It’s the most wonderful time of the year! I love the Christmas season because there is a festive feeling in the air. Families and communities come together to celebrate and strangers do nice things for one another. I typically spend most of the year thinking of unique and personalized items to get my family, and it can be so hard to wait until Christmas day to give it to them!
But the main reason that Christmas gets me so excited is simple: I love Jesus!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
We are so blessed to have such a loving God. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus was born to be our Savior and die for our sins. Our every disobedience is forgiven because Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice – he died for us! We get spend forever with our loved ones in heaven because of the gift of Jesus’ birth. What he did for us makes me continuously work to be a better person so I can honor his sacrifice and follow his teachings of kindness and giving.
The Christmas story is so uplifting and joyful, and so most of my favorite Christmas songs are ones that focus on the reason for all of the celebrations: Jesus’ birth. Music is a huge part of my life and I know I’m not alone in my love for Christmas music!
- Silent Night. At my church, we have a Christmas Eve service that starts at 11pm and ends at midnight. The hour is usually filled with lots of music and singing, with the final song being “Silent Night”. During that hymn, each person holds a little candle, and the flame is passed down the pews until everyone’s is lit. The overhead lights are turned off and we sing by glowing candlelight. It’s my favorite part of the service. My least favorite part is blowing the candles out at the end of the song – I just want the magic of the moment to last forever! I like to check the hymnal pages for wax drippings from previous years of singing “Silent Night”. I am a huge fan of Lindsey Stirling, a violinist, and she has a beautiful rendition of “Silent Night” on her YouTube channel. She made each audio track for the three violin and three voice parts.
- Mannheim Steamroller. At my parents’ house, we have a CD carousel that holds a bunch of CDs. They are divided into numbered sections, and at Christmastime we simply hit shuffle on block number 1 to get a taste of all of our Christmas albums. I have a lot of favorites in that block, but my favorite “artist” is Mannheim Steamroller. I love what they do to the classic Christmas songs; their music style is so unique that I can always pick it out of the crowd. Their version of “Deck The Halls” is pretty epic. The song I like best is a lesser known track called “Pat a Pan“. Whenever it comes on, I just want to do one of those dances you see in the “olden-time” movies where they stand in a line and bow and spin, like the ballroom dance they do in “Pride and Prejudice“, just more upbeat.
- Handel’s Messiah. I love these songs! I can’t pick just one, so I will list my favorites. I love the tune of “Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted”, but I think “For Unto Us A Child Is Born” is probably my favorite. I love the words from Isaiah 9:6 “and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” It’s such a powerful song! As is “Hallelujah”, but that’s a given!
- Ev’ry Valley Shall Be Exalted
- And The Glory Of The Lord
- O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion
- For Unto Us A Child Is Born
- Hallelujah
A simple watercolor painting I made last year.
- Sleigh Ride. My favorite non-religious Christmas song is “Sleigh Ride“, but with a catch. I prefer the song without the lyrics – only the instrumental version. This probably stems from the fact that we played this every year in high school band. (I played the flute!)
- “These Are The Special Times” Album – Celine Dion. I have been a life-long fan of Celine, and her Christmas album is nothing short of magical, in my opinion. You probably have heard the more popular songs on the album like “O Holy Night“, but I also enjoy the song “Les Cloches du Hamaeu“, which she recorded with her family. It’s a such a fun song that I haven’t heard elsewhere! The title translates to “The Bells of the Hamlet.” According to Wikipedia, it was originally written by Brahms, but I had a hard time finding much more information than that!
- Mariah Carey. I don’t listen to Mariah Carey’s regular music, but her Christmas album is gold! Can you believe it was released in 1994?? I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like “All I Want For Christmas Is You” or “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)“. What I love most about her Christmas album is the more traditional songs sung with a soulful choir. Have you ever heard “Jesus Oh What A Wonderful Child“? Do it. It will be sure to get you grooving with the Christmas spirit. After the song ends you will look down and wonder how on earth you ended up on a set of risers wearing a choir robe! Magic.
- Do You Hear What I Hear? There are many covers of this song out there but I’m partial to Vanessa Williams’ version. That’s probably because it’s the version that we have at home so it’s most familiar. I’ve heard it played on the radio, but they usually cut out my favorite part – the choir breakdown jam! (3:37-3:52 in the linked video) They don’t know what they’re missing!
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” – Barenaked Ladies ft. Sarah McLachlan I love this version! When I was looking it up just now to provide a link, I had a hard time finding it because I didn’t know who the artists were! I love the guitar and the harmonies, it makes it so fun!
- Celtic Holidays (Pandora). I love Celtic-style music, and I have a Celtic genre Pandora station that I love! (It’s actually where I first heard Lindsey Stirling!) Last year around the holidays, Pandora asked me if I was interested in listening to a Celtic holidays station since I already had a Celtic genre station. I couldn’t click that button fast enough! It’s a really great station for me because most of the songs are instrumental and more religious-centered (no Rudolph or Frosty on this channel, not that I don’t like those songs, sometimes I’m just not in the mood!) It’s a great channel for more relaxing Christmas songs, to help you focus on the true meaning of Christmas as you wrap your gifts! I definitely recommend starting a “Celtic Holidays” Pandora station and giving it a try!
- Lindsey Stirling. You guys may be able to tell that I love her music as well as her character, and she has some excellent Christmas songs on her channel that she has covered. I wouldn’t be surprised if she came out with a full album someday! (UPDATE: In October 2017, Lindsey released her Christmas album “Warmer in the Winter“. I love it! We saw her perform while on tour and we got to sit in the 2nd row! Dream come true. I enjoy every song on that album, but I think her version of “Carol of the Bells” is my favorite. I highly recommend you check it out!) Here is a link to her playlist on YouTube. Not all of the songs in the playlist are hers, some of them are by her friends, The Piano Guys, who are spectacular as well. I love her song, “Celtic Carol“, which is a medley she arranged with a Celtic flare. My favorite part of her version of “What Child Is This?” is the section starting at 2:06 in the video. Just glorious! Also, let me know if the music video for “Angels We Have Heard On High” from The Piano Guys makes you cry! The ending is so beautiful! Lindsey’s message at the end her of “Hallelujah” cover also makes me cry. She has such a wonderful soul.
That does it for my list of my favorite Christmas songs! Some on this list are full albums or genres, not specific songs, but it can’t be helped if I like every song on the album! I love most every Christmas song, but I chose to list the ones that really uplift me.
What are some of your favorite Christmas songs that get you in the holiday spirit? Did I list any of your favorites? Did you discover something new on this list that you like? Leave a comment!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
Flourish & Blogs 