Timeless Christmas Carols

“The spirit of Christmas exists in harmonious carols like those sung by angels on the day of Christ’s birth.”

― Richelle E. Goodrich

This has been a roller coaster of a year. I honestly can’t believe it’s December already! Before we begin, I want to say a huge thank you to Tia for letting me post on her blog today!

December shouts Christmas! and what better to signify Christmas than good old Christmas carols? According to Wikipedia, “A Christmas carol is a carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas holiday season.” 

There’s nothing that can get you into that perfect Christmas mood other than a good, Christmas-y carol! So, in today’s post, I am going to be listing 5 timeless Christmas carols that get you feeling all happy and radiate that beautiful Christmas warmth. Let’s get into it!

Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash

Jingle Bells

How could I create a list without including the famous Jingle Bells? This timeless, widely popular and frequently sung Christmas carol wasn’t even intended to be a carol in the first place. Written by James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893) and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh” in the autumn of 1857, this song was originally written to be sung by a Sunday school choir, on Thanksgiving.  It came to be associated with Christmas decades later when Johnny Pell performed it in 1857. From Wikipedia, “The rhythm of the tune mimics that of a trotting horse’s bells. However, “jingle bells” is commonly taken to mean a certain kind of bell.” Listen to it here!

Little Drummer Boy

The second one on our list is the old classic, Little Drummer Boy. I’ve listened to this song so many times over the years and it is one of my absolute favourites! I love everything about it! It has a catchy melody and conveys a beautiful story. It is believed to have been written by the American classical music composer and teacher Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941. It tells the story of a little drummer boy who attends The Nativity of Jesus and how he plays his drum for baby Jesus. Did you know the song was originally titled “Carol of the Drums”? It was because of its lyrics which imitated the sound of a drum. Check it out here!

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Mary, Did You Know?

With the lyrics written by Mark Lowry in 1984 and music by  Buddy Greene in 1991, this song comes up third and has absolutely beautiful lyrics with an enchanting and almost thoughtful melody. Although it did meet with quite a bit of controversy regarding the questions the lyrics posed and the message it conveyed, it was received well by the general public and continues to be a widely sung hymn at Christmas. Go here if you would like to give it a listen!

Silent Night

Composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by a priest, Joseph Mohr, this is a classic Christmas carol without which Christmas almost feels incomplete. Did you know he wrote that song because the church organ broke and he needed music for his midnight mass? It was sung on Christmas eve in 1818, shortly after it had been written. The lyrics describe a calm, bright night and the joy caused by the birth of a saviour. Check out the original Dutch version here!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

The final song in this list is one that was written way back in 1739. The composer, Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement, most widely known for writing about 6,500 hymns!! That’s a huge number and it’s even more interesting to note that this hymn is still one of the most sung carols during Christmas centuries after it was written! It is often noticed for its theologic aspects and mention of a lot of names by which Christ was known. Why don’t you listen to an old version here?

Photo by Marina Khrapova on Unsplash

There you have my five favourite Christmas carols!! I love Pentatonix renditions as well but I wanted to focus on the old ones more. Decorating homes, putting up trees and singing carols are all just a part of getting into the Christmas spirit. As Toni Sorenson puts it, “The true Christmas spirit is putting others’ happiness before our own, and finding you’ve never known such happiness.”

Thank you so much for reading! How many of these would be on your list?

And before we end things off, another thank you from me (Tia – the Blondey on a Mission) so much to Introverted Thoughts for this absolutely stupendous post and thank you to all of you for reading today’s post. Thinking about these classic Christmas Carols has truly put me in such a festive mood – I’ve already spent endless hours this month (and maybe last month …) listening to Carols but I think I might need to put on my Christmas playlist again. Thanks so much again Introverted Thoughts (I also adore the Pentatonix covers and they take up a sizeable chunk of my playlist – anyone else love the Pentatonix? What’s your favourite cover?) and I hope you all have a delightfully festive end of the weekend!

This next week you can look forward to a recipe tutorial, two more guest posts, something about sustainability and maybe Christmas movies? Be sure to come back every day to see and I’m looking forward to speaking to you all more this week through Blogmas and comments!!

Lots of Love

Blondey on a Mission xxx