What is your Favourite Christmas Carol?

[avocadoandchill]

I like the three ships one.

Mine is O Holy Night.

Although I do love a good rendition of We Three Kings. I was literally in my twenties when I realised that it 'of Orient are' and not 'oary and tar' (I had no idea what 'oary' was but just always sort of accepted it).

Also liked the 'We three Kings of Leicester Square' version

Thank you that’s it’s correct title.

O little town of Bethlehem.
Hark the herald angels sing.

All carols make me cry these days. Memories of childhood.

I thought I was very churched! 70s primary school and several Carol services each year since but I’ve somehow only just discovered, “Oh Holy Night” via the very unspiritual Industry TV series. I’m already playing it pre advent.

A Shepherd's Farewell (Berlioz). Beautiful harmonies. Definitely my favourite!

My DD is studying A Christmas Carol for GCSE and she says she always pictures Tiny Tim as a frog!

In answer to the actual question, another O Holy Night or The Coventry Carol.

But also anything sung at a school nativity by tiny children, even if they’re not mine. Little donkey in particular.

Oh come all ye faithful - especially with the descant
Once in royal David's city

O Come all ye Faithful

Hark the heralds angels sing

O Come O Come Emmanuel, but only if sung correctly with no big intake of breath between Emmanuel , and , Shall come to you, O Israel in the refrain.

Dorogoi Dlinnoyu - By the Long Road.

You may recognise the melody as the inspiration for Those were the days sung by Mary Hopkins.

and I also love the German version of Silwnt Night -

I'm an atheist, but love a good song. My first thought was In the deep mid winter, also. Then I recalled a Carol we had sung at my senior school. I've no idea who wrote it, but it felt new in the 60s when we sang it. The opening lyrics were "This little babe, so few days old, has come to rifle satans fold. All hell does at his presence quake, though he himself, from cold does shake".

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

This year
"And man, at war with man, hears not
The love-song which they bring;
Oh, hush the noise, ye men of strife
And hear the angels sing."
seems particularly poignant.

That’s from A Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten. The whole thing is amazing - we sang it every year at my school to harp accompaniment by candlelight.

Download it, you’ll thank me :)

In the bleak midwinter….lovely lyrics it is actually a poem by Christina Rossetti I think.

‘Our God, heaven cannot hold him,
nor earth sustain;
heaven and earth shall flee away
when he comes to reign:’

O Holy Night
Once In Royal David’s City
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

Oh holy night, preferably sung by Anthony Warlow.

Silent Night sung in German

God rest ye merry gentlemen and Carol of the Bells. Love most carols tho

@cptartapp me too,takes me right back to sitting on the parquet flooring in the school hall.

@TheLeadbetterLife thanks, after I posted, I googled it. The song still moved me, despite my atheism. I guess that's what good music does

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. I love most carols but this has the edge for me.

Calypso carol! Loved singing this.

O Holy Night.

We sang Silent Night for our Carol concert a few years ago. Half of in English, half in German, it was beautiful.
We also do While Shepherds Watched to the tune of Ilkley Moor, makes me smile.

Il est né, le divin Enfant. Annie Lennox does a lovely version