All Christmas Songs » Featured

Neil Diamond – O Holy Night

Christine — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:35:39 +0000

Neil Diamond The Christmas Album

Neil Diamond was a favorite musician of my mother and father. They always liked to tell the story of the first concert they went together was a Neil Diamond concert, where cannon balls were shot into the air. I think my mother also liked him so much because her name was Caroline. She was our very own “Sweet Caroline”. Here is a beautiful version of “O Holy Night” performed by Neil Diamond that gives me goosebumps.

Coldplay – Christmas Lights

Christine — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:19:25 +0000

Coldplay - Christmas Lights

Here is a beautiful little Christmas number performed by Coldplay. I have to admit I am a Coldplay fan. I enjoy that their music is not too abrasive. Often I will love a band, and then all the sudden they get crazy on me and will throw in an abrasive song with heavy guitars or scream-y lyrics. I do not enjoy that. This is not the case with Coldplay. In my opinion they are the perfect band for successfully executing new Christmas music. Also, I really like this video. Merry Christmas!

Spend Some Time With Johnny Cash This Christmas

Christine — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 19:08:50 +0000

Johnny Cash Christmas

My father loved Johnny Cash, and so do I. I found this heartwarming video of ”The 12 Days of Christmas” from the Johnny Cash Christmas show. It is so sweet. Please take five minutes from your busy day and enjoy this Christmas video.

Sixpence None The Richer – O Come O Come Emmanuel

Christine — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:50:06 +0000

Sixpence None The Richer

I love this soft, sweet version of O Come O Come Emmanuel by Sixpence None the Richer! This was released on their album The Dawn of Grace.

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch!

Christine — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:53:35 +0000

Mr. Grinch

“You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” is the Christmas song composed in 1966 for the infamous movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The iconic song was composed by Albert Hague and performed by the one and only Thurl Ravenscroft. What would a Christmas music website be without this song? Enjoy!

Donna & Blitzen Performed By Badly Drawn Boy

Christine — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:45:31 +0000

Badly Drawn Boy

I have been in love with Badly Drawn Boy since I first saw the movie About A Boy. Badly Drawn Boy, AKA Damon Gough, is an English alternative singer and songwriter. His sweet melodies are romantic and lovely. Apparently, this song, Donna & Blitzen, was featured in a commercial for Sears. Enjoy the animal pictures that flow well with the beautiful Christmas song.

She & Him – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Christine — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:34:48 +0000

A Very She & Him Christmas

She & Him is the Indie love child of musicians Zooey Deschanel & M. Ward. One of my favorite songs of theirs is Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas of their album A Very She & Him Christmas which was released earlier this year!

A Charlie Brown Christmas – Christmas Time is Here!

Christine — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:06:57 +0000

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Take a moment from your day to relax and listen to Christmas Time is Here. Such a simple yet such a beautiful song. Vince Guaralidi Trio really know how to make that warm Christmas feeling come alive!

Charlie Brown Christmas reminds me of all my wonderful childhood memories and how exciting Christmas really is. Oh, to be a kid again! Let’s do and take some time to watch the sweet video below.

Sufjan Stevens – “Joy to the World”

Christine — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 20:56:02 +0000

Sufjan Stevens "Songs for Christmas"

I know I recently posted a different Sufjan Stevens Christmas song but I couldn’t resist posting another. Also, as I just posted “Joy to the World” by Dolly Parton yesterday, I thought this would be a great way to follow up on that.

I own the box set “Songs for Christmas” by Sufjan and I covet it during the holidays. Actually, I find myself listening to it through other times of the year as well. I think one listener on Youtube pretty much summed up my feelings on Sufjan “Sufjan Stevens’ voice is like… warm cider”. Yep, I agree. I’m letting it wash all over me!

My Very Favorite Christmas Song – “O Holy Night”

Christine — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 20:47:27 +0000

"O Holy Night"

I love Home Alone and watch it every Christmas. One song in particular from the movie that stands out to me is, “O Holy Night”. I still get teary-eyed every time I watch the scene in the church with the little girl signing to her estranged grandfather. You know the scene, the “sad scene”. Anyways, here is the song I found on Youtube by John Williams. Beautiful, sweet and touching – just like Christmas!

Christmas Music Continues to Inspire, Soothe, Reflect a Season

Jennifer — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 22:43:58 +0000

Whether its in a majestic cathedral, a school auditorium or a shopping mall, there’s nothing like a familiar Christmas melody to put a person in the holiday spirit. Its amazing how the familiar strains of Silent Night or Joy to the World create feelings of joy, hope and peace.

Why does Christmas music evoke such strong emotions? Music educators and Bible scholars at Northwestern College in Saint Paul, Minn., cite childhood memories, the character of the music, and the histories of the songs themselves as reasons for Christmas music’s emotional appeal.

During the Christmas season we look for familiar, comforting sounds of traditional, timeless music and theology. We are willing to suspend our need for what is novel, exciting or cutting-edge, explains Timothy Sawyer, director of choral activities. Christmas carols provide a familiar, comforting presence to which we can return year after year. This is perhaps one reason why, since its composition in 1742, Handels The Messiah has remained so popular during the holiday season.

People have powerful childhood and family memories built around the Christmas season, which to a large extent is defined by its music, says Dr. Philip Norris, professor of music. We simply cant think of Christmas without music. Even in secular settings the Christmas story and its music are part of the aura.

Dr. Ardel Caneday, professor of Bible understands the impact of childhood memories. When I was in high school, the men’s octet would join the women’s sextet to sing Silent Night a cappella. I fondly remember singing second tenor in the men’s octet. The crisp harmony was deeply stirring. It was a joy to contribute to the beautiful sounds of a favorite and cherished Christmas carol.

From their humble beginnings in the 4th century, Christmas songs focused on the supernatural aspects of Christmas. One of the earliest songs was Jesus refulsit omnium (Jesus, light of all the nations) composed by St. Hilary of Poitiers, a prolific writer of hymns.

St. Francis of Assisi formally introduced Christmas carols to church services during the 12th century. A patron of the arts, he inspired composers and poets to deliver Christmas music. The lighter, joyous Christmas songs were introduced during the 1400s in Renaissance Italy. From Italy they passed to France and Germany, and eventually England where they retained simplicity, fervor and mirthfulness.

The musical character of Christmas songs reflects the seasons themes: mother and child (Mary & Jesus), joy, hope, peace, Dr. Norris explains. The melodies, harmonies and rhythms created for the songs reflect those themes.

For example, he explains, Joy to the World has a lively rhythm that begins on and repeats its highest note seven times. Every phrase of the music follows the biological, physical shape of joy — a sudden rising to a high pitch with a subsiding direction immediately following.

Dr. Mark Muska, chair of Northwesterns Bible department, says Christmas music brings the focus back on the spiritual meaning. The music helps people get back to the real meaning of Christmas, he says. Sometimes we get caught up in the commercialism, but the music helps us focus on the Lords birth.

The distinctive and joyful sound of Christmas music inspires reflection upon the incarnation of Gods Son and the hope of peace and salvation that He brings, adds Dr. Caneday.

The stories of Christmas hymns and carols also contribute to the seasons musical aura. One of my favorite Christmas carols is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” Dr. Caneday says. Its particularly stirring for me because of its historical setting against the backdrop of the American Civil War.

Longfellow’s words reflect grief over the death of his wife, his bitter opposition to the war, and the sorrow of his son gravely injured in the war.

The history of Silent Night continues to inspire people. It was written in Bavaria on Christmas Eve 1818 when the church organ was broken and the town was snowbound. Church vicar Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics on the spot then handed them to organist Franz Gruber, who composed the original melody with guitar accompaniment just in time for midnight mass.

The origins of Christmas songs reflect history, religions attitudes and world cultures.

* Handel’s The Messiah, originally had nothing to do with Christmas. Its premiere in Dublin was a benefit for prisoners jailed for debt. Enough money was raised to free 142 debtors.

* O Holy Night was written by Adolphe Charles Adam, the French composer best known for his ballet, Giselle. Church authorities that denounced its lack of musical taste and total absence of the spirit of religion frowned upon the song.

* It Came Upon a Midnight Clear was written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears who expressed a longing for peace. It was penned after the Mexican-American War when skirmishes between settlers and Indians and slavery supporters and abolitionists were igniting across the frontier.

* O Little Town of Bethlehem came out of the Civil War and was written by Phillips Brooks, a Philadelphia pastor who ministered to Union soldiers. Theories of the poems meaning vary. One theory explains the stillness in Bethlehem mirrors the stillness in Philadelphia where a generation of young men had been wiped out. The other theory is he wrote the text during a Christmas trip to the Holy Land and was describing Bethlehem.

Northwestern College, Saint Paul, MN, is a nondenominational Christian college that offers 45 majors in the Bible, arts, sciences and professional education to over 2,500 traditional and alternative education students. For more information, log onto www.nwc.edu or call (651) 631-5100 or (800)692-4020.

Courtesy of ARA Content