What is your Favourite Christmas Carol?

[avocadoandchill]

I like the three ships one.

Silent night..away in a manger for traditional ones..

More modern..,

It was on a starry night! Absolute banger!

In The Bleak Midwinter
The First Noël
The Holly and The Ivy

...plus the line "...above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by" from O Little Town of Bethlehem. It makes me feel at peace with the universe.

In the bleak midwinter
and
Three Kings from Persian lands afar
I don’t hear it often enough!

Carol of the bells and once in royal David’s city

Bit niche, but I like Gabriel’s Message and O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Tend to prefer the slightly esoteric, folk song like medieval ones to the mainstream Victorian ones. Also really like God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen - very stirring. Oh, and I quite like O Holy Night but it has to be sung really well!

Unpopular opinion but I really dislike In the Bleak Midwinter - plodding and gloomy and too hymn-like for me. Least favourite has to be While Shepherds Watched their Flocks, which seems to go on, dirge-like, for about 57 verses.

The congregational hymn carols do go on a bit, yes, though I do enjoy the bit in While Shepherds Watched when it gets to “all meanly wrapped in swathing bands” and everyone stops singing for a second because they’re not sure how to pronounce “swathing”.

Oh Little Town if Bethlehem
Once in Royal David's City

I think Carol of the bells is a bit creepy and sinister.

Ooh I love a carol! Much prefer them to Mariah and wham! Mine are:-

Once in royal David’s City
Oh come all ye faithful
Bleak midwinter
Hark the hearalds

Good king Wenceslas

Many of my favourites have been mentioned but two unusual ones to throw into the mix: The Cherry Tree Carol (not sure if that truly counts)

and

How Far is it to Bethlehem? is so gentle and sweet.

@Johnnyfartpants no it was a school beginning with R. Never could reach the high C.

Far too many to list and many have been already been mentioned? but a few that haven't are:

Down in the Forest
I sing of a Maiden by Patrick Hadley
The Lamb
I wonder as I wander
O Little One Sweet
The French setting of Away in a Manger
The Holy Boy by John Ireland (not sure if that really counts as a Carol)

One I only came across recently is 'what child is this?' by Thomas Hewitt Jones.

I've probably missed some others.

I have a couple of CDs of carols which we always play while decorating the tree. Can't wait!

I wish I liked ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’, because I love Christina Rossetti.

I think it’s the ‘snow is falling, snow on snow, snooow on snoooooow.’ It irritates.

Sorry, Christina

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good King Wencelas
in the bleak midwinter

It was clearly a bad snow storm the year it was written

Clearly…😂

It was on a starry night, make me cry like a man child 😂

Me too. Exactly this.