and none after 1995. This phenomenon was noted in the webcomic

xkcd ''xkcd'', sometimes styled ''XKCD'', is a webcomic created in 2005 by American author Randall Munroe. The comic's tagline describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language". Munroe states on the comic's website that the name ...

and referred to as "a massive project to carefully recreate...

baby boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

s’ childhoods". * The newest song in the top 30 most performed Christmas songs – "All I Want for Christmas is You", co-written and performed by Mariah Carey in 1994 – entered the list for the first time in 2015; the song hit the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 for the first time in 2017, and was named "the UK's favourite Christmas song" the same year by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

''. Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song with the same title and theme, which Vince Vance & the Valiants recorded in 1989 and independently became popular at the same time as Carey's song. The melody is similar to

Bobby Vinton Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...

's " My Heart Belongs to Only You". * Johnny Marks wrote three songs that appear in these most-performed Christmas songs in 2015: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Holly Jolly Christmas", and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree". Irving Berlin wrote two: "White Christmas" and "Happy Holiday". These are the only songwriters to appear on the list more than once – and both are non-Christian. * Gene Autry was the first to sing three songs on the list of top 30 most performed Christmas songs in 2015 – "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", and "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" – co-writing the latter song. * Two of the songs, "Carol of the Bells" and "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24", rely on the same melody,

Mykola Leontovych Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (23 January 1921; ua, Микола Дмитрович Леонтович, link=no (); also Leontovich) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian c ...

's " Shchedryk", which was published in 1918 and is thus out of copyright, no longer subject to ASCAP royalties. The lyrics to "Carol of the Bells" are still under copyright. The copyright on "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" extends only to the arrangement.

Christmas song surveys

In 2007 surveys of United States radio listeners by two different research groups, the most liked songs were standards such as Bing Crosby's " White Christmas" (1942),

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

's "

The Christmas Song "The Christmas Song" (commonly subtitled "Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire" or, as it was originally subtitled, "Merry Christmas to You") is a classic Christmas song written in 1945 by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé. The Nat King Cole Trio fir ...

" (1946), and

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

' "

A Holly Jolly Christmas "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (also called "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas") is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASC ...

" (1965). Other favorites like "

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...

" (

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

, 1958), "

Jingle Bell Rock "Jingle Bell Rock" is an American Christmas song first released by Bobby Helms in 1957. Since its release, it has received frequent airplay in the United States during every Christmas season since then. "Jingle Bell Rock" was composed by Joseph Car ...

" (

Bobby Helms Robert Lee Helms (August 15, 1933 – June 19, 1997) was an American country singer, who is best remembered for his 1957 Christmas hit "Jingle Bell Rock". Additionally, he had two other hit records from that year: " Fraulein" and "My Special Ang ...

, 1957) and

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's " Happy Xmas" (1971), scored well in one study. Also "loved" were Johnny Mathis' "

Do You Hear What I Hear? "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record ...

" and

Harry Simeone Chorale Harry Moses Simeone (May 9, 1910 – February 22, 2005) was an American music arranger, conductor and composer who popularized the Christmas song " The Little Drummer Boy", for which he received co-writing credit. Early years Simeone was born ...

's "

Little Drummer Boy "The Little Drummer Boy" (originally known as "Carol of the Drum") is a popular Christmas song written by American composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. First recorded in 1951 by the Trapp Family, the song was further popularized by a 195 ...

" (1958). Among the most-hated Christmas songs, according to Edison Media Research's 2007 survey, are

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

's "

?", the

Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

's "

", Elmo & Patsy's "

Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is a novelty Christmas song. Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the then-husband-and-wife duo of Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg in 1979. Lyrics The lyrics tell the story of a grandm ...

", and "

" as performed by cartoon characters from

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...

's '' South Park''. The "most-hated Christmastime recording" is a rendition of "Jingle Bells" by Carl Weissmann's Singing Dogs, a revolutionary novelty song originally released in 1955, and re-released as an edited version in 1970. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine ranked

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

's version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (1963) first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs in December 2010. Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, was No. 1 on ''Billboard'''s Holiday Digital Songs chart in December 2013. "

Fairytale of New York "Fairytale of New York" is a song written by Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan and recorded by their London-based band the Pogues, featuring singer-songwriter Kirsty MacColl on vocals. The song is an Irish folk-style ballad and was written as a du ...

" by

The Pogues The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others, founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as "Pogue Mahone" – the anglicisation of the Irish Gaelic ''póg mo thóin'', meaning "kiss my arse" ...

is cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the United Kingdom and Ireland. A 2021

YouGov YouGov is a British international Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, headquartered in the UK, with operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. In 2007, it acquired US company Polimetrix, and sinc ...

survey of 1,000 adults ranked the most hated Christmas songs, counting only those songs that a majority of those polls recognized and listing the songs independent of any artist who may have recorded them. "

Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...

" ranked atop the list; a side note from a news article covering the list noted that much of that hatred came from the Madonna cover version from '' A Very Special Christmas'', which gets more airplay than Eartha Kitt's original. Other songs that ranked high in terms of listener revulsion included "

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 ...

," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "

Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey

The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music-type categories: * "Adult contemporary" listeners rated

's "

" best. * "Adult Top 40" fans liked

' "

". * "Hip-hop/R&B" fans liked the

's "

". * "Country" listeners ranked

' "

" No. 1. * "Smooth jazz" fans liked "

" as sung by

United Kingdom and Ireland

Most played songs

A collection of chart hits recorded in a bid to be crowned the UK Christmas No. 1 single during the 1970s and 1980s have become some of the most popular holiday tunes in the United Kingdom. Band Aid's 1984 song "

Do They Know It's Christmas? "Do They Know It's Christmas?" is a charity song written in 1984 by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise money for the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. It was first recorded by Band Aid, a supergroup assembled by Geldof and Ure consisting of pop ...

" is the second-best selling single in UK Chart history. "

", released by

in 1987, is regularly voted the British public's favourite-ever Christmas song. It is also the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK. British

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s. "

Merry Xmas Everybody "Merry Xmas Everybody" is a song by the British rock band Slade, released as a non-album single in 1973. The song was written by lead vocalist Noddy Holder and bassist Jim Lea, and it was produced by Chas Chandler. It was the band's sixth an ...

" by

Slade Slade are an English rock band formed in Wolverhampton in 1966. They rose to prominence during the glam rock era in the early 1970s, achieving 17 consecutive top 20 hits and six number ones on the UK Singles Chart. The ''British Hit Singles ...

, "

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" is a Christmas song recorded by British glam rock band Wizzard. It was first released in December 1973 and, as with most Wizzard songs, was written and produced by the band's frontman Roy Wood—formerly ...

" by

Wizzard Wizzard were an English rock band formed by Roy Wood, former member of the Move and co-founder of the Electric Light Orchestra. ''The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits'' states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings was Paul McCartne ...

, and "

Lonely This Christmas "Lonely This Christmas" is a Christmas song by the English glam rock band Mud, that topped the UK Singles Chart in 1974, selling over 750,000 copies and reaching Christmas number one. Song Written and produced by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, ...

" by Mud all remain hugely popular. In 2012,

PRS for Music PRS for Music Limited (formerly The MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited) is a British music copyright collective, made up of two collection societies: the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS) and the Performing Right Society (PRS). It undertakes ...

(who collect and pay royalties to its 75,000 song-writing and composing members) conducted a survey of the top ten most played Christmas songs in the UK over the past year. The list was as follows: Included in the 2009 and 2008 lists are such other titles as

Jona Lewie Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his 1980 UK hits "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" and " Stop the Cavalry". Career Lewie was born on 14 March ...

's " Stop the Cavalry", Bruce Springsteen's "

Santa Claus is Coming to Town "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" is a Christmas song featuring Santa Claus written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie. The earliest known recorded version of the song was by banjoist Harry Reser and his band on October 24, 1934. It was then ...

", Elton John's "

Step into Christmas "Step into Christmas" is a Christmas song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973 with the song "Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christm ...

", Mud's "

", "

Walking in the Air "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film ''The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fav ...

" by

Aled Jones Aled Jones, (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and radio and television presenter. As a teenage chorister, he reached widespread fame during the mid-1980s. Since then he has worked in television with the BBC and ITV, and radio (for ...

Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...

' "

Merry Christmas Everyone "Merry Christmas Everyone" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it is the fourth and to date last number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Char ...

Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...

's "

Driving Home for Christmas "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single " Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded versio ...

" and "

Mistletoe and Wine "Mistletoe and Wine" is a Christmas song made famous as a chart-topping single by Cliff Richard in 1988. The song was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for a musical called ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans C ...

" and " Saviour's Day" by

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

. The best Christmas song "to get adults and children in the festive spirit for the party season in 2016" was judged by the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...

'' to be "Fairytale of New York". Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" was declared "the UK's favourite Christmas song", narrowly beating out "Fairytale of New York" according to a "points system" created by ''The Independent'' in 2017. Both score well ahead of all others on the list of top twenty Christmas songs in the UK.

Christmas Number Ones

The "Christmas Number One" – songs reaching the top spot on either the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, the Irish Singles Chart, or occasionally both, on the edition preceding Christmas – is considered a major achievement in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The Christmas number one benefits from broad publicity, so much so that the songs that attempt but fail to achieve the honor and finish second also get widespread attention.

Social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

campaigns have been used to try to encourage sales of specific songs so that they could reach number one. These songs develop an association with Christmas or the holiday season from their chart performance, but the association tends to be shorter-lived than for the more traditionally-themed Christmas songs. Notable longer-lasting examples include Band Aid's "

" (No. 1, 1984, the second-biggest selling single in UK Chart history; two re-recordings also hit No. 1 in 1989 and 2004),

's "

" (No. 1, 1973), and

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

's "

" (No. 2, 1984). ''Last Christmas'' would go on to hold the UK record for highest-selling single not to reach No. 1, until it finally topped the chart on January 1, 2021, helped by extensive streaming in the final week of December 2020.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

, Spice Girls, and

LadBaby Mark Ian Hoyle (born 12 April 1987), better known by his online pseudonym LadBaby, is an English YouTuber, musician, and blogger. His content focuses on his experiences as a father and is usually filmed in collaboration with his wife, Roxanne. T ...

are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number-one hits on the

, with LadBaby the only artist to have four consecutive Christmas number-ones. The Beatles annually between 1963 and 1965 (with a fourth in 1967), the Spice Girls between 1996 and 1998, and LadBaby between 2018 and 2021 (all four of LadBaby's Christmas number-ones were

parodies A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...

of other popular songs that included a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

mentioning

sausage roll A sausage roll is a savoury pastry snack, popular in current and former Commonwealth nations, consisting of sausage meat wrapped in puffed pastry. Sausage rolls are sold at retail outlets and are also available from bakeries as a take-away food ...

s). "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991. Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of "

" have been number one in Christmas week. At the turn of the 21st century, songs associated with reality shows became a frequent source of Christmas number ones in the UK. In 2002, '' Popstars: The Rivals'' produced the top three singles on the British Christmas charts. The "rival" groups produced by the series—the girl group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

and the boy band

One True Voice One True Voice were a British boy band created on the ITV television series '' Popstars: The Rivals''. In the show, pop groups of both sexes were created through a public vote and competed in the UK Singles Chart for the 2002 Christmas numbe ...

—finished first and second respectively on the charts. Failed contestants

The Cheeky Girls The Cheeky Girls are a Romanian singing duo consisting of identical twin sisters Gabriela and Monica Irimia (both born 31 October 1982). After appearing as auditionees on '' Popstars: The Rivals'', they achieved success in the UK charts with fou ...

charted with a novelty hit, "

Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum) "Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)" is a song by '' Popstars: The Rivals'' contestants the Cheeky Girls. Written by Pete Kirtley and Tim Hawes (under the name The Cheeky Boyz) and the girls' mother Margit Irimia, the song was released as a single on 2 ...

", at third. Briton

Will Young William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 inaugural series of the ITV talent contest '' Pop Idol'', making him the first winner of the worldwide '' Idol ...

, winner of the first ''

Pop Idol ''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...

'', charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003. ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' also typically concluded in December during its run; the winner's debut single earned the Christmas number one in at least one of the two countries every year from 2005 to 2014, and in both countries in five of those ten years. Each year since 2008 has seen protest campaigns to outsell the ''X Factor'' single (which benefits from precisely-timed release and corresponding media buzz) and prevent it from reaching number one. In 2009, as the result of a campaign intended to counter the phenomenon,

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

's 1992 single "

Killing in the Name "Killing in the Name" is a protest song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, and appears on their 1992 self-titled debut album. It was released as the lead single from the album in November 1992. It features heavy drop-D guitar riff ...

" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's ''X Factor'' winner,

Joe McElderry Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of the ITV show ''The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single " The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singl ...

. In 2011, " Wherever You Are", the single from a choir of military wives assembled by the TV series '' The Choir'', earned the Christmas number-one single in Britain—upsetting ''X Factor'' winners Little Mix. With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.

Australia

Situated in the southern hemisphere, where seasons are reversed from the northern, the heat of early summer in Australia affects the way Christmas is celebrated and how northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.

Australians Australians, colloquially known as Aussies, are the citizens, nationals and individuals associated with the country of Australia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or ethno-cultural. For most Australians, several (or all) ...

generally spend Christmas outdoors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to campgrounds for a vacation. International visitors to Sydney at Christmastime often go to Bondi Beach where tens of thousands gather on Christmas Day. Blandfordia nobilis Berowra Valley

The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles, started in 1937 by Victorian radio announcer Norman Banks, has taken place in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

annually since then. Carols by Candlelight events can be "huge gatherings . . televised live throughout the country" or smaller "local community and church events." Carols in the Domain in Sydney is now a "popular platform for the stars of stage and music." Some homegrown Christmas songs have become popular. William G. James' six sets of ''Australian Christmas Carols'', with words by John Wheeler, include "The Three Drovers", "The Silver Stars are in the Sky", "Christmas Day", "Carol of the Birds" and others. "Light-hearted Australian Christmas songs" have become "an essential part of the Australian Christmas experience."

Rolf Harris Rolf Harris (born 30 March 1930) is an Australian entertainer whose career has encompassed work as a musician, singer-songwriter, composer, comedian, actor, painter and television personality. He often used unusual instruments in his performan ...

' "Six White Boomers", Colin Buchanan's "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas", proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under. A verse from "Aussie Jingle Bells" makes the point: Engine's getting hot Dodge the kangaroos Swaggie climbs aboard He is welcome too All the family is there Sitting by the pool Christmas Day, the Aussie way By the barbecue! "The

Twelve Days of Christmas The Twelve Days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, is a festive Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. In some Western ecclesiastical traditions, "Christmas Day" is considered the "First Day of Christmas" and the Twelve Days a ...

" has been revised to fit the Australian context, as an example: "On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me: 12 parrots prattling, 11

numbat The numbat (''Myrmecobius fasciatus''), also known as the noombat or walpurti, is an insectivorous marsupial. It is diurnal and its diet consists almost exclusively of termites. The species was once widespread across southern Australia, but ...

s nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9

wombat Wombats are short-legged, muscular quadrupedal marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between . All three of the extant species are members of the family Vombatidae. They are ada ...

s working, 8 dingoes digging, 7 possums playing, 6 brolgas dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3

kookaburra Kookaburras are terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri ''guuguubarra'', onomatopoeic of its call. The ...

s laughing, 2 pink galahs, and an

emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...

up a gum tree." Other popular Australian Christmas songs include: 'White Wine in the Sun" by Tim Minchin, "Aussie Jingle Bells" by Bucko & Champs, "Christmas Photo" by John Williamson, "Go Santa, Go" by

The Wiggles The Wiggles are an Australian children's music group formed in Sydney in 1991. The group are currently composed of Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce and Tsehay Hawkins, as well as supporting members Evie Ferris, John Pearce, ...

, and "Six White Boomers" by Russel Coight. "My Little Christmas Belle" (1909) composed by Joe Slater (1872-1926) to words by Ward McAlister (1872–1928) celebrates eastern Australian

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

coming into bloom during the heat of Christmas. '' Blandfordia nobilis'', also known as Christmas Bells, are the specific subject of the song—with the original sheet music bearing a depiction of the blossom. Whereas "The Holly and The Ivy" (1937) by Australian Louis Lavater (1867–1953) mentions northern hemisphere foliage. Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly first released "

How to Make Gravy ''How to Make Gravy'' is a four-track Extended play, EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on Mushroom Records, White Label Records in Australia. The title ...

" as part of a four-track EP November 4, 1996, through

White Label Records Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mu ...

. The title track, written by Kelly, tells the story in a letter to his brother from a newly imprisoned man who laments how he will be missing the family Christmas. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 1998 Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Music Awards. Kelly's theme reflects a national experience with Christmas:

Other popular Christmas songs

" Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" originated with a poem by Emily Huntington Miller (1833-1913), published as "Lilly's Secret" in ''The Little Corporal Magazine'' December 1865. Lyrics have also been attributed to

, who wrote Up on the Housetop in 1864, but the words commonly heard today resemble Miller's 1865 poem. James R. Murray is attributed as composer in the first publication of the music in ''School Chimes, A New School Music Book'' by S. Brainard's Sons in 1874. Early notable recordings were made by Ray Smith (1949),

Chet Atkins Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), known as "Mr. Guitar" and "The Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nashville sound, the country music ...

(1961),

Eddy Arnold Richard Edward Arnold (May 15, 1918 – May 8, 2008) was an American country music singer who performed for six decades. He was a Nashville sound (country/popular music) innovator of the late 1950s, and scored 147 songs on the ''Billboard'' cou ...

(1962), and Alvin and the Chipmunks (1963). "

I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble (January 5, 1937), Howard Barrie, vocalist, and (ii) Red Norvo (January 8, 1937), Mildred Bailey, vocali ...

", introduced in the musical film '' On the Avenue'' by Dick Powell and

Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...

in 1937, was written by Irving Berlin. " The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot" – written by Michael Carr, Tommie Connor, and Jimmy Leach in 1937 – was notably performed by

Vera Lynn Dame Vera Margaret Lynn (; 20 March 191718 June 2020) was an English singer and entertainer whose musical recordings and performances were very popular during World War II. She is honorifically known as the " Forces' Sweetheart", having giv ...

and

. " I'll Be Home for Christmas", by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer

Walter Kent Walter Kent (born Walter Maurice Kaufman, November 29, 1911 – March 2, 1994) was an American composer and conductor. Some notable compositions are: " I'll Be Home for Christmas", "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" and " (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The ...

, was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943. "

Merry Christmas Baby "Merry Christmas Baby" is an R&B Christmas standard credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore. In 1947, Johnny Moore's Three Blazers recorded the tune, featuring vocals and piano by Charles Brown. Subsequently, many performers have recorded rend ...

" is credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, whose group originally recorded it in 1947, featuring singer and pianist Charles Brown.

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

introduced her "The Holiday Season" in 1945, which later became part of a medley by Andy Williams. "
A Marshmallow World "A Marshmallow World" (sometimes called "It's a Marshmallow World") is a popular song that was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman (lyrics) and Peter DeRose (music). It was published the following year by Shapiro, Bernstein & Co. The song is about win ...
" (sometimes called "It's a Marshmallow World") was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman (lyrics) and
Peter DeRose Peter DeRose (or De Rose) (March 10, 1896 – April 23, 1953) was an American composer of jazz and pop music during the era of Tin Pan Alley. Biography A native of New York City, he showed a gift for all things musical at an early age. He lea ...
(music). More popular songs which reference the Nativity include " I Wonder as I Wander" (1933), " Mary's Boy Child" (1956), "Carol of the Drum" ("Little Drummer Boy") (1941), and "
Do You Hear What I Hear? "Do You Hear What I Hear?" is a song written in October 1962, with lyrics by Noël Regney and music by Gloria Shayne. The pair, married at the time, wrote it as a plea for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney had been invited by a record ...
" (1962). Other titles and recordings added to the popular Christmas song canon include:

1950s
* 1950: "
(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag "(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag" is a Christmas song written in 1950 by Irving Taylor, Dudley Brooks, and Hal Stanley. The "man with the bag" is a reference to Santa Claus, who drops off presents from his sleigh to people who hav ...
", written by Irving Taylor and
Dudley Brooks Dudley Brooks (December 22, 1913 – July 17, 1989) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. Biography Brooks was born on December 22, 1913, in Los Angeles, California.
; popularized by Kay Starr. * 1950: "Dixieland Band from Santa Claus Land" by
Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peop ...
and his orchestra. * 1950: "A Marshmallow World", written by Carl Sigman and Peter DeRose; released by Bing Crosby (backed by The Lee Gordon Singers and the Sonny Burke Orchestra). * 1950: " Mele Kalikimaka"; written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson; released by Bing Crosby and
The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...
as a single (with "Poppa Santa Claus" on the reverse side). The title is the closest approximation of the pronunciation of "Merry Christmas" possible in the Hawaiian language. * 1951: "Christmas Choir", released by Patti Page on '' Christmas with Patti Page''. * 1951: " Suzy Snowflake", written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett; released by Rosemary Clooney as a 78 RPM record through Columbia Records. * 1953: " Up on the Housetop", written by
Benjamin Hanby Benjamin Russell Hanby (July 22, 1833 – March 16, 1867), also given as Benjamin Russel Hanby, was an American composer, educator, pastor, and abolitionist who wrote approximately 80 songs. The most famous are "Darling Nelly Gray" and the ...
in 1864; popularized by Gene Autry. * 1954: "
The Christmas Waltz "The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'', and i ...
", written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne; released by Frank Sinatra on the B-side of his version of " White Christmas" and later ''
A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'' is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957. This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along w ...
(1957)'' and '' The Sinatra Family Wish You a Merry Christmas (1968)''. * 1955: "The First Snowfall" written by Paul Francis Webster, Sonny Burke and recorded by Bing Crosby on November 22, 1955. * 1956: "
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" is a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The song tells of the narrator hearing Christmas bells during the American Civil War, but despairing ...
", written by Johnny Marks from a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells" by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...
; released by Bing Crosby as a single (with "Christmas Is A-Comin' (May God Bless You)" on B-side). * 1956: " Mary's Boy Child", written by Jester Hairston; released by
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...
on '' An Evening with Belafonte''. * 1957: " Mistletoe and Holly" written by Frank Sinatra, Dok Stanford, and
Hank Sanicola Henry William "Hank" Sanicola (14 June 1914 – 6 October 1974) was an American music manager, publisher, businessman and pianist, best known for his work and association with Frank Sinatra from the late 1930s to the early 1960s. Early life Sanico ...
; recorded by Sinatra with orchestra conducted by
Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Lo ...
, released as a Capitol 7" 45 single backed with "
The Christmas Waltz "The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'', and i ...
". Included on ''
A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'' is a Christmas album by American singer Frank Sinatra, originally released by Capitol Records in 1957. This was Sinatra's first full-length Christmas album. It features the Ralph Brewster Singers along w ...
''. * 1958: "
Run Rudolph Run "Run Rudolph Run" is a Christmas song written by Chuck Berry but credited to Johnny Marks and M. Brodie due to Marks' trademark on the character of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was published by St. Nicholas Music (ASCAP) and was first recorde ...
", written by
Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...
and Marvin Brodie; popularized by
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
when released as a single on Chess Records. * 1959: "Caroling, Caroling", written by
Alfred Burt Alfred Shaddick Burt (April 22, 1920 – February 7, 1954) was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols between 1942 and 1954. Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his i ...
in 1953; recorded by
Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
on ''The Sounds of Christmas''. * 1959: " The Secret of Christmas", written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for Bing Crosby, first performed in the film '' Say One for Me''; Crosby recorded the song with an arrangement by
Frank DeVol Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Cu ...
for a single that year released by Columbia Records.

1960s
* 1960: "Caroling, Caroling", written by
Alfred Burt Alfred Shaddick Burt (April 22, 1920 – February 7, 1954) was an American jazz musician who is best known for composing the music for fifteen Christmas carols between 1942 and 1954. Only one of the carols was performed in public outside his i ...
in 1953; popularized by Nat King Cole on '' The Magic of Christmas''. * 1960: "
Please Come Home for Christmas "Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with G ...
", written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd; released by Brown on ''Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs'' (since becoming associated with
the Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
' 1978 cover). * 1960: " Must Be Santa", written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks; first released by
Mitch Miller Mitchell William Miller (July 4, 1911 – July 31, 2010) was an American choral conductor, record producer, record-industry executive, and professional oboist. He was involved in almost all aspects of the industry, particularly as a conductor ...
;
Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...
's cover of the song reaching No. 40 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
the same year. * 1960: " Dominick the Donkey" written by Ray Allen, Wandra Merrell, and Sam Saltzberg; recorded by Lou Monte on
Roulette Records Roulette Records was an American record company and label founded in 1957 by George Goldner, Joe Kolsky, Morris Levy and Phil Kahl, with creative control given to producers and songwriters Hugo Peretti and Luigi Creatore. Levy was appointed ...
. The song describes a donkey who helps Santa Claus bring presents ("made in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
") to children in Italy "because the reindeer cannot climb" Italy's hills. * 1961: "The Merriest", "Ring a Merry Bell" and "Seven Shades of Snow", all written by Connie Pearce and Arnold Miller; released by June Christy on '' This Time of Year.'' * 1961: "We Wish You the Merriest", written and recorded by Les Brown; released by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and
Fred Waring Fredrick Malcolm Waring Sr. (June 9, 1900 – July 29, 1984) was an American musician, bandleader, and radio and television personality, sometimes referred to as "America's Singing Master" and "The Man Who Taught America How to Sing". He was also ...
's Pennsylvanians on '' 12 Songs of Christmas'' in 1964. * 1963: "
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector''. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil S ...
", written by
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...
,
Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...
with
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
; released by
Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...
on ''
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector'' (originally released as ''A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records'') is an album of Christmas songs, produced by Phil Spector, and originally released as Philles 4005 in 1963. Spector treate ...
.'' * 1963: " Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season" medley by Andy Williams of Irving Berlin's 1942 classic with
Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''
's "The Holiday Season" from 1945. * 1963: "
Little Saint Nick "Little Saint Nick" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys first released as a single on December 9, 1963. Written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, the Christmas song applies hot-rod themes to Santa Claus and his sleigh. The single peaked ...
", written by Brian Wilson and
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bas ...
; released by the
Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
as a single and included on ''
The Beach Boys' Christmas Album ''The Beach Boys' Christmas Album'' is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released November 9, 1964 on Capitol Records. It contains five original songs and seven standards on a Christmas theme. The album proved t ...
'' in 1964. * 1963: " Pretty Paper" by
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album '' Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of '' Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and '' Stardust'' (1 ...
; sung by Roy Orbison. Nelson had a hit with his own song in 1978. * 1964: " Silver and Gold", written by Johnny Marks; sung by
Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...
on the Rankin-Bass Christmas special ''
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...
.'' * 1964: " Toyland" written by
Victor Herbert Victor August Herbert (February 1, 1859 – May 26, 1924) was an American composer, cellist and conductor of English and Irish ancestry and German training. Although Herbert enjoyed important careers as a cello soloist and conductor, he is bes ...
and
Glen McDonough Glen MacDonough (1870 – March 30, 1924) was an American writer, lyricist and librettist. He was the son of theater manager Thomas B. MacDonough and actress/author Laura Don. Glen MacDonough married Margaret Jefferson in 1896 in Buzzard's Bay, ...
for the operetta ''Babes in Toyland'' (originally produced in 1903); released by Doris Day on '' The Doris Day Christmas Album''. * 1964: " Snowfall", written by
Claude Thornhill Claude Thornhill (August 10, 1908 – July 1, 1965) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader. He composed the jazz and pop standards "Snowfall" and "I Wish I Had You". Early years Thornhill was the son of J. Chester Thornhill ...
in 1941, with lyrics later added by his wife, Ruth Thornhill; covered by Doris Day on '' The Doris Day Christmas Album''. * 1965: "
Christmas Time Is Here "Christmas Time Is Here" is a popular Christmas standard written by Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson for the 1965 television special ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'', one of the first animated Christmas specials produced for network television in t ...
", written for '' A Charlie Brown Christmas'' animated TV special; harmonized by the choir of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in
San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish for " St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's populatio ...
. * 1965: " My Favorite Things", written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1959 musical, ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...
''; covered by
Diana Ross and the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful ...
on '' Merry Christmas.'' * 1965: "
Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" is a Christmas song co-written and recorded by Buck Owens. After its recording in 1965, the song has been covered by several country music artists, including Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Brad Paisley. History Th ...
", written by
Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...
and
Don Rich Donald Eugene Ulrich (August 15, 1941 – July 17, 1974), best known by the stage name Don Rich, was an American country musician who helped develop the Bakersfield sound in the early 1960s. He was a noted guitarist and fiddler, and a ...
; released by Owens as single with "All I Want for Christmas, Dear, Is You" on the B-side. * 1966: " We Need a Little Christmas" written by
Jerry Herman Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist ...
for the Broadway musical ''
Mame MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...
'', and first performed by
Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
in that 1966 production; popularly covered by
Percy Faith Percy Faith (April 7, 1908 – February 9, 1976) was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of pop and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listeni ...
& His Orchestra on ''Christmas Is... Percy Faith.'' * 1966: "The Happiest Christmas Tree", written by Cathy Lynn; recorded by Nat King Cole. * 1967: "
Snoopy's Christmas "Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by The Royal Guardsmen which appears on the album ''Snoopy and His Friends'' (1967). Overview A followup to their earlier hit " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", the song is a fictional account of how Snoopy was directed ...
", written by
George David Weiss George David Weiss (April 9, 1921 – August 23, 2010) was an American songwriter and arranger, who was a president of the Songwriters Guild of America. He is an inductee in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Biography Weiss was born in a Jewish fa ...
and Hugo & Luigi; released by
the Royal Guardsmen The Royal Guardsmen are an American rock band, best known for their 1966 hit singles " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", "The Return of The Red Baron", "Snoopy For President", and the Christmas follow up " Snoopy's Christmas". History Originally kn ...
on '' Snoopy and His Friends''. * 1967: " What Christmas Means to Me" written by Allen Story,
Anna Gordy Gaye Anna Ruby Gaye (née Gordy; January 28, 1922 – January 31, 2014) was an American businesswoman, composer and songwriter. An elder sister of Motown founder Berry Gordy, she became a record executive in the mid-to-late 1950s distributing records ...
, and George Gordy; recorded by Stevie Wonder on '' Someday at Christmas''.

1970s
* 1970: "
Give Love on Christmas Day "Give Love on Christmas Day" is a Christmas song first recorded by Motown Records' family quintet The Jackson 5. Written by the label's songwriting-producing team, The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Christine Perren, Freddie Perren ...
", written by The Corporation (
Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...
, Alphonzo Mizell, Christine Perren,
Freddie Perren Frederick James Perren (May 15, 1943 – December 16, 2004) was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gay ...
, and
Deke Richards Deke Richards (born Dennis Lussier;"Jackson 5 producer Deke Richards dies aged 68"
); recorded by the
Jackson 5 The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
for '' The Jackson 5 Christmas Album''. * 1970: " Merry Christmas Darling", written by Richard Carpenter with lyrics by Frank Pooler; released by
The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct, soft, musical style, combining Karen's contr ...
as a single (re-released 1974 & 1977); remixed on '' Christmas Portrait'' in 1978 with new vocal by
Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...
. * 1970: " This Christmas", written by Donny Hathaway (as "Donny Pitts") and Nadine Theresa McKinnor; recorded by Hathaway and released as a single (with "Be There" on the B-side). * 1971: "My Christmas Card To You" released by
The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom starring Shirley Jones and featuring David Cassidy. Jones plays a widowed mother, and Cassidy plays the oldest of her five children, in a family who embarks on a music career. It ran from S ...
on '' A Partridge Family Christmas Card.'' * 1971: "
River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...
" written by Joni Mitchell; released by her on ''
Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
.'' * 1973: "
Step into Christmas "Step into Christmas" is a Christmas song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973 with the song "Ho, Ho, Ho (Who'd Be a Turkey at Christm ...
", written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin; released by John as a stand-alone single. * 1974: " I Believe in Father Christmas" written by Greg Lake with lyrics by
Peter Sinfield Peter John Sinfield (born 27 December 1943) is an English poet and songwriter. He is best known as the co-founder and former lyricist of King Crimson, whose debut album '' In the Court of the Crimson King'' is considered one of the first and mo ...
; released by Lake as a single (with "Humbug" on B-side). Instrumental riff between verses interpolated from "Troika" portion of
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...
's '' Lieutenant Kijé Suite'', written for 1934
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
film, '' Lieutenant Kijé'' * 1976: "
When a Child is Born "When A Child Is Born" is a popular Christmas song. The original melody was "Soleado", a tune from 1974 by Ciro Dammicco (alias Zacar), composer for Italy's Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble, and Dario Baldan Bembo. The tune was based on Damicco's earlie ...
" (original melody titled " Soleado"), written by
Ciro Dammicco Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble was an Italian pop group formed in 1974. Their first single "Soleado", a semi-instrumental track written by lead singer Ciro Dammicco and Dario Baldan Bembo, sold over five million copies in Europe, giving the band inter ...
(alias "Zacar") and Dario Baldan Bembo in 1973 (
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
lyrics written later by Fred Jay); released by Johnny Mathis as single entitled "When A Child Is Born (Soleado)" with "Every Time You Touch Me (I Get High)" on the B-side. * 1977: " Celebrate Me Home", written by
Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...
and Bob James; recorded by Loggins as title track of his debut solo album '' Celebrate Me Home''. * 1977: "
Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...
", written by
Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voc ...
; released by
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...
as a single (with "Prince of the Punks" on B-side). * 1977: " Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy", "The Little Drummer Boy" written in 1941 by
Katherine Kennicott Davis Katherine Kennicott Davis (June 25, 1892 – April 20, 1980) was an American composer, pianist, arranger, and teacher, whose most well-known composition is the Christmas song "Carol of the Drum," later known as "The Little Drummer Boy". Life and ...
; "Peace on Earth" written by Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan; medley recorded by
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
and Bing Crosby for the television special, '' Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas''. (Bowie single released 1982.) * 1978: "
Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord "Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord" is a 1978 Christmas single by Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte's 1956 hit "Mary's Boy Child", put in medley with the new song "Oh My Lord". The single had its premiere on 2nd November 1978 on the German ...
", written by Jester Hairston in 1956 with new song by
Frank Farian Frank Farian (born Franz Reuther; 18 July 1941) is a German record producer, musician, singer and songwriter, who founded the 1970s disco-pop group Boney M., the Latin pop band No Mercy and the pop band Milli Vanilli. He frequently created voc ...
, Fred Jay, and Hela Lorin; medley released by
Boney M Boney M. was a German-Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group's o ...
as a single. * 1978: "
Please Come Home for Christmas "Please Come Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song, written in 1960 and released the same year by American blues singer and pianist Charles Brown. Hitting the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in December 1961, the tune, which Brown co-wrote with G ...
", written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd in 1960; cover released by
The Eagles The Eagles are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971. With five number-one singles and six number-one albums, six Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards, the Eagles were one of the most successful musical acts of the 1970s ...
as a single (with "Funky New Year" on B-side) * 1979: "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is a novelty Christmas song. Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the then-husband-and-wife duo of Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg in 1979. Lyrics The lyrics tell the story of a grandm ...
"; written by Randy Brooks; released by Elmo & Patsy as a single (with "Christmas" on B-side).

1980s
* 1980: "It Must Have Been The Mistletoe (Our First Christmas)", written by Doug Konecky and Justin Wilde; released by
Barbara Mandrell Barbara Ann Mandrell (born December 25, 1948) is an American country music singer and musician. She is also credited as an actress and author. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, she was considered among country's most successful music artist ...
on '' Christmas at Our House''. * 1980: "
Same Old Lang Syne "Same Old Lang Syne" is a song written and sung by Dan Fogelberg released as a single in 1980. It was also included on his 1981 album '' The Innocent Age''. The song is an autobiographical narrative ballad told in the first person and tells the st ...
", written by
Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and ...
; released as a single by Folgelberg in 1980 (with "Hearts and Crafts" on B-side). It was included on his 1981 album ''
The Innocent Age ''The Innocent Age'' is the seventh album by American singer-songwriter Dan Fogelberg, released in 1981. It was also one of his most successful albums; three of his four Top 10 singles on the ''Billboard'' pop chart (" Hard to Say" (no. 7), "Sam ...
''. * 1980: " Stop The Cavalry" written by
Jona Lewie Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his 1980 UK hits "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" and " Stop the Cavalry". Career Lewie was born on 14 March ...
; released by Lewie as a single (with "Laughing Tonight" on B-side). * 1981: " Christmas is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" written by Billy Squier; released by him by as the B-side of his hit, "
My Kinda Lover "My Kinda Lover" is a rock song written and performed by American hard rock singer and guitarist Billy Squier. It was the third and final single released from his Triple Platinum 1981 album '' Don't Say No'', following " In the Dark". It peaked a ...
". * 1981: " Christmas Wrapping", written by Chris Butler; released by
The Waitresses The Waitresses were an American new wave band from Akron, Ohio, best known for their singles " I Know What Boys Like" and " Christmas Wrapping." They released two albums, ''Wasn't Tomorrow Wonderful?'' and '' Bruiseology'', and two EPs, '' I Co ...
as a single (with "Christmas Fever" by Charlelie Couture on B-side). Also included in a Christmas compilation album. * 1982: "
Hard Candy Christmas "Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer-lyricist Carol Hall for the musical ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''. Near the end of the original play, individual girls of the brothel sing lines of the verses as they are preparing to ...
"; written by
Carol Hall Carol Hall (April 3, 1936 – October 11, 2018) was an American composer and lyricist. She was best known for composing the music and lyrics for the Broadway stage musical '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1978, adapted as a film in 1982) ...
for the musical, ''
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' is a musical with a book by Texas author Larry L. King and Peter Masterson and music and lyrics by Carol Hall. It is based on a story by King that was inspired by the real-life Chicken Ranch in La Grang ...
''; released by
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
as a single (with "Act Like a Fool" on B-side). * 1984: "
Thank God It's Christmas "Thank God It's Christmas" is a Christmas single by the British rock band Queen. It was written by lead guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Released on 26 November 1984, the single spent six weeks in the UK charts over Christmas 1984 ...
", written by
Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...
and Roger Taylor; released by
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
as a single (with " Man on the Prowl" and " Keep Passing the Open Windows" on B-side). * 1984: "Another Lonely Christmas", written by
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
; released by Prince and the Revolution as a single. * 1984: " The Power of Love", written by
Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he wa ...
, Peter Gill, Mark O'Toole, and Brian Nash; released by
Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (singer), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (FGTH drummer), Peter ...
as a single (with "The World Is My Oyster" on B-side). * 1985: "
Merry Christmas Everyone "Merry Christmas Everyone" is a festive song recorded by Welsh singer-songwriter Shakin' Stevens. Written by Bob Heatlie and produced by Dave Edmunds, it is the fourth and to date last number one single for Shakin' Stevens on the UK Singles Char ...
"; written by Bob Heatlie; released by
Shakin' Stevens Michael Barratt (born 4 March 1948), known professionally as Shakin' Stevens, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. He was the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s. His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, althoug ...
as a single (with "With My Heart" and "Blue Christmas" on B-side). * 1985: "There's a New Kid in Town", written by
Don Cook Don Kirby Cook (born May 25, 1949) is an American record producer and songwriter whose work is mainly in the field of country music. Artists who recorded Cook's material include Barbara Mandrell, John Conlee, Mark Collie, Wade Hayes and Brooks ...
,
Curly Putman Curly is a surname, given name, nickname or stage name. It may refer to: First name, nickname or stage name * Crazy Horse (1840–1877), Oglala Sioux war chief nicknamed "Curly" * Curly (scout), nickname of Ashishishe (c. 1856–1923), Crow In ...
, and Keith Whitley. * 1987: "
Christmas in Hollis "Christmas in Hollis" is a single by Run-DMC that was included on two 1987 Christmas compilation albums featuring various artists: '' A Very Special Christmas'' (A&M 3911) and ''Christmas Rap'' (Profile 1247). When Bill Adler first asked Run-DMC t ...
", written by
Joseph Simmons Joseph Ward Simmons (born November 14, 1964), better known by the stage name Run, Rev. Run or DJ Run, is an American rapper, producer, DJ and television personality. Simmons is one of the founding members of the influential hip hop group Run ...
,
Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), better known by his stage name DMC, is an American rapper. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers of hip hop culture. Early life McDaniels gre ...
, and
Jason Mizell Jason William Mizell (January 21, 1965 – October 30, 2002), better known by his stage name Jam Master Jay, was an American musician and DJ. He was the DJ of the influential hip hop group Run-DMC. During the 1980s, Run-DMC became one of the big ...
; released by Run D.M.C. on two Christmas compilation albums: '' A Very Special Christmas'' and ''Christmas Rap,'' and as a single (with "Peter Piper" on B-side). * 1988: "
Driving Home for Christmas "Driving Home for Christmas" is a Christmas song written and composed by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea. The first version was originally released as the B-side to his single " Hello Friend" in 1986. In October 1988, a re-recorded versio ...
"; written by
Chris Rea Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...
; originally released as one of two new songs on Rea's first compilation album ''
New Light Through Old Windows ''New Light Through Old Windows'' is the first compilation album by British singer-songwriter Chris Rea, released in 1988. The album consists primarily of re-recordings of songs from Rea's earlier albums, as well as the new track "Working on It" ...
'' in October, then issued as the fourth single from the album in December. * 1988: "
Mistletoe and Wine "Mistletoe and Wine" is a Christmas song made famous as a chart-topping single by Cliff Richard in 1988. The song was written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for a musical called ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans C ...
", written by Jeremy Paul, Leslie Stewart and Keith Strachan for the 1976 musical, ''Scraps'' (an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's " The Little Match Girl"); released by
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
as a single (with "Marmaduke" on B-side), and on his album '' Private Collection: 1979–1988.'' * 1989: " All I Want for Christmas Is You", written by Troy Powers and Andy Stone; released by Vince Vance & The Valiants as a single. * 1989: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" by
The Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United S ...
on their '' Brain Drain'' album.

1990s
* 1990: " Saviour's Day", written by Chris Eaton; released by
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...
as a single (with "Where You Are" on B-side). * 1990: " Grown-Up Christmas List", written by
David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
, Linda Thompson-Jenner, and
Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
; released by
David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...
with
Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...
for his album ''River of Love'' (with a 1992 version by
Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
). * 1991: " Mary, Did You Know?", with lyrics written by Mark Lowry (in 1984) and music by
Buddy Greene Buddy Greene (born October 30, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, guitar player and harmonica player. Most of his recordings consist of gospel music with a distinctly Southern gospel flavor. Much of his music is influenced by country music ...
; originally recorded by Michael English on a self-titled album (with a 1996 version by
Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted m ...
and Wynona Judd). * 1992: " All Alone on Christmas", written and arranged by
Steve Van Zandt Steven Van Zandt (né Lento; born November 22, 1950), also known as Little Steven or Miami Steve, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, in which he plays guitar and mandolin ...
; recorded by
Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...
as a single with members of The E Street Band and
The Miami Horns The Miami Horns are an American horn section best known for touring and recording with Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen, Little Steven and The Max Weinberg 7. They have also toured, performed or recorded with, among others, Diana Ross, Gary U ...
. Originally featured on '' Home Alone 2: Lost in New York soundtrack''. * 1992: " Christmas All Over Again" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on the album box set '' Playback'' * 1993: " Hey Santa!", written (with the help of Jack Kugell) and sung by Carnie and
Wendy Wilson Wendy Wilson (born October 16, 1969) is an American singer and television personality who is a member of the pop trio Wilson Phillips. She co-founded Wilson Phillips with her older sister, Carnie, and childhood friend Chynna Phillips when th ...
on the album of the same name. * 1994: "
The Chanukah Song "The Chanukah Song" is a novelty song written by comedian Adam Sandler with ''Saturday Night Live'' writers Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone-Graham and originally performed by Sandler on ''Saturday Night Live''s Weekend Update on December 3, 1994. San ...
"; written by Adam Sandler,
Lewis Morton Lewis "Lew" Morton is an American television writer. He has written for several shows, including ''Saturday Night Live'' (from 1993-1995), ''NewsRadio'', ''Family Guy'' and ''Futurama''. He worked as a producer for ''Undeclared'', but never autho ...
, and Ian Maxtone-Graham; originally performed by Sandler on
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
's ''
Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...
'' segment on December 3, 1994. Released as a single by Sandler in 1995 from '' What the Hell Happened to Me?''. * 1996: "
How to Make Gravy ''How to Make Gravy'' is a four-track Extended play, EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly (Australian musician), Paul Kelly and was originally released on 4 November 1996 on Mushroom Records, White Label Records in Australia. The title ...
" written and performed by Paul Kelly in Australia. * 1998: " Christmas Canon" by the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
on their album ''
The Christmas Attic ''The Christmas Attic'' is the second album by the American rock band Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released in 1998. The cover art is by Edgar Jerins. On September 5, 2019, ''The Christmas Attic'' was certified 2× platinum by the Recording Indus ...
'' * 1998: "
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays "Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" is a song by American boy band NSYNC. It was released on November 29, 1998 as the first and only single from their second studio album, '' Home for Christmas'' and was also featured on the end credits of the 1998 ...
" by NSYNC from the albums '' Home for Christmas'' and '' The Winter Album''

2000s
* 2000: " My Only Wish (This Year)" by Britney Spears off the compilation album, '' Platinum Christmas'' * 2000: "
Where Are You, Christmas? "Christmas, Why Can't I Find You?" is a song written by Mariah Carey, James Horner and Will Jennings for the movie '' How the Grinch Stole Christmas'' in 2000. In the film, it is first sung by Taylor Momsen, who played Cindy Lou Who. Mariah Carey ...
" co-written by Mariah Carey,
James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...
, and
Will Jennings Wilbur H. "Will" Jennings (born June 27, 1944) is an American lyricist. He is popularly known for writing the lyrics for the songs " Tears in Heaven" and " My Heart Will Go On". He has been inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and has wo ...
, but recorded by
Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...
. The song was originally recorded by Carey, but because of a
legal case A legal case is in a general sense a dispute between opposing parties which may be resolved by a court, or by some equivalent legal process. A legal case is typically based on either civil or criminal law. In most legal cases there are one or mo ...
with her ex-husband
Tommy Mottola Thomas Daniel Mottola (born July 14, 1948) is an American music executive, producer and author. Mottola is currently the Chairman of Mottola Media Group and was previously the Chairman and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, parent of the Columb ...
, it could not be released, so it was re-recorded and released by Faith Hill. * 2003: " Christmas Time (Don't Let the Bells End)" by The Darkness * 2004: " Believe" written by
Glen Ballard Basil Glen Ballard Jr. (born May 1, 1953) is an American songwriter, lyricist, and record producer. He is best known for co-writing and producing Alanis Morissette's 1995 album '' Jagged Little Pill'', which won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Alb ...
and
Alan Silvestri Alan Anthony Silvestri (born March 26, 1950) is an American composer and conductor of film and television scores. He has been associated with director Robert Zemeckis since 1984, composing music for all of his feature films including the ''Ba ...
for
Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...
*2004: " Joseph's Lullaby" by
MercyMe MercyMe is an American contemporary Christian music band founded in Edmond, Oklahoma. The band consists of lead vocalist Bart Millard, percussionist Robby Shaffer, bassist Nathan Cochran and guitarists Michael Scheuchzer and Barry Graul. The b ...
from the album The Christmas Sessions * 2004: "
Wizards in Winter "Wizards in Winter" is an instrumental track by Trans-Siberian Orchestra, released on the 2004 album ''The Lost Christmas Eve''. A clip of the band playing the first few seconds of the piece was used in a commercial for its most recent concert to ...
", an instrumental written and composed by Paul O'Neill and Robert Kinkel, performed by the
Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-producer Robert Kinkel ...
* 2007: " Mistletoe" written by Stacy Blue and
Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic ...
, and performed by Caillat. * 2008: " White Is in the Winter Night" by
Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...
on the album, '' And Winter Came...'' * 2009: " It Doesn't Often Snow at Christmas" by Pet Shop Boys (UK No. 40 hit)

2010s
* 2010: " Oh Santa!" by Mariah Carey from her album '' Merry Christmas II You''. A new version, featuring Ariana Grande and
Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...
, was released in 2020 for the '' Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special's'' soundtrack. * 2010: "
Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...
" by
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University ...
* 2010: "
Christmas in Harlem "Christmas in Harlem" is a song by hip-hop recording artist Kanye West. The track features rapper Cyhi the Prynce and R&B singer Teyana Taylor, both of whom are signed to West's label GOOD Music. Produced by Hit-Boy, it is a christmas hip hop son ...
" by
Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...
from the
GOOD Fridays GOOD Fridays was a weekly free music release by rapper Kanye West, launched in support of his fifth studio album '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' (2010). The original intention was to release a free new song every Friday for a few months to ...
series of releases under the
GOOD Music GOOD Music (also known simply as GOOD, stylized as G.O.O.D. Music; a backronym for Getting Out Our Dreams) is an American record label founded by rapper Kanye West in 2004. The label signed an exclusive long-term worldwide label agreement with t ...
label * 2011: " Mistletoe" by
Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...
from his album ''
Under the Mistletoe ''Under the Mistletoe'' is the first Christmas album and second studio album by Canadian singer Justin Bieber. The album was released on November 1, 2011. The album debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 210,000 copie ...
'' * 2012: " Christmas in the Sand" by
Colbie Caillat Colbie Marie Caillat (; born May 28, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame through social networking website Myspace. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre. After signing with Universal Republic ...
from her album of the same name; meant to conjure up (humorously) what Christmas might be like in Hawaii * 2013: " Underneath the Tree" by
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
on her album ''
Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...
'' * 2013: " One More Sleep" by
Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...
on her album '' Christmas, with Love'' * 2013: "
Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...
" written by
Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
, Ashley Arrison, Aben Eubanks, and
Shane McAnally Shane McAnally (born October 12, 1974) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and record producer. Originally a solo artist for Curb Records in 1999, McAnally charted three singles on Hot Country Songs, including the No. 31 " Are Y ...
and recorded by Clarkson as the opening track on her sixth studio album, ''
Wrapped in Red ''Wrapped in Red'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released on October 25, 2013 by RCA Records. The album is a follow-up to her first greatest hits album, '' Greatest Hits – Chapter One'', and its companion extend ...
'' * 2014: "
That's Christmas to Me ''That's Christmas to Me'' is the third studio album by a cappella group Pentatonix. It is their sixth release overall and their second holiday release following their 2012 EP ''PTXmas''. It only features previously unreleased material (except " Le ...
" by a cappella group Pentatonix (No. 2 ''Billboard'' 200, double platinum by RIAA) * 2014: " Santa Tell Me" by Ariana Grande on her EP '' Christmas Kisses'' * 2015: "
Every Day's Like Christmas "Every Day's Like Christmas" is a song by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, taken from her thirteenth studio album and first Holiday album, ''Kylie Christmas'' (2015). It was written by Chris Martin, the frontman of the British alternat ...
" by Kylie Minogue on her album '' Kylie Christmas'' * 2017: " Santa's Coming for Us" written by
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
and
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...
and released by Sia on '' Everyday Is Christmas'' * 2017: "
Snowman A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a man often built in regions with sufficient snowfall and is a common winter tradition. In many places, typical snowmen consist of three large snowballs of different sizes with some additional ...
" written by
Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. In 1997, when Crisp disbanded, she rel ...
and
Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...
and released by Sia on '' Everyday Is Christmas''

2020s
* 2020 " Holiday" by
Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...
* 2020: "
Christmas Saves the Year "Christmas Saves the Year" is a Christmas single written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots. Released on December 8, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic through Fueled by Ramen, "Christmas Saves the Year" expresses the idea t ...
" a single written and recorded by
Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
; released after a
Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle co ...
stream where lead singer Tyler Joseph played in a ''
Fortnite ''Fortnite'' is an online video game developed by Epic Games and released in 2017. It is available in three distinct game mode versions that otherwise share the same general gameplay and game engine: ''Fortnite Battle Royale'', a free-to- ...
'' tournament sponsored by
Chipotle A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex and Southwestern United States dishes. It comes in dif ...
in hopes to raise money for
Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqu ...
. * 2021: " Merry Christmas" by
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently re ...
and Elton John * 2022: Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas) by Baddiel, Skinner & Lightning Seeds; due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
the tournament started in November instead of June. As a result Frank Skinner and
David Baddiel David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in ''The Mary Whitehouse Experience'' and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has als ...
recorded a new version of their iconic Three Lions song to make references to both Christmas and the success of the England Lionesses in the Women's Euro 2022.

Christmas songs from musicals
"
I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" is a popular song copyrighted in 1937 by its composer, Irving Berlin, and first recorded by (i) Ray Noble (January 5, 1937), Howard Barrie, vocalist, and (ii) Red Norvo (January 8, 1937), Mildred Bailey, vocali ...
", written by Irving Berlin, was introduced in the musical film '' On the Avenue'' by Dick Powell and
Alice Faye Alice Faye (born Alice Jeanne Leppert; May 5, 1915 – May 9, 1998) was an American actress and singer. A musical star of 20th Century-Fox in the 1930s and 1940s, Faye starred in such films as '' On the Avenue'' (1937) and ''Alexander's Ragtime ...
in 1937. " White Christmas" was introduced in the film ''
Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...
'' (1942), while "
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is a song written in 1943 by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane and introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 MGM musical ''Meet Me in St. Louis''. Frank Sinatra later recorded a version with modified lyrics. I ...
" was from ''
Meet Me in St. Louis ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' is a 1944 American Christmas film, Christmas musical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Divided into a series of seasonal vignettes, starting with Summer 1903, it relates the story of a year in the life of the Smith famil ...
'' (1944), and " Silver Bells" '' The Lemon Drop Kid'' (1950). The operetta '' Babes in Toyland'' (1903) featured the song "Toyland". The 1934 film adaptation, a Laurel and Hardy musical film known by alternative titles, opened with the song. Introducing Christmas-themed songs that have yet to achieve popularity, '' Scrooge'' (1970) included "Father Christmas", "December the 25th", and the Academy Award-nominated "Thank You Very Much". "Mistletoe and Wine" was written for a 1976 musical entitled ''Scraps'', which was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Match Girl". "
Hard Candy Christmas "Hard Candy Christmas" is a song written by composer-lyricist Carol Hall for the musical ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas''. Near the end of the original play, individual girls of the brothel sing lines of the verses as they are preparing to ...
" was written by Carol Hall for the 1982 musical, ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'', and later released by Dolly Parton as a single. '' Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993) features Christmas-themed songs like "Making Christmas", "What's This?", "Town Meeting Song", and "Jack's Obsession".

Christmas novelty songs
Musical parodies of the season – comical or nonsensical songs performed principally for their comical effect – are often heard around Christmas. Many novelty songs employ unusual lyrics, subjects, sounds, or instrumentation, and may not even be particularly musical. The term arose in the
Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...
world of popular songwriting, with novelty songs achieving great popularity during the 1920s and 1930s. The Christmas novelty song genre, which got its start with "
I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" is a 1949 Christmas novelty song and monologue written and performed by Harry Stewart as fictional Swede "Yogi Yorgesson". Stewart was backed by the Johnny Duffy Trio on the song. Synopsis The song is made of two part ...
" written by
Yogi Yorgesson Harry Stewart (October 21, 1908 – May 20, 1956), born Harry Skarbo, was an entertainer, singer, comedian, and songwriter. He was best known for his portrayal of Yogi Yorgesson, a comically exaggerated Swedish American.Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...
" by
the Singing Dogs The Singing Dogs was a musical recording project under whose name two 45rpm singles were released in the 1950s. The idea for the Singing Dogs came from Danish recording engineer Carl Weismann who recorded the sounds of various species of birds. B ...
was recorded in 1955 by Don Charles from
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
; considered the work of Carl Weismann, it was revolutionary in its use of the latest recording technology. * " Green Chri$tma$", a
radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...
parody by Stan Freberg that came out in 1958 and satirized commercial advertising. * "I'm Gonna Spend My Christmas with a Dalek," a '' Doctor Who'' spin-off song, released in 1964 by
The Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...
(the 1960s British band, not the later American band of the same name). Originally intended to help fuel Dalekmania, it tried to turn the sinister Daleks into another version of The Chipmunks. * "
Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" is a Christmas song co-written and recorded by Buck Owens. After its recording in 1965, the song has been covered by several country music artists, including Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, and Brad Paisley. History Th ...
", co-written and recorded by
Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on ...
in 1965, has been covered by other country music stars, including Garth Brooks,
Travis Tritt James Travis Tritt (born February 9, 1963) is an American country music singer and songwriter. He signed to Warner Bros. Records in 1989, releasing seven studio albums and a greatest hits package for the label between then and 1999. In the 20 ...
, and
Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album ''Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nashvil ...
. In the 1970s comedic singing duo
Cheech & Chong Cheech & Chong are a comedy duo consisting of Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. The duo found commercial and cultural success in the 1970s and 1980s with their stand-up routines, studio recordings, and feature films, which were based on the hippie a ...
's debut single in 1971 was " Santa Claus and His Old Lady".
The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhyt ...
did "
Father Christmas Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrela ...
" in 1977, and Elmo & Patsy came out with "
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" is a novelty Christmas song. Written by Randy Brooks, the song was originally performed by the then-husband-and-wife duo of Elmo Shropshire and Patsy Trigg in 1979. Lyrics The lyrics tell the story of a grandm ...
" in 1979. More recent titles added to the canon include: * " The Twelve Days of Christmas" parodies (including one by
Bob and Doug McKenzie Bob and Doug McKenzie are a pair of fictional Canadian brothers who hosted "Great White North", a sketch which was introduced on '' SCTV'' for the show's third season when it moved to CBC Television in 1980. Bob is played by Rick Moranis an ...
in 1982) * "
Christmas at Ground Zero "Christmas at Ground Zero" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, the tenth and final track on his 1986 album, '' Polka Party!'' and the final single from the album, released just in time for the 1986 Christmas season. The song is a style p ...
" by
Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...
(1986) * " Rusty Chevrolet" by
Da Yoopers Da Yoopers are an American comedy and novelty musical group from Ishpeming, Michigan, United States. They are known primarily for their comedic songs and skits, most of which center on life in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The band's name inclu ...
, a parody of "
Jingle Bells "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and most commonly sung American songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. It has been claimed t ...
" (1987) * "
Christmas in Hollis "Christmas in Hollis" is a single by Run-DMC that was included on two 1987 Christmas compilation albums featuring various artists: '' A Very Special Christmas'' (A&M 3911) and ''Christmas Rap'' (Profile 1247). When Bill Adler first asked Run-DMC t ...
", a rap single by Run–D.M.C. (1987) * '' A Rubber Band Christmas'' – an entire album featuring traditional and popular Christmas songs played on rubber bands, staplers and other office equipment (1996) * " Christmas Convoy", a
southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
song by Paul Brandt, a parody of the C.W. McCall song "
Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
" (2006) Seattle radio personality
Bob Rivers Robert Rivers (born July 7, 1956 in Branford, Connecticut) is a retired American rock and roll radio on-air personality in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a prolific producer and songwriter of parody songs, most famous for his Christmas song ...
became nationally famous for his line of novelty Christmas songs and released five albums (collectively known as the '' Twisted Christmas'' quintilogy, after the name of Rivers' radio program, ''Twisted Radio'') consisting entirely of Christmas parodies from 1987 to 2002. " Don't Shoot Me Santa" was released by
The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...
in 2007, benefiting various AIDS charities. Christmas novelty songs can involve
gallows humor Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
and even morbid humor like that found in "
Christmas at Ground Zero "Christmas at Ground Zero" is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, the tenth and final track on his 1986 album, '' Polka Party!'' and the final single from the album, released just in time for the 1986 Christmas season. The song is a style p ...
" and " The Night Santa Went Crazy", both by "Weird Al" Yankovic. The Dan Band released several adult-oriented Christmas songs on their 2007 album ''Ho: A Dan Band Christmas'' which included "Ho, Ho, Ho" (ho being slang for a prostitute), "I Wanna Rock You Hard This Christmas", "Please Don't Bomb Nobody This Holiday" and "Get Drunk & Make Out This Christmas".
Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...
and a cappella group Straight No Chaser "teamed up to poke fun at the modern seasons greeting" with " Text Me Merry Christmas": :Text me Merry Christmas :Let me know you care :Just a word or two :Of text from you :Will remind me you’re still there Straight No Chaser singer Randy Stine said of the song: "We wanted a Christmas song that spoke to how informal communication has become."

Juvenile
Christmas novelty songs include many sung by young teens, or performed largely for the enjoyment of a young audience. Starting with "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 ...
" sung by 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd in 1952, a few other notable novelty songs written to parody the Christmas season and sung by young singers include: * " I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" sung by 10-year-old
Gayla Peevey Gayla Rienette Peevey (born March 8, 1943) is a former singer and child star from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She is best known for her recording of " I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" ( Columbia 4-40106, 1953). Peevey recorded the novelty song w ...
(1953) * " Nuttin' for Christmas" by Art Mooney and Barry Gordon, who was seven years old when he sang it (1955) * "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? (Where is Santa Claus?)" sung by 12-year-old Augie Rios, featuring the Mark Jeffrey Orchestra (1959) Christmas novelty songs aimed at a young audience include: * "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth", written by Donald Yetter Gardner in 1944 and introduced by Spike Jones and his City Slickers (1948) * "
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a Christmas song with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor and first recorded by American singer Jimmy Boyd in 1952. The song has since been covered by many artists, with the Ronettes's 1963 ...
" with music and lyrics by British songwriter Tommie Connor was first recorded by 13-year-old Jimmy Boyd in 1952, reaching No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart in December of that year. The Jackson 5 recorded a popular cover in 1970 with a young Michael Jackson singing lead. * "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late), The Chipmunk Song", written by Ross Bagdasarian Sr./David Seville and performed by Alvin and the Chipmunks (1958) * "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" originally done for the 1966 cartoon special ''How the Grinch Stole Christmas!''; lyrics written by Dr. Seuss, music by Albert Hague, and performed by Thurl Ravenscroft * "
Snoopy's Christmas "Snoopy's Christmas" is a song by The Royal Guardsmen which appears on the album ''Snoopy and His Friends'' (1967). Overview A followup to their earlier hit " Snoopy vs. the Red Baron", the song is a fictional account of how Snoopy was directed ...
" performed by The Royal Guardsmen in 1967; a follow-up to their earlier song "Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (song), Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" recorded in 1966 * "Santa Claus Is a Black Man" by Akim and the Teddy Vann Production Company (1973) The number of Christmas novelty songs is so vast that radio host Dr. Demento devotes an entire month of weekly two-hour episodes to the format each year, and the novelty songs receive frequent requests at radio stations across the country.

Non-Christian writers
Approximately half of the 30 best-selling Christmas songs by ASCAP members in 2015 were written by Jewish composers.
Johnny Marks John David Marks (November 10, 1909 – September 3, 1985) was an American songwriter. He specialized in Christmas songs (although he himself was Jewish and did not celebrate Christmas) and wrote many holiday standards, including "Rudolph the Red- ...
has three top Christmas songs, the most for any writer—"
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional reindeer created by Robert L. May. Rudolph is usually depicted as the ninth and youngest of Santa Claus's reindeer, using his luminous red nose to lead the reindeer team and guide Santa's sleigh on ...
", "
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and recorded by Brenda Lee in 1958; it has since been recorded by numerous other music artists. By the song's 50th anniversary in 2008, Lee's original version had s ...
", and "
A Holly Jolly Christmas "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (also called "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas") is a Christmas song written by Johnny Marks and most famously performed by Burl Ives. The song has since become one of the top 25 most-performed "holiday" songs written by ASC ...
". By far the most recorded Christmas song is " White Christmas" by Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia)—who also wrote "Happy Holiday (song), Happy Holiday"—with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages. Others include: * " Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Sammy Cahn (born Cohen) and Jule Styne (who also wrote "
The Christmas Waltz "The Christmas Waltz" is a Christmas song written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of " White Christmas", in 1957 for his album ''A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra'', and i ...
" together) * "
Winter Wonderland "Winter Wonderland" is a song written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song in the Northern Hemisphere. Since its original recording by Richard Himbe ...
" (composer Felix Bernard was born Felix William Bernhardt) * "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by Robert Wells (songwriter), Robert Wells (born Levinson) and Mel Tormé * "
Sleigh Ride "Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. The composer had formed the original idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and he finished the work in February 1948. The original recordings were instrument ...
" (lyricist Mitchell Parish was born Michael Hyman Pashelinsky in Lithuania) * "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (composer George Wyle was born Bernard Weissman) * " Silver Bells" by Jay Livingston (born Jacob Levinson) and Ray Evans * "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" by Robert Allen (song composer), Bob Allen (born Robert Allen Deitcher) and Al Stillman (born Albert Silverman) * " I'll Be Home for Christmas" by
Walter Kent Walter Kent (born Walter Maurice Kaufman, November 29, 1911 – March 2, 1994) was an American composer and conductor. Some notable compositions are: " I'll Be Home for Christmas", "I'm Gonna Live Till I Die" and " (There'll Be Bluebirds Over) The ...
(born Walter Kauffman) and Buck Ram (born Samuel). * "
Santa Baby "Santa Baby" is a song performed by American singer Eartha Kitt with Henri René and His Orchestra and originally released in 1953. The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, who also used the pseudonym Tony Springer in an attempt ...
" by Joan Ellen Javits (Zeeman), niece of Senator Jacob Javits, and Philip Springer. * "Baby, It's Cold Outside" by Frank Loesser Leiber-Stoller, Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
debuted on his first Elvis' Christmas Album, Christmas album in 1957. "
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is a pop song originally sung by Darlene Love and included on the 1963 seasonal compilation album, ''A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector''. The song was written by Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, and Phil S ...
" was written by
Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...
and
Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...
(with
Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
), originally for Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes. It was made into a hit by
Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...
in 1963. "Peace on Earth" was written by Ian Fraser, Larry Grossman, and Alan Kohan as a counterpoint to " The Little Drummer Boy" (1941) to make
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
comfortable recording " Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy" with Bing Crosby on September 11, 1977 – for Crosby's then-upcoming television special, ''Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas''.

Adopted Christmas music
What is known as Christmas music today, coming to be associated with the holiday season in some way, has often been adopted from works initially composed for other purposes. Many tunes adopted into the Christmas canon carry no Christmas connotation at all. Some were written to celebrate other holidays and gradually came to cover the Christmas season. * "Tempus Adest Floridum", a romantic spring carol with Latin words dating to the 13th-century ''Carmina Burana'' and a melody attested no later than 1584, became associated with Christmas after John Mason Neale set his epic ballad "
Good King Wenceslas "Good King Wenceslas" is a Christmas carol that tells a story of a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (December 26, the Second Day of Christmas). During th ...
" to its melody in 1853. Neale's poem does not directly mention Christmas or the nativity but describes Bohemian Duke Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia, Wenceslas I's journey to aid a poor traveler on a cold St. Stephen's Day; that day falls on the day after Christmas and within the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas. * "
Joy to the World "Joy to the World" is an English Christmas carol. The carol was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnwriter Isaac Watts, and its lyrics are an interpretation of Psalm 98 celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Today, the carol is usua ...
", with words written by Isaac Watts in 1719 and music by Lowell Mason (who in turn borrowed liberally from Handel) in 1839, was originally written anticipating the Second Coming. * "Jingle Bells", first published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857, was originally associated with Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving rather than Christmas. *With a Welsh melody dating back to the sixteenth century, and English lyrics from 1862, "Deck the Halls" celebrates the Paganism, pagan holiday of Yule and the New Year, but not explicitly Christmas ("Troll the ancient Yuletide carol/See the blazing Yule before us/While I tell of Yuletide treasure"). "Shchedryk", a Ukrainian tune celebrating the arrival of springtime, was adapted in 1936 with English lyrics to become the Christmas carol "Carol of the Bells" and in 1995 as the heavy-metal instrumental "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24." "When You Wish Upon a Star", an Academy Award-winning song about dreams, hope, and magic featured in Walt Disney's ''Pinocchio (1940 film), Pinocchio'' (1940). What later became the main theme for Disney studios was sung by Cliff Edwards, who voiced Jiminy Cricket in the film. In Scandinavian countries and Japan, the song is used in reference to the Star of Bethlehem and the "ask, and it will be given to you" discourse in Matthew 7:7–8; in the movie it is in reference to the Blue Fairy. Many popular Christmas tunes of the 20th-century mention winter imagery, leading to their being adopted into the Christmas and holiday season. These include: * "Winter Wonderland" (1934) * "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (1937) * "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1944) * "A Marshmallow World" (1949) * "Jingle Bell Rock" (1957) * "My Favorite Things" (1959) "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" (2013), from the movie ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', features lyrics that are more of an illustration of the relationship between the two main characters than a general description of winter or the holidays, but its title rhetoric and the winter imagery used throughout the film have led it to be considered a holiday song. Quite the contrary, "Sleigh Ride", composed originally in 1948 as an instrumental by Leroy Anderson, was inspired by a heatwave in Connecticut. The song premiered with the Boston Pops Orchestra in May 1948 with no association with Christmas. The lyrics added in 1950 have "nothing to do with Santa, Jesus, presents or reindeer," but the jingling bells and "sleigh" in the title made it a natural Christmas song. Lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne also found themselves in a heatwave in July 1945 when they wrote "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", inserting no reference to Christmas in the song. "Holiday (Vampire Weekend song), Holiday" (2010) is about the summer holidays, but has been used in some Christmas ad campaigns. Perry Como famously sang Franz Schubert's setting of "Ave Maria (Schubert), Ave Maria" in his televised Christmas special each year, including the song on ''The Perry Como Christmas Album'' (1968). The song, a prayer to the Mary, mother of Jesus, Virgin Mary sung in Latin, would become a "staple of family holiday record collections." American ''a capella'' group Pentatonix released their version of "Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song), Hallelujah", the 1984 song written by Leonard Cohen and covered famously by a number of acts, on A Pentatonix Christmas, their Christmas album shortly before the songwriter's death in 2016. Besides the Hallelujah, title, and several biblical references, the song contains no connection to Christmas or the holidays ''per se''. Various versions have been added to Christmas music playlists on radio stations in the United States and Canada. In the United Kingdom, songs not explicitly tied to Christmas are popularly played during the year-end holidays. "Stop the Cavalry", written and performed by English musician
Jona Lewie Jona Lewie (born John Lewis, 14 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his 1980 UK hits "You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties" and " Stop the Cavalry". Career Lewie was born on 14 March ...
in 1980, was intended as a war protest. The line "Wish I was at home for Christmas" with brass band arrangements styled it as an appropriate song to play in the Christmas season. Children's songs such as "Mr Blobby (song), Mr Blobby" (No. 1, 1993) and Can We Fix It?, the theme from ''Bob the Builder'' (No. 1, 2000), novelty songs such as Benny Hill's "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West), Ernie" (No. 1, 1971) and '' South Parks "Chocolate Salty Balls" (No. 2, 1998), and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" from an ensemble of Liverpudlian celebrities in commemoration of the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster (No. 1, 2012) are often heard around Christmas.

Radio broadcasting of Christmas music
In the United States, it is common for local radio stations to gradually begin adding Christmas music to their regular playlists in late-November, typically after Thanksgiving (United States), Thanksgiving (which is generally considered the official start of the holiday season), and sometimes culminating with all-Christmas music by Christmas itself. More prominently, some stations temporarily drop their regular music Radio format, format entirely and switch exclusively to Christmas music for the holiday season. The latter practice became more widespread in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, as a means of helping improve the morale of listeners. Although there is a chance that a station's normal audience may be alienated by a switch to all-Christmas music (adult contemporary, country music, and oldies audiences are generally the most accepting), these risks are outweighed by the increase in Audience measurement, ratings that such a shift can attract. There is also a chance that after they return to regular programming, a station may be able to retain some of this expanded audience as new, regular listeners. Arbitron (now Nielsen Audio) reported in 2011 that it was not uncommon for a station's average audience to double after switching to Christmas music, citing several large-market stations in 2010 such as Boston's WBGB (FM), WODS, Los Angeles's KOST, New York's WLTW, and San Diego's KYXY. In 2017, Chicago's WLIT-FM roughly quadrupled its audience share between November (2.8) and December (12.4) after making the switch. The practice may not always transition well into financial success, since advertisers do not universally recognize Nielsen's holiday ratings book. In some Media market, markets, there may be one dominant broadcaster of Christmas music, but this is not always the case. Perceiving a competitive advantage in being the first in a market to begin playing Christmas music, it is not uncommon for some stations to adopt the format prior to Thanksgiving, or even as early as late-October. The practice has been considered an example of
Christmas creep Christmas creep is a merchandising phenomenon in which merchants and retailers introduce Christmas-themed merchandise or decorations before the traditional start of the holiday shopping season, which in the United States is on the day after Th ...
. In an extreme example of Christmas creep, at least one station in 2020 (WWIZ in the Mahoning Valley) flipped to Christmas music in late September, exactly three full months before Christmas; the same station had also been first in the nation in 2019, but had begun two months before Christmas that year, on October 25. WWIZ was the first of many stations in the United States that had flipped to Christmas especially early in 2020, in part to alleviate stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As many Christmas songs contain themes strongly associated with Christmas Day (such as references to figures such as Santa Claus), and popular observance of the Christmas season often ends after December 25 (in contrast to the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas, which by definition runs until Epiphany (holiday), Epiphany on January 6), most stations typically end their all-Christmas programming at some point on December 25 or 26. However, it is not uncommon for stations to continue to play at least some Christmas music through the weekend following Christmas, or even through New Year's Day (particularly when #As a stunt format, stunting in anticipation of a format change). Radio stations will also adjust their playlists throughout the Christmas season; songs that are less readily tolerated for repeated listenings, such as novelty songs, are seldom played in November and only get mixed into the playlist closer to Christmas as a change of pace.

As a stunt format
Christmas music is a popular stunting (broadcasting), stunt format for radio stations, either as a "Christmas in July" promotion, or as a buffer period for transitioning from one format to another. The end of a calendar year is a common time period for format switches, often following an all-Christmas format (either immediately, or with a second stunt occurring directly afterward). However, the transition itself can still occur before the end of the holiday season, such as the sudden transition of country station KMPS in Seattle to soft adult contemporary KSWD (FM), KSWD, after briefly playing an all-Christmas format following the merger of CBS Radio and Entercom (due to redundancy with sister station KKWF). Playing Christmas music outside of the holiday season, or otherwise implying that the format is permanent, is a more obvious stunt. In April 2008, the new radio station CFWD-FM in Saskatoon soft launched with an all-Christmas format in preparation for the station's official launch as a top 40 station. In an extreme case, adult hits station WJSR in Lakeside/Richmond, Virginia maintained a Christmas music format from October 13, 2020, all the way through March 4, 2021, after which it flipped to classic hits; the station had stunted from the beginning of October as "Short Attention Span Radio" before switching to Christmas music.

Outside the United States
With the growth in digital broadcasting platforms around the world, the opportunity to offer thematic radio formats on a pop-up basis has increased. In Ireland, a temporary radio station named Christmas FM broadcasts on a temporary license in Dublin and Cork (city), Cork from November 28 to December 26, solely playing Christmas music. In the UK, the Festive Fifty list of songs as voted for by listeners is broadcast starting on Christmas Day, originally by DJ John Peel, and nowadays by Internet radio station Dandelion Radio. Since the early 2010s, a number of Christmas music stations have broadcast on national and local digital platforms in the United Kingdom, with some also being carried on the FM band. These have included: * Smooth Christmas, launched by the then-owner of Smooth Radio (2010), Smooth Radio, Guardian Media Group, on national Digital One DAB in November/December 2011, with the slot used after Christmas by Smooth 70s. The Christmas station returned around the same timeframe of 2012 with this space taken over after Christmas by Bauer Radio station Kiss (UK radio station), Kiss. Following the acquisition of Smooth by Global Media & Entertainment, Global and the addition of Capital Xtra to national DAB in October 2013, there was not capacity available for Smooth Christmas to run in 2013, but the service was revived by Global to run in 2014 and 2015 before being superseded by Heart extra Christmas on DAB in subsequent years; the name Smooth Christmas has since been revived as a seasonal pop-up stream within the online Global Player service, playing melodic Christmas hits. Several other streams, such as 'Classic FM (UK), Classic FM Christmas' playing thematically-appropriate classical music, have also appeared on Global Player at the relevant time of year. * Heart extra Christmas / Heart Christmas – Following the launch of national digital station Heart extra in February 2016, Global would annually flip that service to playing continuous Christmas music during November and December of each year. The service broadcast in mono using the older DAB standard in 2016, 2017 and 2018; following the transition of Heart extra to broadcast in stereo using the DAB+format earlier in 2019, Heart extra Christmas ran in that format in 2019. Following the cancellation of Heart extra in favour of Heart UK on national DAB+ in 2020, Heart Christmas ran from October 2020 as a discrete station at the local tier, broadcast in DAB+ in the London area and in standard DAB in a number of other locations, as well as being available nationwide online. * Pulse Christmas / Signal Christmas / The Wave Christmas - in 2014, Wireless Group (then under the control of UTV Radio) made use of available DAB capacity in three of its FM broadcast areas to launch temporary Christmas stations co-branded with the local FM station names: Pulse Christmas in Bradford/Huddersfield, Signal Christmas in Stoke-on-Trent, and The Wave Christmas in Swansea/southwest Wales. The stations ran annually, appearing each November/December between 2014 and 2019 but ceased thereafter due to the acquisition of Wireless local stations by Bauer Radio in 2019 and the absorption of these services into Bauer's Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio in 2020. In addition, in 2016 and 2017, Wireless additionally ran a similar pop-up Christmas music station, Scottish Sun Christmas, on regional DAB in central Scotland. * Nation Xmas – Nation Broadcasting ran a Christmas station on DAB in several areas of Wales in November/December 2015, and following the festive pop-up these slots were taken by Nation Gold (now Dragon Radio Wales). * Magic Christmas / Magic 100% Christmas - Bauer Radio launched this station, a subsidiary of its main Magic 105.4 FM, Magic station, on national Digital One DAB in late 2017, taking over a slot Bauer had been holding since the summer with Kiss Fresh. (After Christmas this slot was taken up by Absolute Radio 90s, with Kisstory occupying the slot since February 2019.) During December 2018 and 2019, rather than launching a standalone Christmas station Bauer instead flipped the playlist of the main Magic service – available on 105.4 FM in London in addition to broadcasting nationally on DAB – to Christmas music. In 2020, Bauer launched an online Christmas music stream, as Magic 100% Christmas, through its websites and apps in August, before flipping the main Magic service to play principally Christmas music from November 25. In addition, in December 2018, Bauer launched a temporary Christmas music service, Greatest Hits Christmas, broadcast on 105.2 FM in Birmingham and The Black Country during the period leading up to the relaunch of the frequency as Greatest Hits Radio in January 2019; GHC played Christmas music with announcements regarding the impending new station launch, and information for listeners to the service previously carried on 105.2 FM - Absolute Radio - as to how they could regain access to Absolute by retuning to a digital platform. GHC was not itself broadcast on digital services. * MincePie NonStop – run by UKRD as a sibling service to York FM/DAB station Minster FM, this station was initially an online-only service, being made available on DAB in 2017, 2018 and 2019 but did not return in 2020 due to the acquisition of UKRD's stations by Bauer Radio, with the conversion of Minster FM to Greatest Hits Radio York and North Yorkshire. UKRD also ran a pop-up Christmas station in Cornwall, Pirate Christmas – a sibling to Pirate FM – on DAB in 2018 and 2019, freeing space for this with a reduction in the broadcast bitrate of Pirate FM and its sibling services. Although MincePie NonStop no longer broadcasts, listeners in North Yorkshire were able to access a locally programmed Christmas station on DAB in 2020 with community service YorkMix launching XmasMix on the local digital multiplex. * Several other smaller services have appeared on individual local DAB platforms in recent times, either popping up as self-contained stations (such as Radio Marsden Christmas, which ran in Surrey in 2015 and 2017) or as a temporary rebranding of an existing regular station (such as Sandgrounder Radio temporarily renaming as 'Santagrounder' on DAB in 2016 and 2017).

Christmas music on satellite and internet radio
Outside of traditional AM/FM radio, satellite radio provider SiriusXM Satellite Radio, SiriusXM typically devotes multiple channels to different genres of Christmas music during the holiday season. Numerous Internet radio services also offer Christmas music channels, some of them available year-round. Citadel Media produced The Christmas Channel, a syndicated 24-hour radio network, during the holiday season in past years (though in 2010, Citadel instead included Christmas music on its regular Classic Hits (Cumulus radio network), Classic Hits network). Music Choice offers nonstop holiday music to its digital cable, cable modem, and mobile phone subscribers between November 1 and New Year's Day on its "Sounds of the Seasons" (traditional), "R&B" (soul), "Tropicales" (Latin), and "Soft Rock" (contemporary) channels, as well as a year-round "All Christmas" channel. DMX (music), DMX provides holiday music as part of its SonicTap music service for digital cable and DirecTV subscribers, as does Dish Network via its in-house Dish CD music channels. Services such as Muzak also distribute Christmas music to retail stores for use as in-store background music during the holidays. The growing popularity of Internet radio has inspired other media outlets to begin offering Christmas music. In 2009 Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix television station KTVK launched four commercial-free online radio stations including Ho Ho Radio, which streams Christmas music throughout the month of December. iHeartRadio also has two-year-round stations that are dedicated to Christmas music. One station, iHeart Christmas, focuses on more contemporary holiday music, while the other, iHeart Christmas Classics, offers seasonal music from past decades.

See also
* Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States * List of Christmas carols * List of Christmas hit singles in the United Kingdom * List of Christmas hit singles in the United States * List of best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States * Billboard Christmas Holiday Charts, ''Billboard'' Christmas Holiday Charts * Villancico

References

Further reading
* "Seasonal Songs With Twang, Funk and Harmony", ''The New York Times'', November 26, 2010. * ''Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs of Christmas'' by Ace Collins, 160 pages, , 2004. * ''The International Book of Christmas Carols'' by W. Ehret and G. K. Evans, Stephen Greene Press, Vermont, , 1980. * ''Victorian Songs and Music'' by Olivia Bailey, Caxton Publishing, , 2002. * ''Spirit of Christmas: A History of Our Best-Loved Carols'' by Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers, , 2000. * ''Christmas Music Companion Fact Book'' by Dale V. Nobbman, , 2000. * ''Joel Whitburn presents Christmas in the charts, 1920–2004'' by Joel Whitburn, , 2004. * ''Angels We Have Heard: The Christmas Song Stories'' by James Richliano, , 2002.

External links
* * {{Authority control Christmas music, Christmas songs, Christmas albums, Lists of songs Radio formats

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