Sing and Be Joyful at Christmas

“Angels We Have Heard on High” is a Christmas carol with the tune of the hymn “Gloria”. This comes from a traditional French song of unknown origin “Les Angles dans nos campagnes”. English lyrics were written by James Chadwick. The song tells of the Birth of Jesus as it is narrated in the Bible according to the Gospel of Luke. Among the most popular song versions is by American singer and actor Josh Groban.

“Joy to the World” is an English hymn that was written in 1719 by the English minister and hymnist Isaac Watts. This carol is usually sung to the 1848 arrangement by American composer Lowell Mason with the tune attributed to George Frideric Handel. The lyrics of the hymn are a Christian reinterpretation from the Bible of Psalm 98 and Genesis 3. This has become the most-published hymn associated with Christmas in North America since the 20th century. Among the most popular versions of this hymn is by American singer and actress Mariah Carey.

“O Holy Night” is a sacred song about the night that Jesus was born, described in the first verse as “the dear Savior” and often performed as a Christmas carol. It is based on the French-language poem “Minuit, chretiens” written in 1848 by poet Placide Cappeau. The carol was composed by Adolphe Adam. An English version was written by John Sullivan Dwight. Among the most popular versions is sung by Celine Dion.

“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” is an English Christmas carol. It first appeared in the collection “Hymns and Sacred Poems’ in 1739. The carol is based on The Bible Book of Luke 2:14 that tells of a chorus of angels singing praises to God. The modern best-known version was written by Charles Wesley and George Whitefield, two of the founding ministers of Methodism. The music was adapted from “Vaterland in deinem Gauen” from the cantata Festegesang by Felix Mendelssohn.

“Oh, Come All Ye Faithful” is a Christmas carol also called “Adeste Fideles”. It has been attributed to different authors among them John Francis Wade, John Reading, King John IV of Portugal, and anonymous Cistercian monks. There were four original verses of the hymn that were extended to eight and have been translated into many languages. The English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley translated it into English.

“Silent Night” is a popular Christmas carol in German known as “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”. It was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber with lyrics by Joseph Mohr in Oberndorf bei Saltzburg, Austria in 1818. In 2011 it was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. This carol was first recorded in 1905.

“Away in a Manger” is a Christmas carol that was first published in the late 19th century. It has become very popular and the two most common musical settings are by William J, Kirkpatrick and James Ramsey Murray.

“Deck the Halls” is a traditional Christmas carol with a Welsh melody that dates back to the 16th century. This version belongs to a winter carol, “Nos Galan”. The English lyrics were written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant in 1862.

“Jingle Bells” is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs all over the world. It was written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont at the Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts. The song was first published under the title “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in 1857.

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is an English Christmas carol, It is a classic example of a cumulative song in which the lyrics detail a series of numerous gifts that keep increasing in number. The twelve days make up the Christmas season and start with Christmas Day. Even though the song has many different melodies the best known is derived from a 1909 arrangement derived from a traditional folk melody by English composer Frederic Austin.