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Wikipedia

Christmas music

April 24, 2023

For other uses, see Christmas Album (disambiguation), Christmas Music (album), Christmas Song (disambiguation), and Christmas Songs (disambiguation).

Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about the nativity of Jesus Christ, about holiday traditions such as gift-giving and merrymaking, about cultural figures such as Santa Claus, or other topics. Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme, or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons.

The U.S Army Band performs a Christmas concert in 2010

While most Christmas songs before 1930 were of a traditional religious character, the Great Depression brought a stream of U.S. songs that did not explicitly mention the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more secular traditional Western themes and customs associated with it. These included songs aimed at children such as "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous crooners of the era, such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas", the latter of which remained the best-selling single of all time as of 2018.[1][2] Elvis' Christmas Album (1957) by Elvis Presley is the best-selling Christmas album of all time, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.[3]

Performances of Christmas music at public concerts, in churches, at shopping malls, on city streets, and in private gatherings are a staple of the Christmas season in many cultures across the world. Many radio stations convert to a 24-7 Christmas music format leading up to the holiday; some start as early as the day after Halloween as part of a phenomenon known as "Christmas creep". Liturgically, Christmas music traditionally ceases to be performed at the arrival of Candlemas, the traditional end of the Christmas-Epiphanytide season.[4]

History

See also: Christmas

Early music

 
A Christmas minstrel playing pipe and tabor

Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th-century Rome, in Latin-language hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium.[5] By the 13th century, under the influence of Francis of Assisi, the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed.[6] 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.[7] 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", first emerged.[8]

Music was an early feature of the Christmas season and its celebrations. The earliest examples are hymnographic works (chants and litanies) 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, 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, a Shropshire priest and poet, who lists 25 "caroles of Cristemas", probably sung by groups of wassailers, who went from house to house.[9] 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. Martin Luther, the father of Lutheran Christianity, encouraged congregational singing during the Mass, in addition to spreading the practice of caroling outside the liturgy.[10]

Puritan prohibition

During the Commonwealth of England government under Cromwell, the Rump Parliament prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as Pagan and sinful. Like other customs associated with Christianity of the Catholic and Magisterial Protestant traditions, it earned the disapproval of Puritans.[11] 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.

The Puritan Westminster Assembly of Divines established Sunday as the only holy day in the liturgical 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.[12] There is some debate as to the effectiveness of this ban, and whether or not it was enforced in the country.[12] During the years that the Puritan ban on Christmas was in place in England, semi-clandestine religious services marking Christ's birth continued to be held, and people sang carols in secret.[11]

Puritans generally disapproved of the celebration of Christmas—a trend which continually resurfaced in Europe and the US through the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.[13]

Royal restoration

 
King's College Chapel, Cambridge, (left) in the snow where the Nine Lessons and Carols are broadcast on the BBC and around the world on Christmas Eve

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.[11][12]

The Victorian Era saw a surge of Christmas carols associated with a renewed admiration of the holiday, including "Silent Night", "O Little Town of Bethlehem", and "O Holy Night". 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".[14] Many older Christmas hymns were also translated or had lyrics added to them during this period, particularly in 1871 when John Stainer published a widely influential collection entitled "Christmas Carols New & Old".[14] 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.[15] Singing carols in church was instituted on Christmas Eve 1880 (Nine Lessons and Carols) in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, England, which is now seen in churches all over the world.[16]

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.[17] Christmas festivities, including music, are also celebrated in a more secular fashion by such institutions as the Santa Claus Village, in Rovaniemi, Finland.[18]

Alms

 
Child Christmas carolers in Bucharest, Romania 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 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",[19] the "Coventry Carol" and "I Saw Three Ships". The practice of ordinary Christian church members of various denominations going door to door and singing carols continues in many parts of the world, such as in India; residents give money to the carolers, which churches distribute to the poor.[20][21]

Church feasts

See also: Liturgical year
 
The large repertoire of Advent and Christmas church music plays an important role in services

The importance of Advent and the feast of Christmastide 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 to the 21st century have written Christmas cantatas and motets. Some notable compositions include:

Classical music

 
Classical concerts are popular at Christmas, such as this performance in a church in Sweden

Many large-scale religious compositions are performed in a concert setting at Christmas. Performances of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah are a fixture of Christmas celebrations in some countries,[22] and although it was originally written for performance at Easter, it covers aspects of the Biblical Christmas narrative.[23][24] Informal Scratch Messiah performances involving public participation are very popular in the Christmas season.[25] Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts-Oratorium, BWV 248), 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, and the adoration of the Magi.[26] Antonio Vivaldi composed the Violin Concerto RV270 "Il Riposo per il Santissimo Natale" ("For the Most Holy Christmas"). Arcangelo Corelli composed the Christmas Concerto in 1690. Peter Cornelius 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, 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)

Christmas carols

Main article: Christmas carol
See also: List of Christmas carols
 
Museum staff singing Christmas carols in the Natural History Museum, London

Songs which are traditional, even some without a specific religious context, are often called Christmas carols. 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:[28]

 
'A collection of traditional Christmas music'
performed by James D. Blodget on a Roland U-20 synthesizer, December 23, 2004.
"Joy to the World"
Performed a cappella by Kim Butler on December 15, 2006.
"I Saw Three Ships"
Tune of traditional English Christmas carol transcribed by CambridgeBayWeather.
"El Noi de la Mare"
A traditional Catalan Christmas carol, arranged for guitar.
Problems playing these files? See media help.
 
Carol singers in festive costume in Poland

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.[citation needed]

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 "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" 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's "Up on the House Top" 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", written in 1857 but not explicitly about Christmas, and "O Christmas Tree," written in 1824 but only made about a Christmas tree after being translated from its original German.

Published Christmas music

 
Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958), a British composer who helped to popularise many medieval and folk carols for the modern age[29]

Christmas music has been published as sheet music for centuries. One of the earliest collections of printed Christmas music was Piae Cantiones, 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, 1871), played an important role in widening the popular appeal of carols.[30] In the 20th century, Oxford University Press (OUP) published some highly successful Christmas music collections such as The Oxford Book of Carols (Martin Shaw, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Dearmer, 1928), which revived a number of early folk songs and established them as modern standard carols.[29][31] This was followed by the bestselling Carols for Choirs series (David Willcocks, Reginald Jacques and John Rutter), 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.[32]

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:[33][34][35]

  1. "In the Bleak Midwinter" – Harold Darke
  2. "In Dulci Jubilo" – traditional
  3. "A Spotless Rose" – Herbert Howells
  4. "Bethlehem Down" – Peter Warlock
  5. "Lully, Lulla" – traditional
  6. "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"
  7. "There Is No Rose" - traditional (15th c.)
  8. "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
  9. "Of the Father's Heart Begotten"
  10. "What Sweeter Music" – John Rutter

Popular Christmas songs

United States

See also: List of Christmas hit singles in the United States, Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States, and List of best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) in 2016, "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", 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 and his orchestra recorded their version in 1935, followed later by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra in 1948, the Supremes, the Jackson 5, the Beach Boys, and Glenn Campbell. Bruce Springsteen recorded a rock rendition in December 1975.

Long-time Christmas classics from prior to the "rock era"[36] still dominate the holiday charts – such as "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", "Winter Wonderland", "Sleigh Ride" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Songs from the rock era to enter the top tier of the season's canon[citation needed] include "Wonderful Christmastime" by Paul McCartney, "All I Want for Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff, and "Last Christmas" 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 songs 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 versions by various artists have explored virtually all music genres.

Most-performed Christmas songs

"The world may have changed profoundly over the last 50 years, but these songs have been part of the holiday spirit for generations. Part of the wonder of music is how it helps us continue to create real memories and traditions. These treasured songs are very special to so many people and are a beloved part of ASCAP's repertoire."

Paul Williams, President and chairman, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP)

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.[37]

Most of these songs in some way describe or are reminiscent of Christmas traditions, how Western Christian 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, etc. New mythical characters are created, defined, and popularized by these songs; "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", 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", 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 introduced "Shadrack, the Black Reindeer" in 1974.[38]

Most performed Christmas songs in 2015 according to ASCAP
Rank Song Composer(s) Year Type
1 "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" J. Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie 1934 Mythical
2 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin 1944 Celebratory/Sentimental
3 "Winter Wonderland" Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith 1934 Seasonal
4 "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne 1945 Seasonal
5 "The Christmas Song" Mel Tormé, Robert Wells 1944 Traditions
6 "Jingle Bell Rock" Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe 1957 Celebratory/Seasonal
7 "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" Edward Pola, George Wyle 1963 Seasonal/Traditions
8 "Sleigh Ride" Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish 1948 Seasonal/Birthday
9 "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Johnny Marks 1939/1949 Mythical
10 "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" Meredith Willson 1951 Traditions/Celebratory
11 "White Christmas" Irving Berlin 1940 Seasonal/Sentimental
12 "A Holly Jolly Christmas" Johnny Marks 1964/65 Traditions/Celebratory
13 "Carol of the Bells" Peter J. Wilhousky 1936 Celebratory
14 "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Johnny Marks 1958 Traditions
15 "All I Want for Christmas Is You" Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff 1994 Sentimental
16 "Frosty the Snowman" Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins 1950 Mythical
17 "Blue Christmas" Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson 1957 Traditions
18 "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" Bob Allen, Al Stillman 1954 Traditions/Sentimental
19 "The Little Drummer Boy" Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone 1941 Christian-based
20 "Do You Hear What I Hear?" Gloria Shayne Baker, Noël Regney 1962 Traditions
21 "Silver Bells" Jay Livingston, Ray Evans 1950 Traditions
22 "Baby, It's Cold Outside" Frank Loesser 1948 Seasonal
23 "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Tommie Connor 1952 Novelty
24 "Feliz Navidad" José Feliciano 1970 Celebratory
25 "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" Jon Oliva, Paul O'Neill, Robert Kinkel 1995 Historical fiction
26 "Last Christmas" George Michael 1984 Sentimental
27 "Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)" Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman 1947 Mythical/Christian-based
28 "Santa Baby" Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer, and Fred Ebb 1953 Novelty
29 "Happy Holiday" Irving Berlin 1948 Celebratory
30 "Wonderful Christmastime" Paul McCartney 1979 Celebratory

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.[37]

  • 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 and referred to as "a massive project to carefully recreate...baby boomers' childhoods".[39]
  • 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,[40] and was named "the UK's favourite Christmas song" the same year by The Independent.[41] Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song with the same title and theme,[42] 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's "My Heart Belongs to Only You".[43]
  • 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.[44]
  • 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'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,[45] the most liked songs were standards such as Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942), Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" (1946), and Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" (1965). Other favorites like "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" (Brenda Lee, 1958), "Jingle Bell Rock" (Bobby Helms, 1957) and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas" (1971), scored well in one study. Also "loved" were Johnny Mathis' "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Harry Simeone Chorale's "Little Drummer Boy" (1958).

Among the most-hated Christmas songs, according to Edison Media Research's 2007 survey, are Barbra Streisand's "Jingle Bells?", the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer", and "O Holy Night" as performed by cartoon characters from Comedy Central'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.[45]

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Darlene Love's version of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" (1963) first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs in December 2010.[46] 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.[47] "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues is cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television, radio and magazine related polls in the United Kingdom and Ireland.[48]

A 2021 YouGov 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" 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," "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "Wonderful Christmastime."[49]

Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey

The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music-type categories:

United Kingdom and Ireland

Most played songs

See also: List of Christmas hit singles in the United Kingdom

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?" is the second-best-selling single in UK Chart history. "Fairytale of New York", released by The Pogues 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.[50][51][52] British glam rock bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s. "Merry Xmas Everybody" by Slade, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" by Wizzard, and "Lonely This Christmas" by Mud all remain hugely popular.[53]

In 2012, PRS for Music (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:[54]

Included in the 2009 and 2008 lists are such other titles as Jona Lewie's "Stop the Cavalry", Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", Elton John's "Step into Christmas", Mud's "Lonely This Christmas", "Walking in the Air" by Aled Jones, Shakin' Stevens' "Merry Christmas Everyone", Chris Rea's "Driving Home for Christmas" and "Mistletoe and Wine" and "Saviour's Day" by Cliff Richard.

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 to be "Fairytale of New York".[55] 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.[41]

"The Christmas song is a genre in its own right . . More than any other type of music, it spans and links generations with disparate musical taste buds."[56]

Ellis Rich, Chairman of PRS for Music

Christmas Number Ones

See also: List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones and List of Irish Singles Chart Christmas number ones

The "Christmas Number One" – songs reaching the top spot on either the UK Singles Chart, 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 campaigns have been used to try to encourage sales of specific songs so that they could reach number one.[57][58][59]

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 "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (No. 1, 1984, the second-biggest selling single in UK Chart history; two re-recordings also hit No. 1 in 1989 and 2004), Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" (No. 1, 1973), and Wham!'s "Last Christmas" (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.[citation needed]

The Beatles, Spice Girls, and LadBaby are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number-one hits on the UK Singles Chart, 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 of other popular songs that included a running gag mentioning sausage rolls). "Bohemian Rhapsody" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991.[60] Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 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 and the boy band One True Voice—finished first and second respectively on the charts. Failed contestants The Cheeky Girls charted with a novelty hit, "Cheeky Song (Touch My Bum)", at third. Briton Will Young, winner of the first Pop Idol, charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003.

The X Factor 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's 1992 single "Killing in the Name" reached number one in the UK instead of that year's X Factor winner, Joe McElderry.[61] 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.[62] With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.[citation needed]

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 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, or Christmas Bells, of eastern Australia

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 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' "Six White Boomers", Colin Buchanan's "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas",[63] 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![64]

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" 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 numbats nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9 wombats working, 8 dingoes digging, 7 possums playing, 6 brolgas dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3 kookaburras laughing, 2 pink galahs, and an emu up a gum tree."[65]

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, and "Six White Boomers" by Russel Coight.[66]

The Australian carols that do exist are mostly novelty re-workings of existing songs with the holly and the ivy replaced by gum trees and wattle. Santa swapping his fur hat for a corked Akubra and a token Aboriginal word is deemed sufficient to localise the celebration of the day a Middle Eastern tradesman wasn't actually born.[67]

— Ben Anderson, Daily Review

"My Little Christmas Belle" (1909) composed by Joe Slater (1872-1926) to words by Ward McAlister (1872–1928) celebrates eastern Australian flora 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.[68] Whereas "The Holly and The Ivy" (1937) by Australian Louis Lavater (1867–1953) mentions northern hemisphere foliage.[69]

Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly first released "How to Make Gravy" as part of a four-track EP November 4, 1996, through White Label Records. 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:

A lot of the early imagery of Christmas in Australia is related to isolation and distance. You’ve got the Sydney Mail in 1879 saying ’The revels of Christmas tide cannot endure the ordeal of immigration’. It's that sense that it's alien here and we’re so conscious of being away from family and that figures very prominently in the imagery of Christmas back in that time.[67]

— Nicholas Brown, Australian National University

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 Benjamin Hanby, 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 (1961), Eddy Arnold (1962), and Alvin and the Chipmunks (1963).

"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye 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 and Nat King Cole. "I'll Be Home for Christmas", by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent, was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943. "Merry Christmas Baby" is credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, whose group originally recorded it in 1947, featuring singer and pianist Charles Brown. Kay Thompson introduced her "The Holiday Season" in 1945, which later became part of a medley by Andy Williams. "A Marshmallow World" (sometimes called "It's a Marshmallow World") was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman (lyrics) and Peter DeRose (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?" (1962).

Other titles and recordings added to the popular Christmas song canon[citation needed] include:

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Christmas songs from musicals

"I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm", written by Irving Berlin, was introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in 1937. "White Christmas" was introduced in the film Holiday Inn (1942), while "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was from Meet Me in St. Louis (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" 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

See also: Novelty song

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 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" written by Yogi Yorgesson and sung by him with the Johnny Duffy Trio in 1949, includes such notable titles as:

In the 1970s comedic singing duo Cheech & Chong's debut single in 1971 was "Santa Claus and His Old Lady". The Kinks did "Father Christmas" in 1977, and Elmo & Patsy came out with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" in 1979. More recent titles added to the canon include:

Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers 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 in 2007, benefiting various AIDS charities. Christmas novelty songs can involve gallows humor and even morbid humor like that found in "Christmas at Ground Zero" 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 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."[77]

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" 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:

Christmas novelty songs aimed at a young audience include:

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.[citation needed]

Non-Christian writers

Approximately half of the 30 best-selling Christmas songs by ASCAP members in 2015 were written by Jewish composers. Johnny Marks has three top Christmas songs, the most for any writer—"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree", and "A Holly Jolly Christmas". By far the most recorded Christmas song is "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin (born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia)—who also wrote "Happy Holiday"—with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages.

Others include:[78][79][80][81]

Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote "Santa Claus Is Back in Town", which Elvis Presley debuted on his first Christmas album in 1957. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry (with Phil Spector), originally for Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes. It was made into a hit by Darlene Love 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 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.[83]

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" to its melody in 1853. Neale's poem does not directly mention Christmas or the nativity but describes Bohemian Duke 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", 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.[84]
  • "Jingle Bells", first published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857, was originally associated with Thanksgiving rather than Christmas.[85]
  • With a Welsh melody dating back to the sixteenth century, and English lyrics from 1862, "Deck the Halls" celebrates the 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). 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, 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.[86] "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" in his televised Christmas special each year, including the song on The Perry Como Christmas Album (1968). The song, a prayer to the Virgin Mary sung in Latin, would become a "staple of family holiday record collections."[87] American a capella group Pentatonix released their version of "Hallelujah", the 1984 song written by Leonard Cohen and covered famously by a number of acts, on their Christmas album shortly before the songwriter's death in 2016. Besides the 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 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" (No. 1, 1993) and the theme from Bob the Builder (No. 1, 2000), novelty songs such as Benny Hill's "Ernie" (No. 1, 1971) and South Park's "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

"There's no other programming tactic in radio history that consistently delivers ratings increases better than Christmas music. Playing Christmas music is all about having a larger audience after Christmas than you did before. People who find the station often stick around after the holidays and discover a new favorite station."[88]

Darren Davis, Senior V.P., Clear Channel

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 (which is generally considered the official start of the holiday season), and sometimes culminating with all-Christmas music by Christmas itself.[89] More prominently, some stations temporarily drop their regular music format entirely and switch exclusively to Christmas music for the holiday season.[89][90] The latter practice became more widespread in 2001 after the September 11 attacks, as a means of helping improve the morale of listeners.[91]

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 ratings that such a shift can attract.[88] 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.[88]

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 WODS, Los Angeles's KOST, New York's WLTW, and San Diego's KYXY.[88] In 2017, Chicago's WLIT-FM roughly quadrupled its audience share between November (2.8) and December (12.4) after making the switch.[92][93] The practice may not always transition well into financial success, since advertisers do not universally recognize Nielsen's holiday ratings book.[94]

In some markets, there may be one dominant broadcaster of Christmas music, but this is not always the case.[92] 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.[95][90][89] 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.[96] 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.[97][98]

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 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 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.[99]

As a stunt format

Christmas music is a popular 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).[100] 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, after briefly playing an all-Christmas format following the merger of CBS Radio and Entercom (its country format had been made redundant by its new sister station KKWF).[101][102]

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.[103][104]

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.[105] [106] Ironically, WJSR's sister station in the same market—WURV—had broadcast a 12-hour block of "inappropriately early" Christmas music on October 7, 2015, as a parody of Christmas creep and stations trying to be the first in their market to play Christmas music.[107][108]

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 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, Guardian Media Group, on national Digital One DAB in November/December 2011, with the slot used after Christmas by Smooth 70s.[109] The Christmas station returned around the same timeframe of 2012[110] with this space taken over after Christmas by Bauer Radio station Kiss. Following the acquisition of Smooth by 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[111] and 2015[112] 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 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,[113] 2017[114] and 2018;[115] 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.[116] 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.[117]
  • 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[111][112][113][114][115][116] 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[113] and 2017,[114] 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,[112] 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 station, on national Digital One DAB in late 2017,[114] 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,[118] 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,[114] 2018[115] and 2019[116] 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[115] and 2019,[116] 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[112] and 2017[114]) or as a temporary rebranding of an existing regular station (such as Sandgrounder Radio temporarily renaming as 'Santagrounder' on DAB in 2016[113] and 2017[114]).

Christmas music on satellite and internet radio

Outside of traditional AM/FM radio, satellite radio provider SiriusXM typically devotes multiple channels to different genres of Christmas music during the holiday season.[119] 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 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 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 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

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christmas music.

References

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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, ISBN 0-7624-2112-6, 2004.
  • The International Book of Christmas Carols by W. Ehret and G. K. Evans, Stephen Greene Press, Vermont, ISBN 0-8289-0378-6, 1980.
  • Victorian Songs and Music by Olivia Bailey, Caxton Publishing, ISBN 1-84067-468-7, 2002.
  • Spirit of Christmas: A History of Our Best-Loved Carols by Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers, ISBN 0-88088-414-2, 2000.
  • Christmas Music Companion Fact Book by Dale V. Nobbman, ISBN 1-57424-067-6, 2000.
  • Joel Whitburn presents Christmas in the charts, 1920–2004 by Joel Whitburn, ISBN 0-89820-161-6, 2004.
  • Angels We Have Heard: The Christmas Song Stories by James Richliano, ISBN 0-9718810-0-6, 2002.

External links

April 24, 2023
christmas, music, other, uses, christmas, album, disambiguation, christmas, music, album, christmas, song, disambiguation, christmas, songs, disambiguation, comprises, variety, genres, music, regularly, performed, heard, around, christmas, season, music, assoc. For other uses see Christmas Album disambiguation Christmas Music album Christmas Song disambiguation and Christmas Songs disambiguation Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental or in the case of carols may employ lyrics about the nativity of Jesus Christ about holiday traditions such as gift giving and merrymaking about cultural figures such as Santa Claus or other topics Many songs simply have a winter or seasonal theme or have been adopted into the canon for other reasons The U S Army Band performs a Christmas concert in 2010 While most Christmas songs before 1930 were of a traditional religious character the Great Depression brought a stream of U S songs that did not explicitly mention the Christian nature of the holiday but rather the more secular traditional Western themes and customs associated with it These included songs aimed at children such as Santa Claus Is Comin to Town and Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as well as sentimental ballad type songs performed by famous crooners of the era such as Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and White Christmas the latter of which remained the best selling single of all time as of 2018 1 2 Elvis Christmas Album 1957 by Elvis Presley is the best selling Christmas album of all time having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide 3 Performances of Christmas music at public concerts in churches at shopping malls on city streets and in private gatherings are a staple of the Christmas season in many cultures across the world Many radio stations convert to a 24 7 Christmas music format leading up to the holiday some start as early as the day after Halloween as part of a phenomenon known as Christmas creep Liturgically Christmas music traditionally ceases to be performed at the arrival of Candlemas the traditional end of the Christmas Epiphanytide season 4 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early music 1 2 Puritan prohibition 1 3 Royal restoration 1 4 Alms 1 5 Church feasts 2 Classical music 3 Christmas carols 3 1 Standards 3 2 Early secular Christmas songs 3 3 Published Christmas music 3 4 Choirmasters poll 4 Popular Christmas songs 4 1 United States 4 1 1 Most performed Christmas songs 4 2 Christmas song surveys 4 2 1 Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey 4 3 United Kingdom and Ireland 4 3 1 Most played songs 4 3 2 Christmas Number Ones 4 4 Australia 4 5 Other popular Christmas songs 4 5 1 1950s 4 5 2 1960s 4 5 3 1970s 4 5 4 1980s 4 5 5 1990s 4 5 6 2000s 4 5 7 2010s 4 5 8 2020s 4 6 Christmas songs from musicals 4 7 Christmas novelty songs 4 7 1 Juvenile 4 8 Non Christian writers 5 Adopted Christmas music 6 Radio broadcasting of Christmas music 6 1 As a stunt format 6 2 Outside the United States 6 3 Christmas music on satellite and internet radio 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksHistory EditSee also Christmas Early music Edit A Christmas minstrel playing pipe and tabor Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th century Rome in Latin language hymns such as Veni redemptor gentium 5 By the 13th century under the influence of Francis of Assisi the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed 6 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 7 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 first emerged 8 Music was an early feature of the Christmas season and its celebrations The earliest examples are hymnographic works chants and litanies 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 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 a Shropshire priest and poet who lists 25 caroles of Cristemas probably sung by groups of wassailers who went from house to house 9 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 Martin Luther the father of Lutheran Christianity encouraged congregational singing during the Mass in addition to spreading the practice of caroling outside the liturgy 10 Puritan prohibition Edit During the Commonwealth of England government under Cromwell the Rump Parliament prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as Pagan and sinful Like other customs associated with Christianity of the Catholic and Magisterial Protestant traditions it earned the disapproval of Puritans 11 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 The Puritan Westminster Assembly of Divines established Sunday as the only holy day in the liturgical 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 12 There is some debate as to the effectiveness of this ban and whether or not it was enforced in the country 12 During the years that the Puritan ban on Christmas was in place in England semi clandestine religious services marking Christ s birth continued to be held and people sang carols in secret 11 Puritans generally disapproved of the celebration of Christmas a trend which continually resurfaced in Europe and the US through the eighteenth nineteenth and twentieth centuries 13 Royal restoration Edit King s College Chapel Cambridge left in the snow where the Nine Lessons and Carols are broadcast on the BBC and around the world on Christmas Eve 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 11 12 The Victorian Era saw a surge of Christmas carols associated with a renewed admiration of the holiday including Silent Night O Little Town of Bethlehem and O Holy Night 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 14 Many older Christmas hymns were also translated or had lyrics added to them during this period particularly in 1871 when John Stainer published a widely influential collection entitled Christmas Carols New amp Old 14 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 15 Singing carols in church was instituted on Christmas Eve 1880 Nine Lessons and Carols in Truro Cathedral Cornwall England which is now seen in churches all over the world 16 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 17 Christmas festivities including music are also celebrated in a more secular fashion by such institutions as the Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi Finland 18 Alms Edit Child Christmas carolers in Bucharest Romania 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 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 19 the Coventry Carol and I Saw Three Ships The practice of ordinary Christian church members of various denominations going door to door and singing carols continues in many parts of the world such as in India residents give money to the carolers which churches distribute to the poor 20 21 Church feasts Edit See also Liturgical year The large repertoire of Advent and Christmas church music plays an important role in services The importance of Advent and the feast of Christmastide 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 to the 21st century have written Christmas cantatas and motets Some notable compositions include Thomas Tallis Mass Puer natus est nobis 1554 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina O magnum mysterium 1569 Orlande de Lassus Resonet in laudibus 1569 Heinrich Schutz Weihnachtshistorie 1664 Johann Sebastian Bach several cantatas for Christmas to Epiphany and Christmas Oratorio 1734 Jakub Jan Ryba Czech Christmas Mass Hey Master 1796 Anton Bruckner Virga Jesse floruit 1885 Classical music Edit Classical concerts are popular at Christmas such as this performance in a church in Sweden Many large scale religious compositions are performed in a concert setting at Christmas Performances of George Frideric Handel s oratorio Messiah are a fixture of Christmas celebrations in some countries 22 and although it was originally written for performance at Easter it covers aspects of the Biblical Christmas narrative 23 24 Informal Scratch Messiah performances involving public participation are very popular in the Christmas season 25 Johann Sebastian Bach s Christmas Oratorio Weihnachts Oratorium BWV 248 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 and the adoration of the Magi 26 Antonio Vivaldi composed the Violin Concerto RV270 Il Riposo per il Santissimo Natale For the Most Holy Christmas Arcangelo Corelli composed the Christmas Concerto in 1690 Peter Cornelius 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 9 vocal settings and 2 instrumental settings Messe de Minuit H 9 for soloists choir flutes 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 Noel H 414 for soloists choir 2 treeble instruments and bc 1683 85 Oratorio de Noel 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 Noel H 482 for soloists choir 2 treeble viols and bc 1683 85 Pastorale de Noel H 483 H 483 a H 483 b for soloists choir 2 flutes 2 treeble viols and bc 1683 85 Noel pour les instruments H 531 for flutes strings and bc 1688 Noel sur les instruments H 534 for flutes strings and bc 1698 Christus 1847 an unfinished oratorio by Felix Mendelssohn L enfance du Christ 1853 54 by Hector Berlioz Oratorio de Noel 1858 by Camille Saint Saens The Nutcracker 1892 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 27 Fantasia on Christmas Carols 1912 and Hodie 1954 both by Ralph Vaughan Williams A Ceremony of Carols 1942 by Benjamin Britten Christmas carols EditMain article Christmas carol See also List of Christmas carols This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Museum staff singing Christmas carols in the Natural History Museum London Songs which are traditional even some without a specific religious context are often called Christmas carols Each of these has a rich history some dating back many centuries Standards Edit A popular set of traditional carols that might be heard at any Christmas related event include 28 A collection of traditional Christmas music source source performed by James D Blodget on a Roland U 20 synthesizer December 23 2004 Joy to the World source source Performed a cappella by Kim Butler on December 15 2006 I Saw Three Ships source source Tune of traditional English Christmas carol transcribed by CambridgeBayWeather El Noi de la Mare source source A traditional Catalan Christmas carol arranged for guitar Problems playing these files See media help Angels We Have Heard on High in the UK the text of Angels from the Realms of Glory is sung to this tune Away in a Manger Deck the Halls Ding Dong Merrily on High The First Noel Go Tell It on the Mountain God Rest You Merry Gentlemen Good King Wenceslas Hark The Herald Angels Sing I Saw Three Ships It Came Upon the Midnight Clear Joy to the World O Christmas Tree O Tannenbaum O Come All Ye Faithful Adeste Fideles O come O come Emmanuel O Holy Night Cantique de Noel O Little Town of Bethlehem Once in Royal David s City Silent Night Stille Nacht heilige Nacht The Twelve Days of Christmas We Three Kings of Orient Are We Wish You a Merry Christmas What Child Is This While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks Carol singers in festive costume in Poland 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 citation needed Early secular Christmas songs Edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 We Wish You a Merry Christmas 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 s Up on the House Top 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 written in 1857 but not explicitly about Christmas and O Christmas Tree written in 1824 but only made about a Christmas tree after being translated from its original German Published Christmas music Edit Ralph Vaughan Williams 1872 1958 a British composer who helped to popularise many medieval and folk carols for the modern age 29 Christmas music has been published as sheet music for centuries One of the earliest collections of printed Christmas music was Piae Cantiones 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 1871 played an important role in widening the popular appeal of carols 30 In the 20th century Oxford University Press OUP published some highly successful Christmas music collections such as The Oxford Book of Carols Martin Shaw Ralph Vaughan Williams and Percy Dearmer 1928 which revived a number of early folk songs and established them as modern standard carols 29 31 This was followed by the bestselling Carols for Choirs series David Willcocks Reginald Jacques and John Rutter 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 32 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 Edit 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 33 34 35 In the Bleak Midwinter Harold Darke In Dulci Jubilo traditional A Spotless Rose Herbert Howells Bethlehem Down Peter Warlock Lully Lulla traditional Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day There Is No Rose traditional 15th c O Come All Ye Faithful Of the Father s Heart Begotten What Sweeter Music John RutterPopular Christmas songs EditUnited States Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed December 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message See also List of Christmas hit singles in the United States Best selling Christmas holiday singles in the United States and List of best selling Christmas holiday albums in the United States According to the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers ASCAP in 2016 Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 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 and his orchestra recorded their version in 1935 followed later by a range of artists including Frank Sinatra in 1948 the Supremes the Jackson 5 the Beach Boys and Glenn Campbell Bruce Springsteen recorded a rock rendition in December 1975 Long time Christmas classics from prior to the rock era 36 still dominate the holiday charts such as Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow Winter Wonderland Sleigh Ride and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Songs from the rock era to enter the top tier of the season s canon citation needed include Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff and Last Christmas 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 songs 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 versions by various artists have explored virtually all music genres Most performed Christmas songs Edit The world may have changed profoundly over the last 50 years but these songs have been part of the holiday spirit for generations Part of the wonder of music is how it helps us continue to create real memories and traditions These treasured songs are very special to so many people and are a beloved part of ASCAP s repertoire Paul Williams President and chairman American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers ASCAP 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 37 Most of these songs in some way describe or are reminiscent of Christmas traditions how Western Christian 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 etc New mythical characters are created defined and popularized by these songs Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 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 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 introduced Shadrack the Black Reindeer in 1974 38 Most performed Christmas songs in 2015 according to ASCAP Rank Song Composer s Year Type1 Santa Claus Is Comin to Town J Fred Coots Haven Gillespie 1934 Mythical2 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Ralph Blane Hugh Martin 1944 Celebratory Sentimental3 Winter Wonderland Felix Bernard Richard B Smith 1934 Seasonal4 Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow Sammy Cahn Jule Styne 1945 Seasonal5 The Christmas Song Mel Torme Robert Wells 1944 Traditions6 Jingle Bell Rock Joseph Carleton Beal James Ross Boothe 1957 Celebratory Seasonal7 It s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year Edward Pola George Wyle 1963 Seasonal Traditions8 Sleigh Ride Leroy Anderson Mitchell Parish 1948 Seasonal Birthday9 Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Johnny Marks 1939 1949 Mythical10 It s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Meredith Willson 1951 Traditions Celebratory11 White Christmas Irving Berlin 1940 Seasonal Sentimental12 A Holly Jolly Christmas Johnny Marks 1964 65 Traditions Celebratory13 Carol of the Bells Peter J Wilhousky 1936 Celebratory14 Rockin Around the Christmas Tree Johnny Marks 1958 Traditions15 All I Want for Christmas Is You Mariah Carey Walter Afanasieff 1994 Sentimental16 Frosty the Snowman Steve Nelson Walter E Rollins 1950 Mythical17 Blue Christmas Billy Hayes Jay W Johnson 1957 Traditions18 There s No Place Like Home for the Holidays Bob Allen Al Stillman 1954 Traditions Sentimental19 The Little Drummer Boy Katherine K Davis Henry V Onorati Harry Simeone 1941 Christian based20 Do You Hear What I Hear Gloria Shayne Baker Noel Regney 1962 Traditions21 Silver Bells Jay Livingston Ray Evans 1950 Traditions22 Baby It s Cold Outside Frank Loesser 1948 Seasonal23 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus Tommie Connor 1952 Novelty24 Feliz Navidad Jose Feliciano 1970 Celebratory25 Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12 24 Jon Oliva Paul O Neill Robert Kinkel 1995 Historical fiction26 Last Christmas George Michael 1984 Sentimental27 Here Comes Santa Claus Right Down Santa Claus Lane Gene Autry Oakley Haldeman 1947 Mythical Christian based28 Santa Baby Joan Ellen Javits Philip Springer Tony Springer and Fred Ebb 1953 Novelty29 Happy Holiday Irving Berlin 1948 Celebratory30 Wonderful Christmastime Paul McCartney 1979 CelebratoryThe 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 37 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 and referred to as a massive project to carefully recreate baby boomers childhoods 39 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 40 and was named the UK s favourite Christmas song the same year by The Independent 41 Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song with the same title and theme 42 which Vince Vance amp the Valiants recorded in 1989 and independently became popular at the same time as Carey s song The melody is similar to Bobby Vinton s My Heart Belongs to Only You 43 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 44 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 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 Edit In 2007 surveys of United States radio listeners by two different research groups 45 the most liked songs were standards such as Bing Crosby s White Christmas 1942 Nat King Cole s The Christmas Song 1946 and Burl Ives A Holly Jolly Christmas 1965 Other favorites like Rockin Around the Christmas Tree Brenda Lee 1958 Jingle Bell Rock Bobby Helms 1957 and John Lennon and Yoko Ono s Happy Xmas 1971 scored well in one study Also loved were Johnny Mathis Do You Hear What I Hear and Harry Simeone Chorale s Little Drummer Boy 1958 Among the most hated Christmas songs according to Edison Media Research s 2007 survey are Barbra Streisand s Jingle Bells the Jackson 5 s Santa Claus Is Coming to Town Elmo amp Patsy s Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and O Holy Night as performed by cartoon characters from Comedy Central 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 45 Rolling Stone magazine ranked Darlene Love s version of Christmas Baby Please Come Home 1963 first on its list of The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs in December 2010 46 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 47 Fairytale of New York by The Pogues is cited as the best Christmas song of all time in various television radio and magazine related polls in the United Kingdom and Ireland 48 A 2021 YouGov 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 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 Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and Wonderful Christmastime 49 Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey Edit The Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey divided its listeners into music type categories Adult contemporary listeners rated Brenda Lee s Rockin Around the Christmas Tree best Adult Top 40 fans liked Bobby Helms Jingle Bell Rock Hip hop R amp B fans liked the Jackson 5 s Santa Claus Is Coming to Town Country listeners ranked Burl Ives A Holly Jolly Christmas No 1 Smooth jazz fans liked The Christmas Song as sung by Nat King Cole United Kingdom and Ireland Edit Most played songs Edit See also List of Christmas hit singles in the United Kingdom 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 is the second best selling single in UK Chart history Fairytale of New York released by The Pogues 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 50 51 52 British glam rock bands had major hit singles with Christmas songs in the 1970s Merry Xmas Everybody by Slade I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday by Wizzard and Lonely This Christmas by Mud all remain hugely popular 53 In 2012 PRS for Music 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 54 Rank Song title Composer s Performer s Year1 Fairytale of New York Jem Finer and Shane MacGowan The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl 19872 All I Want for Christmas Is You Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff Mariah Carey 19943 Do They Know It s Christmas Bob Geldof and Midge Ure Band Aid 19844 Last Christmas George Michael Wham 19845 Santa Claus Is Comin to Town John Frederick Coots Haven Gillespie Harry Reser 19346 Do You Hear What I Hear Noel Regney Gloria Shayn Bing Crosby 19627 Happy Christmas War Is Over John Lennon John Lennon 19718 Wonderful Christmastime Paul McCartney Paul McCartney 19799 I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday Roy Wood Wizzard 197310 Merry Xmas Everybody Noddy Holder Jim Lea Slade 1974Included in the 2009 and 2008 lists are such other titles as Jona Lewie s Stop the Cavalry Bruce Springsteen s Santa Claus is Coming to Town Elton John s Step into Christmas Mud s Lonely This Christmas Walking in the Air by Aled Jones Shakin Stevens Merry Christmas Everyone Chris Rea s Driving Home for Christmas and Mistletoe and Wine and Saviour s Day by Cliff Richard 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 to be Fairytale of New York 55 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 41 The Christmas song is a genre in its own right More than any other type of music it spans and links generations with disparate musical taste buds 56 Ellis Rich Chairman of PRS for Music Christmas Number Ones Edit See also List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones and List of Irish Singles Chart Christmas number ones The Christmas Number One songs reaching the top spot on either the UK Singles Chart 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 campaigns have been used to try to encourage sales of specific songs so that they could reach number one 57 58 59 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 Do They Know It s Christmas No 1 1984 the second biggest selling single in UK Chart history two re recordings also hit No 1 in 1989 and 2004 Slade s Merry Xmas Everybody No 1 1973 and Wham s Last Christmas 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 citation needed The Beatles Spice Girls and LadBaby are the only artists to have achieved consecutive Christmas number one hits on the UK Singles Chart 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 of other popular songs that included a running gag mentioning sausage rolls Bohemian Rhapsody is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice in both 1975 and 1991 60 Three of the four different Band Aid recordings of Do They Know It s Christmas 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 and the boy band One True Voice finished first and second respectively on the charts Failed contestants The Cheeky Girls charted with a novelty hit Cheeky Song Touch My Bum at third Briton Will Young winner of the first Pop Idol charted at the top of the Irish charts in 2003 The X Factor 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 s 1992 single Killing in the Name reached number one in the UK instead of that year s X Factor winner Joe McElderry 61 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 62 With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland Little Mix won Christmas number one in Ireland that year citation needed Australia Edit 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 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 or Christmas Bells of eastern Australia 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 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 Six White Boomers Colin Buchanan s Aussie Jingle Bells and the Australian Twelve Days of Christmas 63 proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under A verse from Aussie Jingle Bells makes the point Engine s getting hot Dodge the kangaroosSwaggie climbs aboard He is welcome too All the family is there Sitting by the pool Christmas Day the Aussie way By the barbecue 64 The Twelve Days of Christmas 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 numbats nagging 10 lizards leaping 9 wombats working 8 dingoes digging 7 possums playing 6 brolgas dancing 5 kangaroos 4 koalas cuddling 3 kookaburras laughing 2 pink galahs and an emu up a gum tree 65 Other popular Australian Christmas songs include White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin Aussie Jingle Bells by Bucko amp Champs Christmas Photo by John Williamson Go Santa Go by The Wiggles and Six White Boomers by Russel Coight 66 The Australian carols that do exist are mostly novelty re workings of existing songs with the holly and the ivy replaced by gum trees and wattle Santa swapping his fur hat for a corked Akubra and a token Aboriginal word is deemed sufficient to localise the celebration of the day a Middle Eastern tradesman wasn t actually born 67 Ben Anderson Daily Review My Little Christmas Belle 1909 composed by Joe Slater 1872 1926 to words by Ward McAlister 1872 1928 celebrates eastern Australian flora 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 68 Whereas The Holly and The Ivy 1937 by Australian Louis Lavater 1867 1953 mentions northern hemisphere foliage 69 Australian singer songwriter Paul Kelly first released How to Make Gravy as part of a four track EP November 4 1996 through White Label Records 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 A lot of the early imagery of Christmas in Australia is related to isolation and distance You ve got the Sydney Mail in 1879 saying The revels of Christmas tide cannot endure the ordeal of immigration It s that sense that it s alien here and we re so conscious of being away from family and that figures very prominently in the imagery of Christmas back in that time 67 Nicholas Brown Australian National University Other popular Christmas songs Edit 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 Benjamin Hanby 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 1961 Eddy Arnold 1962 and Alvin and the Chipmunks 1963 I ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye 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 and Nat King Cole I ll Be Home for Christmas by lyricist Kim Gannon and composer Walter Kent was recorded by Bing Crosby in 1943 Merry Christmas Baby is credited to Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore whose group originally recorded it in 1947 featuring singer and pianist Charles Brown Kay Thompson introduced her The Holiday Season in 1945 which later became part of a medley by Andy Williams A Marshmallow World sometimes called It s a Marshmallow World was written in 1949 by Carl Sigman lyrics and Peter DeRose 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 1962 Other titles and recordings added to the popular Christmas song canon citation needed include 1950s Edit 1950 Everybody s Waitin for The Man with the Bag written by Irving Taylor and Dudley Brooks popularized by Kay Starr 1950 Dixieland Band from Santa Claus Land by Jimmy Dorsey 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 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 in 1864 popularized by Gene Autry 1954 The Christmas Waltz 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 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 written by Johnny Marks from a Christmas carol based on the 1863 poem Christmas Bells by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 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 on An Evening with Belafonte 1957 Mistletoe and Holly written by Frank Sinatra Dok Stanford and Hank Sanicola recorded by Sinatra with orchestra conducted by Gordon Jenkins released as a Capitol 7 45 single backed with The Christmas Waltz Included on A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra 1958 Run Rudolph Run written by Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie popularized by Chuck Berry when released as a single on Chess Records 1959 Caroling Caroling written by Alfred Burt in 1953 recorded by Fred Waring 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 for a single that year released by Columbia Records 1960s Edit 1960 Caroling Caroling written by Alfred Burt in 1953 popularized by Nat King Cole on The Magic of Christmas 1960 Please Come Home for Christmas written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd released by Brown on Charles Brown Sings Christmas Songs since becoming associated with the Eagles 1978 cover 1960 Must Be Santa written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks 70 first released by Mitch Miller 71 Tommy Steele s cover of the song reaching No 40 on the UK Singles Chart the same year 72 1960 Dominick the Donkey written by Ray Allen Wandra Merrell and Sam Saltzberg recorded by Lou Monte on Roulette Records The song describes a donkey who helps Santa Claus bring presents made in Brooklyn 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 s Pennsylvanians on 12 Songs of Christmas in 1964 1963 Christmas Baby Please Come Home written by Ellie Greenwich Jeff Barry with Phil Spector released by Darlene Love on A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector 1963 Happy Holidays The Holiday Season medley by Andy Williams of Irving Berlin s 1942 classic with Kay Thompson s The Holiday Season from 1945 1963 Little Saint Nick written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love released by the Beach Boys as a single and included on The Beach Boys Christmas Album in 1964 1963 Pretty Paper by Willie Nelson 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 on the Rankin Bass Christmas special Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer 1964 Toyland written by Victor Herbert and Glen McDonough 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 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 written for A Charlie Brown Christmas animated TV special harmonized by the choir of St Paul s Episcopal Church in San Rafael California 1965 My Favorite Things written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein for the 1959 musical The Sound of Music covered by Diana Ross and the Supremes on Merry Christmas 1965 Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy written by Buck Owens and Don Rich 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 for the Broadway musical Mame and first performed by Angela Lansbury in that 1966 production popularly covered by Percy Faith amp His Orchestra on Christmas Is Percy Faith 1966 The Happiest Christmas Tree written by Cathy Lynn recorded by Nat King Cole 73 74 1967 Snoopy s Christmas written by George David Weiss and Hugo amp Luigi released by the Royal Guardsmen on Snoopy and His Friends 1967 What Christmas Means to Me written by Allen Story Anna Gordy Gaye and George Gordy recorded by Stevie Wonder on Someday at Christmas 1970s Edit 1970 Give Love on Christmas Day written by The Corporation Berry Gordy Alphonzo Mizell Christine Perren Freddie Perren and Deke Richards recorded by the Jackson 5 for The Jackson 5 Christmas Album 1970 Merry Christmas Darling written by Richard Carpenter with lyrics by Frank Pooler released by The Carpenters as a single re released 1974 amp 1977 remixed on Christmas Portrait in 1978 with new vocal by Karen Carpenter 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 on A Partridge Family Christmas Card 1971 River written by Joni Mitchell released by her on Blue 1973 Step into Christmas 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 released by Lake as a single with Humbug on B side Instrumental riff between verses interpolated from Troika portion of Sergei Prokofiev s Lieutenant Kije Suite written for 1934 Soviet film Lieutenant Kije 1976 When a Child is Born original melody titled Soleado written by Ciro Dammicco alias Zacar and Dario Baldan Bembo in 1973 English language 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 and Bob James recorded by Loggins as title track of his debut solo album Celebrate Me Home 1977 Father Christmas written by Ray Davies released by The Kinks 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 Peace on Earth written by Ian Fraser Larry Grossman and Alan Kohan medley recorded by David Bowie 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 written by Jester Hairston in 1956 with new song by Frank Farian Fred Jay and Hela Lorin medley released by Boney M as a single 1978 Please Come Home for Christmas written by Charles Brown and Gene Redd in 1960 cover released by The Eagles as a single with Funky New Year on B side 1979 Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer written by Randy Brooks released by Elmo amp Patsy as a single with Christmas on B side 1980s Edit 1980 It Must Have Been The Mistletoe Our First Christmas written by Doug Konecky and Justin Wilde released by Barbara Mandrell on Christmas at Our House 1980 Same Old Lang Syne written by Dan Fogelberg 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 1980 Stop The Cavalry written by Jona Lewie 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 1981 Christmas Wrapping written by Chris Butler released by The Waitresses as a single with Christmas Fever by Charlelie Couture on B side Also included in a Christmas compilation album 1982 Hard Candy Christmas written by Carol Hall for the musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas released by Dolly Parton as a single with Act Like a Fool on B side 1984 Thank God It s Christmas written by Brian May and Roger Taylor released by Queen as a single with Man on the Prowl and Keep Passing the Open Windows on B side 1984 Another Lonely Christmas written by Prince released by Prince and the Revolution as a single 1984 The Power of Love written by Holly Johnson Peter Gill Mark O Toole and Brian Nash released by Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a single with The World Is My Oyster on B side 1985 Merry Christmas Everyone written by Bob Heatlie released by Shakin Stevens 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 Curly Putman and Keith Whitley 1987 Christmas in Hollis written by Joseph Simmons Darryl McDaniels and Jason Mizell 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 written by Chris Rea originally released as one of two new songs on Rea s first compilation album New Light Through Old Windows in October then issued as the fourth single from the album in December 1988 Mistletoe and Wine 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 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 amp The Valiants as a single 1989 Merry Christmas I Don t Want to Fight Tonight by The Ramones on their Brain Drain album 1990s Edit 1990 Saviour s Day written by Chris Eaton released by Cliff Richard as a single with Where You Are on B side 1990 Grown Up Christmas List written by David Foster Linda Thompson Jenner and Amy Grant released by David Foster with Natalie Cole for his album River of Love with a 1992 version by Amy Grant 1991 Mary Did You Know with lyrics written by Mark Lowry in 1984 and music by Buddy Greene originally recorded by Michael English on a self titled album with a 1996 version by Kenny Rogers and Wynona Judd 1992 All Alone on Christmas written and arranged by Steve Van Zandt recorded by Darlene Love as a single with members of The E Street Band and The Miami Horns 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 on the album of the same name 1994 The Chanukah Song written by Adam Sandler Lewis Morton and Ian Maxtone Graham originally performed by Sandler on Saturday Night Live s Weekend Update 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 written and performed by Paul Kelly in Australia 1998 Christmas Canon by the Trans Siberian Orchestra on their album The Christmas Attic 1998 Merry Christmas Happy Holidays by NSYNC from the albums Home for Christmas and The Winter Album2000s Edit 2000 My Only Wish This Year by Britney Spears off the compilation album Platinum Christmas 2000 Where Are You Christmas co written by Mariah Carey James Horner and Will Jennings but recorded by Faith Hill The song was originally recorded by Carey but because of a legal case with her ex husband Tommy Mottola it could not be released so it was re recorded and released by Faith Hill 2002 Maybe This Christmas by Ron Sexsmith from the compilation album of the same name 2003 Christmas Time Don t Let the Bells End by The Darkness 2004 Believe written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for Josh Groban 2004 Joseph s Lullaby by MercyMe from the album The Christmas Sessions 2004 Wizards in Winter an instrumental written and composed by Paul O Neill and Robert Kinkel performed by the Trans Siberian Orchestra 2007 Mistletoe written by Stacy Blue and Colbie Caillat and performed by Caillat 2008 White Is in the Winter Night by Enya on the album And Winter Came 2009 It Doesn t Often Snow at Christmas by Pet Shop Boys UK No 40 hit 2010s Edit 2010 Oh Santa by Mariah Carey from her album Merry Christmas II You A new version featuring Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson was released in 2020 for the Mariah Carey s Magical Christmas Special s soundtrack 2010 Christmas Lights by Coldplay 2010 Christmas in Harlem by Kanye West from the GOOD Fridays series of releases under the GOOD Music label 2011 Mistletoe by Justin Bieber from his album Under the Mistletoe 2012 Christmas in the Sand by Colbie Caillat 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 on her album Wrapped in Red 2013 One More Sleep by Leona Lewis on her album Christmas with Love 2013 Wrapped in Red written by Kelly Clarkson Ashley Arrison Aben Eubanks and Shane McAnally and recorded by Clarkson as the opening track on her sixth studio album Wrapped in Red 2014 That s Christmas to Me 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 by Kylie Minogue on her album Kylie Christmas 2017 Santa s Coming for Us written by Sia and Greg Kurstin and released by Sia on Everyday Is Christmas 2017 Snowman written by Sia and Greg Kurstin and released by Sia on Everyday Is Christmas2020s Edit 2020 Holiday by Lil Nas X 2020 Christmas Saves the Year a single written and recorded by Twenty One Pilots released after a Twitch stream where lead singer Tyler Joseph played in a Fortnite tournament sponsored by Chipotle in hopes to raise money for Make A Wish Foundation 2021 Merry Christmas by Ed Sheeran and Elton John 2022 Three Lions It s Coming Home for Christmas by Baddiel Skinner amp Lightning Seeds due to the 2022 FIFA World Cup taking place in Qatar the tournament started in November instead of June As a result Frank Skinner and David Baddiel 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 Edit I ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm written by Irving Berlin was introduced in the musical film On the Avenue by Dick Powell and Alice Faye in 1937 White Christmas was introduced in the film Holiday Inn 1942 while Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas was from Meet Me in St Louis 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 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 Edit This section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Christmas music news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message See also Novelty song 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 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 written by Yogi Yorgesson and sung by him with the Johnny Duffy Trio in 1949 includes such notable titles as Jingle Bells by the Singing Dogs was recorded in 1955 by Don Charles from Copenhagen considered the work of Carl Weismann it was revolutionary in its use of the latest recording technology 75 Green Chri tma a radio play 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 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 76 Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy co written and recorded by Buck Owens in 1965 has been covered by other country music stars including Garth Brooks Travis Tritt and Brad Paisley In the 1970s comedic singing duo Cheech amp Chong s debut single in 1971 was Santa Claus and His Old Lady The Kinks did Father Christmas in 1977 and Elmo amp Patsy came out with Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer in 1979 More recent titles added to the canon include The Twelve Days of Christmas parodies including one by Bob and Doug McKenzie in 1982 Christmas at Ground Zero by Weird Al Yankovic 1986 Rusty Chevrolet by Da Yoopers a parody of Jingle Bells 1987 Christmas in Hollis 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 song by Paul Brandt a parody of the C W McCall song Convoy 2006 Seattle radio personality Bob Rivers 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 in 2007 benefiting various AIDS charities Christmas novelty songs can involve gallows humor and even morbid humor like that found in Christmas at Ground Zero 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 amp Make Out This Christmas Kristen Bell 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 thereStraight No Chaser singer Randy Stine said of the song We wanted a Christmas song that spoke to how informal communication has become 77 Juvenile Edit This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Christmas music news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 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 1953 Nuttin for Christmas by Art Mooney and Barry Gordon who was seven years old when he sang it 1955 Donde Esta 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 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 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 performed by The Royal Guardsmen in 1967 a follow up to their earlier 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 citation needed Non Christian writers Edit Approximately half of the 30 best selling Christmas songs by ASCAP members in 2015 were written by Jewish composers Johnny Marks has three top Christmas songs the most for any writer Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer Rockin Around the Christmas Tree and A Holly Jolly Christmas By far the most recorded Christmas song is White Christmas by Irving Berlin born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia who also wrote Happy Holiday with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages Others include 78 79 80 81 Let It Snow Let It Snow Let It Snow by Sammy Cahn born Cohen and Jule Styne who also wrote The Christmas Waltz together Winter Wonderland composer Felix Bernard was born Felix William Bernhardt The Christmas Song Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire by Robert Wells born Levinson and Mel Torme Sleigh Ride 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 Bob Allen born Robert Allen Deitcher and Al Stillman born Albert Silverman I ll Be Home for Christmas by Walter Kent born Walter Kauffman and Buck Ram born Samuel Santa Baby by Joan Ellen Javits Zeeman niece of Senator Jacob Javits and Philip Springer 82 Baby It s Cold Outside by Frank LoesserLyricist Jerome Jerry Leiber and composer Mike Stoller wrote Santa Claus Is Back in Town which Elvis Presley debuted on his first Christmas album in 1957 Christmas Baby Please Come Home was written by Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry with Phil Spector originally for Ronnie Spector of The Ronettes It was made into a hit by Darlene Love 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 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 83 Adopted Christmas music EditThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message 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 to its melody in 1853 Neale s poem does not directly mention Christmas or the nativity but describes Bohemian Duke 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 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 84 Jingle Bells first published under the title One Horse Open Sleigh in 1857 was originally associated with Thanksgiving rather than Christmas 85 With a Welsh melody dating back to the sixteenth century and English lyrics from 1862 Deck the Halls celebrates the 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 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 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 86 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 in his televised Christmas special each year including the song on The Perry Como Christmas Album 1968 The song a prayer to the Virgin Mary sung in Latin would become a staple of family holiday record collections 87 American a capella group Pentatonix released their version of Hallelujah the 1984 song written by Leonard Cohen and covered famously by a number of acts on their Christmas album shortly before the songwriter s death in 2016 Besides the 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 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 No 1 1993 and the theme from Bob the Builder No 1 2000 novelty songs such as Benny Hill s Ernie No 1 1971 and South Park s 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 Edit There s no other programming tactic in radio history that consistently delivers ratings increases better than Christmas music Playing Christmas music is all about having a larger audience after Christmas than you did before People who find the station often stick around after the holidays and discover a new favorite station 88 Darren Davis Senior V P Clear Channel 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 which is generally considered the official start of the holiday season and sometimes culminating with all Christmas music by Christmas itself 89 More prominently some stations temporarily drop their regular music format entirely and switch exclusively to Christmas music for the holiday season 89 90 The latter practice became more widespread in 2001 after the September 11 attacks as a means of helping improve the morale of listeners 91 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 ratings that such a shift can attract 88 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 88 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 WODS Los Angeles s KOST New York s WLTW and San Diego s KYXY 88 In 2017 Chicago s WLIT FM roughly quadrupled its audience share between November 2 8 and December 12 4 after making the switch 92 93 The practice may not always transition well into financial success since advertisers do not universally recognize Nielsen s holiday ratings book 94 In some markets there may be one dominant broadcaster of Christmas music but this is not always the case 92 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 95 90 89 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 96 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 97 98 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 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 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 99 As a stunt format Edit Christmas music is a popular 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 100 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 after briefly playing an all Christmas format following the merger of CBS Radio and Entercom its country format had been made redundant by its new sister station KKWF 101 102 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 103 104 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 105 106 Ironically WJSR s sister station in the same market WURV had broadcast a 12 hour block of inappropriately early Christmas music on October 7 2015 as a parody of Christmas creep and stations trying to be the first in their market to play Christmas music 107 108 Outside the United States Edit 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 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 Guardian Media Group on national Digital One DAB in November December 2011 with the slot used after Christmas by Smooth 70s 109 The Christmas station returned around the same timeframe of 2012 110 with this space taken over after Christmas by Bauer Radio station Kiss Following the acquisition of Smooth by 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 111 and 2015 112 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 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 113 2017 114 and 2018 115 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 116 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 117 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 111 112 113 114 115 116 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 113 and 2017 114 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 112 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 station on national Digital One DAB in late 2017 114 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 118 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 114 2018 115 and 2019 116 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 115 and 2019 116 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 112 and 2017 114 or as a temporary rebranding of an existing regular station such as Sandgrounder Radio temporarily renaming as Santagrounder on DAB in 2016 113 and 2017 114 Christmas music on satellite and internet radio Edit Outside of traditional AM FM radio satellite radio provider SiriusXM typically devotes multiple channels to different genres of Christmas music during the holiday season 119 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 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 amp B soul Tropicales Latin and Soft Rock contemporary channels as well as a year round All Christmas channel 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 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 Edit Christianity portal Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christmas music Best selling Christmas holiday singles in the United States List of Christmas calypsos 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 VillancicoReferences Edit Glenday 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November 24 2011 On Commercial Radio Christmas Is Coming Early NPR Heard on Morning Edition Retrieved December 24 2017 a b Sisario Ben October 30 2014 Radio Dusts Off Mistletoe in October The New York Times Tucker Ken May 13 2005 The Christmas Format Santa Claus Is Coming To Town Radio Monitor AllBusiness a b Christmas Remains King in Holiday 2017 Ratings Insideradio com Retrieved July 20 2018 WBEB Flips To Christmas Music Radio Ink November 16 2017 Retrieved July 20 2018 Insight the All Christmas music format phenomenon RadioInfo com Retrieved December 3 2012 O Keeffe Kevin October 15 2014 In Defense of Christmas Music in October The Atlantic Retrieved November 19 2019 WWIZ Youngstown Begins Christmas Music Season September 25 2020 Herbert Geoff November 4 2020 Syracuse radio station switches to Christmas music becomes Santa 102 Syracuse Post Standard Retrieved November 5 2020 Star 102 5 begins playing Christmas music WIVB TV November 1 2020 Retrieved November 5 2020 Star 102 5 flips to all Christmas www audacy com November 1 2021 Retrieved January 1 2023 Tis the Season for Format Flips Insideradio com Retrieved May 9 2018 KMPS Christmas Flip Fuels Talk of Post Holiday Changes Insideradio com Retrieved May 9 2018 Seattle radio s king of country goes soft rock Seattle Post Intelligencer Retrieved December 9 2017 Radio station takes down the tree Saskatoon Star Phoenix Archived from the original on March 20 2016 Retrieved March 11 2016 New station jingles all the way Saskatoon Star Phoenix Postmedia Archived from the original on March 20 2016 Retrieved March 11 2016 On The 125th Day Of Christmas Music Why Is WJSR Still In Holiday Mode RadioInsight February 15 2021 Retrieved March 2 2021 SummitMedia Makes Double Flip In Richmond RadioInsight March 4 2021 Retrieved March 5 2021 WURV 103 7 Play Richmond Is Not Our First Christmas Station All Access Retrieved March 5 2021 WURV Comes Clean Over Christmas Stunt RadioInsight Retrieved March 5 2021 DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2011 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2012 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2014 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b c d DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2015 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b c d DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2016 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b c d e f g DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2017 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b c d DAB Ensembles Worldwide Archives 2018 www wohnort org Retrieved April 3 2021 a b c d Wohnort DAB archives 20XX Retrieved April 3 2021 RadioToday co uk Oct 2020 Retrieved April 3 2021 Bauer launches Magic 100 Christmas in August August 25 2020 Retrieved April 3 2021 Haidet Ryan November 21 2013 SiriusXM begins 24 7 Christmas music USA Today Retrieved December 24 2017 Further reading Edit 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 ISBN 0 7624 2112 6 2004 The International Book of Christmas Carols by W Ehret and G K Evans Stephen Greene Press Vermont ISBN 0 8289 0378 6 1980 Victorian Songs and Music by Olivia Bailey Caxton Publishing ISBN 1 84067 468 7 2002 Spirit of Christmas A History of Our Best Loved Carols by Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers ISBN 0 88088 414 2 2000 Christmas Music Companion Fact Book by Dale V Nobbman ISBN 1 57424 067 6 2000 Joel Whitburn presents Christmas in the charts 1920 2004 by Joel Whitburn ISBN 0 89820 161 6 2004 Angels We Have Heard The Christmas Song Stories by James Richliano ISBN 0 9718810 0 6 2002 External links EditChristmas music at Curlie Free Christmas sheet music in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki Christmas music at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Christmas music amp oldid 1150707261, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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