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{{Short description|Music associated with Christmas}}
{{For|the 1940 compilation album|Christmas Music (album){{!}}''Christmas Music'' (album)}}
{{other uses|Christmas Album (disambiguation)|Christmas Song (disambiguation)|Christmas Songs (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}

[[File:Martha_Krabill%2C_vocal_soloist%2C_2010.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[United States Army Band|U.S Army Band]] performs a Christmas concert in 2010]]
'''Christmas music''' comprises a variety of [[Music genre|genre]]s of music regularly performed or heard around the [[Christmas and holiday season|Christmas season]]. Music associated with [[Christmas]] may be purely [[instrumental]], or, in the case of [[Christmas carol|carols]], may employ lyrics about [[Nativity of Jesus|the nativity]] of [[Jesus Christ]], traditions such as [[gift]]-giving and merrymaking, 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.

While most Christmas songs before the 20th century were of a [[gospel music|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 culture|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 (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]", as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous [[crooner]]s of the era, such as "[[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]]" and "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]", the latter of which remained the [[List of best-selling singles|best-selling single of all time]] as of 2018.<ref name="Guinness">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_5/page/187 |title=Guinness Book of Records |publisher=[[Jim Pattison Group]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-904994-67-1 |editor-last=[[Craig Glenday|Glenday, Craig]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessworldrec00guin_5/page/187 187]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Moore |first=Kimberly |date=December 20, 2011 |title=A Brief History of Holiday Music: Crooners, Movies, and Novelty Songs |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-musical-self/201112/brief-history-holiday-music-crooners-movies-and-novelty-songs |magazine=Psychology Today |access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref> ''[[Elvis' Christmas Album]]'' (1957) by [[Elvis Presley]] is the [[List of best-selling albums|best-selling Christmas album of all time]], having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/prospero/2018/11/27/the-rise-and-fall-of-christmas-music|title=The rise and fall of Christmas music|date=November 27, 2018|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The Economist}}</ref>

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; though the standard for most stations in the US is on or near [[Veterans Day]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Venta |first=Lance |date=2023-11-10 |title=iHeartMedia Launches Christmas Music On Over 85 Stations |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/260980/iheartmedia-launches-christmas-music-on-over-85-stations/ |access-date=2023-11-13 |website=Radio Insight |language=en-US}}</ref> some stations adopt the format as early as the day after [[Halloween]] (or, exceptionally rarely, even sooner)<ref>{{Cite web |last=Venta |first=Lance |date=2023-10-31 |title=No trick: WMXL becomes first all-Christmas station of 2023 |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/260482/no-trick-wmxl-becomes-first-all-christmas-station-of-2023/ |access-date=2023-10-31 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-01 |title=November Blizzard: Christmas Flips Are Busting Out All Over The Dial. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/november-blizzard-christmas-flips-are-busting-out-all-over-the-dial/article_e99915ba-78da-11ee-8cf1-5b191aace9dd.html |access-date=2023-11-01 |website=Insideradio.com |language=en}}</ref> 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 [[Christmastide|Christmas]]-[[Epiphanytide]] season.<ref name="Clancy2008">{{cite book |last1=Clancy |first1=Ronald M. |title=Sacred Christmas Music |date=2008 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company |isbn=978-1-4027-5811-9 |page=21 |language=en}}</ref>{{TOC limit|3}}

==History==
{{See also|Christmas}}

===Early music===
[[File:Pipetaborchristmasminstrel.png|right|upright|thumb|A Christmas minstrel playing pipe and tabor]]
Music associated with Christmas is thought to have its origins in 4th-century [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], in Latin-language [[hymn]]s such as ''[[Veni redemptor gentium]]''.<ref>Miles, Clement, ''Christmas customs and traditions'', Courier Dover Publications, 1976, {{ISBN|0-486-23354-5}}, p. 32</ref> By the 13th century, under the influence of [[Francis of Assisi]], the tradition of popular Christmas songs in regional native languages developed.<ref>Miles, pp. 31–37</ref> 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.<ref>Miles, pp. 47–48</ref> In the 16th century, various Christmas carols still sung to this day, including "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|The 12 Days of Christmas]]", "[[God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen]]", and "[[O Christmas Tree]]", first emerged.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Moore |first=Kimberly |date=November 29, 2011 |title=A Brief History of Holiday Music |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-musical-self/201111/brief-history-holiday-music-3-part-series |magazine=Psychology Today |access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref>

Music was an early feature of the [[Christmastide|Christmas season]] and its celebrations. The earliest examples are hymnographic works ([[chant]]s 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 [[Christmas carol|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.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Miles |first=Clement |url=https://archive.org/details/christmascustoms0000mile/page/47 |title=Christmas customs and traditions |publisher=Courier Dover Publications |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-486-23354-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/christmascustoms0000mile/page/47 47–48]}}</ref> 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 (liturgy)#Lutheranism|Mass]], in addition to spreading the practice of caroling outside the liturgy.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clancy |first1=Ronald M. |title=Sacred Christmas Music: The Stories Behind the Most Beloved Songs of Devotion |date=2008 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-4027-5811-9 |page=40 |language=en |quote=Luther sought reforms in music, as he sought change in theology, ethics, ritual, and art. He loved polyphony and wanted music that moved people by fusing faith and song. He encouraged a greater participation by the congregation in singing, and he simplified the music from choir plainsong to easy harmony … Luther published hundreds of hymn texts to be sung to popular melodies and simple chants. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Reformation extended the range of religious choral music beyond the liturgy, and the informal group singing of songs was highly encouraged, leading to a greater familiarity with Christmas hymns.}}</ref>

===Puritan prohibition===
During the [[Commonwealth of England]] government under [[Oliver Cromwell|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]].<ref name="Ban"/> 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.<ref name="Hutton">{{Cite book |last=Hutton |first=Ronald |title=The Stations of the Sun |publisher=Oxford |year=1996}}</ref> There is some debate as to the effectiveness of this ban, and whether or not it was enforced in the country.<ref name=Hutton/> 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.<ref name="Ban">{{cite news |title=When Christmas carols were banned |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20141219-when-christmas-carols-were-banned |access-date=February 22, 2023 |agency=BBC}}</ref>

Puritans generally disapproved of the celebration of Christmas—a trend that continually resurfaced in Europe and the US through the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries.<ref name="pennsylvania">{{Cite book |last=Shoemaker |first=Alfred L. |title=Christmas in Pennsylvania |year=1999 |location=Mechanicsburg, PA |page=xvii |orig-year=1959}}</ref>

===Royal restoration===
[[File:Kings College Chapeljh.jpg|thumb|[[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 of England|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.<ref name="Ban"/><ref name="Hutton" />

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]]".<ref name="PsychVictorian">{{Cite magazine |last=Moore |first=Kimberly |date=December 6, 2011 |title=A Brief History of Holiday Music: The 1800s and the Re-Invention of Christmas |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-musical-self/201112/brief-history-holiday-music-the-1800s-and-the-re-invention-christmas |magazine=Psychology Today |access-date=October 22, 2017}}</ref> 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''".<ref name="PsychVictorian" /> [[William Sandys (antiquarian)|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.<ref>{{cite book |first=Richard Michael |last=Kelly |title=A Christmas Carol |page=10 |publisher=Broadview Press |year=2003 |isbn=1-55111-476-3}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/content/articles/2005/12/16/faith_nine_lessons_feature.shtml |title=Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols |date=December 16, 2005 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hebert |first1=David |last2=Kallio |first2=Alexis Anja |last3=Odendaal |first3=Albi |year=2012 |title=NotSo ''Silent'' Night: Tradition, Transformation and Cultural Understandings of Christmas Music Events in Helsinki, Finland |journal=Ethnomusicology Forum |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=402–423 |doi=10.1080/17411912.2012.721525|s2cid=143629912 }}</ref> Christmas festivities, including music, are also celebrated in a more secular fashion by such institutions as the [[Santa Claus Village]], in [[Rovaniemi]], Finland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://santaclausvillage.info/|title=Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi in Lapland Finland Arctic Circle|website=Santa Claus Village Rovaniemi Finland}}</ref>

===Alms===
[[File:Nicolae Ionescu - Children carolers in Bucharest, 1929.jpg|thumb|right|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 [[English Restoration|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]]",<ref name="Oxford">{{Cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Jacqueline |title=Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore |last2=Roud |first2=Steve |publisher=Oxford |year=2000 |page=64}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Carvalho2016">{{cite web |last1=Carvalho |first1=Nirmala |title=Christians beaten while caroling in western India |url=https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/12/christians-beaten-caroling-western-india |publisher=[[Crux (online newspaper)|Crux]] |access-date=1 January 2023 |language=en |date=18 December 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Registrar |first1=India Office of the |title=Census of India, 1961 |date=1962 |publisher=[[Government of India]] |page=62 |language=en |quote=These carol singers collect voluntary contributions which are mostly utilised for charitable purposes. 25th, Christians without any exception attend the church, clad in new clothes . ... Alms are distributed to the poor.}}</ref>

===Church feasts===
{{See also|Liturgical year}}
[[File:RLR 3898 (5261831846).jpg|thumb|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 music|Baroque era]] to the 21st century have written [[Christmas cantata]]s and [[motet]]s. Some notable compositions include:
* [[Thomas Tallis]]: ''Mass "Puer natus est nobis"'' (1554)
* [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]]: ''[[O magnum mysterium (Palestrina)|O magnum mysterium]]'' (1569)
* [[Orlande de Lassus]]: ''[[Resonet in laudibus]]'' (1569)
* [[Heinrich Schütz]]: ''[[Weihnachtshistorie]]'' (1664)
* [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]: several [[Bach cantata|cantata]]s for [[Church cantata (Bach)#Christmas|Christmas to Epiphany]] and ''[[Christmas Oratorio]]'' (1734)
* [[Jakub Jan Ryba]]: ''[[Czech Christmas Mass]] "Hey, Master!"'' (1796)
* [[Anton Bruckner]]: ''[[Virga Jesse (Bruckner)|Virga Jesse floruit]]'' (1885)

==Classical music==
[[File:DSC 2693 (11406583246).jpg|thumb|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 (Handel)|Messiah]]'' are a fixture of Christmas celebrations in some countries,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/16/handels-messiah-classic-appeal-christmas |title=Messiah complex: why it's a joy to sing Handel's classic every Christmas |last=Whittall |first=Richard |date=December 16, 2014 |website=The Guardian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010094558/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/16/handels-messiah-classic-appeal-christmas |archive-date=October 10, 2019 |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> and although it was originally written for performance at [[Easter]], it covers aspects of the Biblical Christmas narrative.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/ |title=The Glorious History of Handel's Messiah |last=Kandell |first=Jonathan |website=Smithsonian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010095502/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-glorious-history-of-handels-messiah-148168540/ |archive-date=October 10, 2019 |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.london-handel-festival.com/about-handel/messiah/ |title=Messiah – London Handel Festival |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010095647/https://www.london-handel-festival.com/about-handel/messiah/ |archive-date=October 10, 2019 |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> Informal [[Scratch Messiah]] performances involving public participation are very popular in the Christmas season.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/hallelujah-it-s-song-time-6890943.html |title=Hallelujah! It's song time |last=Lebrecht |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Lebrecht |date=March 25, 2009 |website=London Evening Standard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010100417/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/hallelujah-it-s-song-time-6890943.html |archive-date=October 10, 2019 |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]'s ''[[Christmas Oratorio]]'' ({{Lang|de|Weihnachts-Oratorium}}, {{nowrap|BWV 248}}), written for Christmas 1734, describes the [[birth of Jesus]], the annunciation to the shepherds, the [[adoration of the shepherds]], the [[Feast of the Circumcision of Christ|circumcision and naming of Jesus]], the journey of the [[Magi]], and the adoration of the Magi.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.classicfm.com/composers/bach/music/christmas-oratorio/ |title=Bach - Christmas Oratorio |website=Classic FM |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320092732/http://www.classicfm.com/composers/bach/music/christmas-oratorio/ |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |access-date=October 10, 2019}}</ref> [[Antonio Vivaldi]] composed the Violin Concerto RV270 "''Il Riposo per il Santissimo Natale''" ("For the Most Holy Christmas"). [[Arcangelo Corelli]] composed the ''[[Christmas Concerto (Corelli)|Christmas Concerto]]'' in 1690. [[Peter Cornelius]] composed a cycle of six songs related to Christmas themes he called ''[[Weihnachtslieder, Op. 8 (Cornelius)|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)
* ''[[Christus (Mendelssohn)|Christus]]'' (1847) an unfinished oratorio by [[Felix Mendelssohn]]
* ''[[L'enfance du Christ]]'' (1853–54) by [[Hector Berlioz]]
* ''[[Oratorio de Noël]]'' (1858) by [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]
* ''[[The Nutcracker]]'' (1892) by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fisher |first=J. |title=Nutcracker Nation: How an Old World Ballet Became a Christmas Tradition in the New World |url=https://archive.org/details/nutcrackernation00jenn |url-access=registration |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2003 |location=New Haven}}</ref>
* ''[[Fantasia on Christmas Carols]]'' (1912) and ''[[Hodie]]'' (1954), both by [[Ralph Vaughan Williams]]
* ''[[A Ceremony of Carols]]'' (1942) by [[Benjamin Britten]].

==Christmas carols==
{{Main|Christmas carol}}
{{See also|List of Christmas carols}}
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2021}}
[[File:A choir of Natural History Museum, Science Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum staff members sing carols in the central hall of the Natural History Museum 02.jpg|thumb|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 carol]]s. 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:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www3.pair.com/montrsmu/carolslist.html |title=Carol Histories and Track List |publisher=pair.com |access-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref>
<ref name="things_2014_12_13_byu_edu">Burchett, Sarah: [https://universe.byu.edu/2014/12/13/13-things-you-didnt-know-about-your-favorite-christmas-songs/ "13 things you didn’t know about your favorite Christmas songs,"] December 13, 2014, ''[[The Daily Universe]],'' [[Brigham Young University]], retrieved December 8, 2023</ref><ref name="classics_2012_12_14_rutgers_edu">Stetler, Carrie: [https://www.rutgers.edu/news/christmas-song-classics-why-some-tunes-endure "Christmas Song Classics: Why Some Tunes Endure,"] December 14, 2012, ''[[Rutgers Today]],'' [[Rutgers University]], retrieved December 8, 2023</ref>
{{listen
 | type = music
 | filename = Christmas_music2004.ogg
 | title = 'A collection of traditional Christmas music'
 | description = performed by James D. Blodget on a Roland U-20 synthesizer, December 23, 2004.
 | format = [[Ogg]]
 | filename2 = Joy-to-the-World_KB.ogg
 | title2 = "Joy to the World"
 | description2 = Performed a cappella by Kim Butler on December 15, 2006.
 | format2 = [[Ogg]]
 | filename3 = I_Saw_Three_Ships.ogg
 | title3 = "I Saw Three Ships"
 | description3 = Tune of traditional English Christmas carol transcribed by CambridgeBayWeather.
 | format3 = [[Ogg]]
 | filename4 = El Noi de la Mare (guitar).ogg
 | title4 = "El Noi de la Mare"
 | description4 = A traditional [[Catalonia|Catalan]] Christmas carol, arranged for guitar.
 | format4 = [[Ogg]]
}}

* "[[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 (song)|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 Tannenbaum|O Christmas Tree]]" (''O Tannenbaum'')
* "[[Adeste Fideles|O Come, All Ye Faithful]]" (''Adeste Fideles'')
* "[[O come, O come, Emmanuel]]"
* "[[O Holy Night]]" (''Cantique de Noël'')
* "[[O Little Town of Bethlehem]]"
* "[[Once in Royal David's City]]"
* "[[Silent Night]]" (''Stille Nacht, heilige Nach''t)
* "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|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]]"

[[File:Kolędnicy 2008.JPG|thumb|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|date=June 2017}}

===Early secular Christmas songs===
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
Among the earliest secular Christmas songs was "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|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 Tannenbaum|O Christmas Tree]]," written in 1824 but only made about a Christmas tree after being translated from its original German.

===Published Christmas music===
[[File:Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1954.jpg|thumb|[[Ralph Vaughan Williams]] (1872–1958), a British composer who helped to popularise many medieval and folk carols for the modern age<ref name="Heffer" />]]
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'' ([[Henry Ramsden Bramley|Bramley]] and [[John Stainer|Stainer]], 1871), played an important role in widening the popular appeal of carols.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Studwell |first1=William E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ae7mH0jR_k4C&q=oxford%20book%20of%20carols%20vaughan%20williams&pg=PA51 |title=Publishing Glad Tidings : Essays on Christmas Music |last2=Jones |first2=Dorothy E. |date=1998 |publisher=Haworth Press |isbn=9780789003980 |location=New York [u.a.] |access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Heffer">{{Cite book |last=Heffer |first=Simon |title=Vaughan Williams |date=2014 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=9780571315482 |chapter=3. A Search for a Style |access-date=October 10, 2016 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eFGzAwAAQBAJ&q=oxford%20book%20of%20carols%20vaughan%20williams&pg=PT47}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordbookofcaro00dear |title=The Oxford Book of Carols |date=1964 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780193533158 |editor-last=Shaw |editor-first=Martin |location=Oxford |editor-last2=Dearmer |editor-first2=Percy |editor-last3=Vaughan Williams |editor-first3=Ralph |url-access=registration}}</ref> 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.<ref name="morris-obit-telegraph">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11444855/Christopher-Morris-musician-obituary.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11444855/Christopher-Morris-musician-obituary.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Christopher Morris, musician - obituary |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=October 4, 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

* ''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===
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 [[motet]]s was:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leach |first=Ben |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/3631068/In-the-Bleak-Midwinter-voted-greatest-carol-of-all-time.html |title=In the Bleak Midwinter voted greatest carol of all time |date=December 7, 2008 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=October 4, 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170320174325/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/3631068/In-the-Bleak-Midwinter-voted-greatest-carol-of-all-time.html |archive-date=March 20, 2017 |location=London}}</ref><ref name="bbc-pr">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2008/11_november/in_the_bleak_midwinter.shtml |title=BBC Press Office - In The Bleak Midwinter hits top spot as greatest carol ever |publisher=BBC |access-date=October 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004081048/https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/2008/11_november/in_the_bleak_midwinter.shtml |archive-date=October 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.classical-music.com/issue/december-2008 |title=A Christmas special: 50 Greatest Carols |date=December 2008 |work=BBC Music Magazine |access-date=October 4, 2019}}</ref>

# "[[In the Bleak Midwinter]]" – [[Harold Darke]]
# "[[In Dulci Jubilo]]" – traditional
# "[[A Spotless Rose]]" – [[Herbert Howells]]
# "[[Bethlehem Down]]" – [[Peter Warlock]]
# "[[Coventry Carol|Lully, Lulla]]" – traditional
# "[[Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day]]"
# "[[Trinity Carol Roll|There Is No Rose]]" - traditional (15th c.)
# "[[O Come, All Ye Faithful]]"
# "[[Of the Father's Heart Begotten]]"
# "What Sweeter Music" – [[John Rutter]]

==Popular Christmas songs==
===United States===
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2020}}
{{See also|List of Christmas hit singles in the United States|Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States|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 Comin' 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 by [[Eddie Cantor]], live, 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 [[Glen Campbell|Glenn Campbell]]. [[Bruce Springsteen]] recorded a rock rendition in December 1975.

Long-time Christmas classics from prior to the "rock era"<ref>Traditionally defined as being from 1955, the year that "[[Rock Around the Clock]]" by [[Bill Haley and the Comets]] became the first undisputably [[rock and roll]] record to hit the top of the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]]</ref> 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|date=November 2020}} include "[[Wonderful Christmastime]]" by [[Paul McCartney]], "[[All I Want for Christmas Is You]]" by [[Mariah Carey]] and [[Walter Afanasieff]] and "[[Last Christmas]]" by [[Wham!]]. Radio industry writer Sean Ross noted after the 2004 holiday season that it usually takes about ten years for a song to become a Christmas standard.<ref name=ross2005>{{Cite web |last=Ross |first=Sean |date=2005-01-13 |title=What We Learned From Testing Christmas Music In 2004 |url=https://www.edisonresearch.com/what_we_learned/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Edison Research |language=en-US}}</ref>

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 {{Years ago|95}} 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 song]]s that used the holiday as a target for satire and source for comedy. Exceptions such as "[[The Christmas Shoes (song)|The Christmas Shoes]]" (2000) have re-introduced Christian themes as complementary to the secular Western themes, and myriad traditional carol [[cover version]]s by various artists have explored virtually all [[music genre]]s. The 1980s and 1990s saw a revival of interest in instrumental Christmas music, including the [[New Age music|New Age]] [[synthpop]] of [[Mannheim Steamroller]] and the [[symphonic metal]] of [[Trans-Siberian Orchestra]], particularly among older listeners.<ref name=ross2005/>

====Most-performed Christmas songs====
{{Quote box
|width=30%
|align=right
|quote="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."|source=[[Paul Williams (songwriter)|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.<ref name="ASCAP 2016">{{Cite web |url=https://www.ascap.com/press/2016/11-21-top-holiday-songs |title="Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" Is Most-Played Holiday Song of the Last 50 Years |publisher=ASCAP |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>

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 (song)|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.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=December 4, 1974 |title=Country Holiday Product Scarce |pages=42 |magazine=Billboard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fQkEAAAAMBAJ&q=loretta+lynn+shadrack+the+black+reindeer&pg=PA42 |access-date=April 26, 2022}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Most performed Christmas songs in 2015 according to ASCAP
|-
! Rank !! Song !! Composer(s) !! Year !! Type
|-
| 1 || "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]" || {{Sort|coots|[[J. Fred Coots]]}}, [[Haven Gillespie]] || 1934 || Mythical
|-
| 2 || "[[Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]]" || {{Sort|blane|[[Ralph Blane]]}}, [[Hugh Martin]] || 1944 || Celebratory/Sentimental
|-
| 3 || "[[Winter Wonderland]]" || {{Sort|bernard|[[Felix Bernard]]}}, [[Richard Bernhard Smith|Richard B. Smith]] || 1934 || Seasonal
|-
| 4 || "[[Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!]]" || {{Sort|cahn|[[Sammy Cahn]]}}, [[Jule Styne]] || 1945 || Seasonal
|-
| 5 || "{{Sort|christ|[[The Christmas Song]]}}" || {{Sort|tormé|[[Mel Tormé]]}}, [[Robert Wells (songwriter)|Robert Wells]] || 1944 || Traditions
|-
| 6 || "[[Jingle Bell Rock]]" || {{Sort|beal|Joseph Carleton Beal}}, James Ross Boothe || 1957 || Celebratory/Seasonal
|-
| 7 || "[[It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year]]" || {{Sort|pola|[[Edward Pola]]}}, [[George Wyle]] || 1963 || Seasonal/Traditions
|-
| 8 || "[[Sleigh Ride]]" || {{Sort|anderson|[[Leroy Anderson]]}}, [[Mitchell Parish]] || 1948 || Seasonal/Birthday
|-
| 9 || "[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (song)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]]" || {{Sort|marks|[[Johnny Marks]]}} || 1939/1949 || Mythical
|-
| 10 || "[[It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas]]" || {{Sort|mered|[[Meredith Willson]]}} || 1951 || Traditions/Celebratory
|-
| 11 || "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]" || {{Sort|berlin|[[Irving Berlin]]}} || 1940 || Seasonal/Sentimental
|-
| 12 || "{{Sort|holly|[[A Holly Jolly Christmas]]}}" || {{Sort|marks|[[Johnny Marks]]}} || 1964/65 || Traditions/Celebratory
|-
| 13 || "[[Carol of the Bells]]" || {{Sort|wilhousky|[[Peter J. Wilhousky]]}} || 1936 || Celebratory
|-
| 14 || "[[Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree]]" || {{Sort|marks|[[Johnny Marks]]}} || 1958 || Traditions
|-
| 15 || "[[All I Want for Christmas Is You]]" || {{Sort|carey|[[Mariah Carey]]}}, [[Walter Afanasieff]] || 1994 || Sentimental
|-
| 16 || "[[Frosty the Snowman]]" || {{Sort|nelson|[[Steve Nelson (songwriter)|Steve Nelson]]}}, [[Walter E. Rollins]] || 1950 || Mythical
|-
| 17 || "[[Blue Christmas (song)|Blue Christmas]]" || {{Sort|hayes|Billy Hayes}}, Jay W. Johnson || 1957 || Traditions
|-
| 18 || "{{Sort|home|[[Home for the Holidays (song)|(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays]]}}" || {{Sort|allen|[[Robert Allen (musicwriter)|Bob Allen]]}}, [[Al Stillman]] || 1954 || Traditions/Sentimental
|-
| 19 || "{{Sort|little|[[The Little Drummer Boy]]}}" || {{Sort|davis|[[Katherine K. Davis]]}}, Henry V. Onorati, [[Harry Simeone]] || 1941 || Christian-based
|-
| 20 || "[[Do You Hear What I Hear?]]" || {{Sort|baker|[[Gloria Shayne Baker]]}}, [[Noël Regney]] || 1962 || Traditions
|-
| 21 || "[[Silver Bells]]" || {{Sort|livingston|[[Jay Livingston]]}}, [[Ray Evans]] || 1950 || Traditions
|-
| 22 || "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]" || {{Sort|loesser|[[Frank Loesser]]}} || 1948 || Seasonal
|-
| 23 || "[[I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus]]" || {{Sort|connor|[[Tommie Connor]]}} || 1952 || Novelty
|-
| 24 || "[[Feliz Navidad (song)|Feliz Navidad]]" || {{Sort|felic|[[José Feliciano]]}} || 1970 || Celebratory
|-
| 25 || "[[Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24]]" || {{Sort|paul|[[Jon Oliva]]}}, [[Paul O'Neill (rock producer)|Paul O'Neill]], [[Robert Kinkel]] || 1995 || [[Historical fiction]]
|-
| 26 || "[[Last Christmas]]" || {{Sort|michael|[[George Michael]]}} || 1984 || Sentimental
|-
| 27 || "[[Here Comes Santa Claus|Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane)]]" || {{Sort|autry|[[Gene Autry]]}}, [[Oakley Haldeman]] || 1947 || Mythical/Christian-based
|-
| 28 || "[[Santa Baby]]" || {{Sort|javits|Joan Ellen Javits}}, Philip Springer, Tony Springer, and [[Fred Ebb]] || 1953 || Novelty
|-
| 29 || "[[Happy Holiday (song)|Happy Holiday]]" || {{Sort|berlin|[[Irving Berlin]]}} || 1948 || Celebratory
|-
| 30 || "[[Wonderful Christmastime]]" || {{Sort|mccart|[[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.''<ref name="ASCAP 2016"/>
* 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 boomer]]s' childhoods".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://xkcd.com/988 |title=xkcd "Traditions" |access-date=August 22, 2020}}</ref>
* 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|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] top 10 for the first time in 2017,<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8070893/mariah-carey-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-hot-100-top-10 |title=Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Hits Hot 100's Top 10 for First Time, 'Perfect' Still No. 1 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref> and was named "the UK's favourite Christmas song" the same year by ''[[The Independent]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/best-christmas-song-mariah-carey-pogues-wham-wizzard-slade-academic-study-glasgow-university-a8107206.html |title=Mariah Carey's 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' is officially the best festive song |date=December 13, 2017 |work=The Independent |access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref> Troy Powers and Andy Stone wrote a song [[All I Want for Christmas Is You (Vince Vance & The Valiants song)|with the same title]] and theme,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bayoubuzz.com/dir/index.php/item/887-vince-vance-interview-christmas-and-new-orleans |title=Vince Vance Interview, Christmas And New Orleans |last=Sabludowsky |first=Stephen |website=bayoubuzz.com |access-date=January 7, 2020}}</ref> 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]]".<ref name="Whitburn">{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |title=Christmas in the Charts (1920-2004) |publisher=Record Research Inc. |year=2004 |isbn=0-89820-161-6 |location=Wisconsin |page=63}}</ref>
* 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kurtz |first=Steve |url=http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/12/21/jewish-composers-who-wrote-your-favorite-christmas-songs.html |title=The Jewish composers who wrote your favorite Christmas songs |date=December 21, 2017 |access-date=December 23, 2017 |work=Fox News}}</ref>
* 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 (song)|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 (music)|arrangement]].

===Christmas song surveys===
In 2007 surveys of United States radio listeners by two different research groups,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Farhi |first=Paul |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121302192.html |title=All I Want for Christmas Is Not To Hear That Song |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=December 14, 2007 |access-date=December 24, 2017 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> the most liked songs were standards such as [[Bing Crosby]]'s "[[White Christmas (song)|White Christmas]]" (1942), [[Nat King Cole]]'s "[[The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)|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 (War Is Over)|Happy Xmas]]" (1971), scored well in one study. Also "loved" were [[Johnny Mathis]]'s "[[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 Comin' 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 [[The Singing Dogs|Carl Weissmann's Singing Dogs]], a revolutionary novelty song originally released in 1955, and re-released as an edited version in 1970.<ref name=":1" /> A 2004 focus group from Edison, conducted solely among the [[key demographic]] of women age 30 to 49, listed "Jingle Bells?," the Singing Dogs "Jingle Bells," the ''South Park'' "O Holy Night" rendition, a [[Guido subculture|Guido]] parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and "[[Blue Christmas (song)|Blue Christmas]]" as performed by [[Porky Pig]] impersonator Seymour Swine.<ref name=ross2005/>

''[[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.<ref name="RSS">{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/the-greatest-rock-and-roll-christmas-songs-20101216/darlene-love-christmas-baby-please-come-home-0546795 |title=The Greatest Rock and Roll Christmas Songs |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=December 16, 2010 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=December 23, 2010}}</ref> Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You", co-written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, was No. 1 on ''Billboard''<nowiki/>'s Holiday Digital Songs chart in December 2013.<ref name="Slate">{{Cite news |last=Klimek |first=Chris |url=http://www.slate.com/articles/life/holidays/2013/12/new_christmas_songs_from_kelly_clarkson_and_mary_j_blige_won_t_become_holiday.html |title=All I Want for Christmas Is a New Christmas Song 2.5k 342 252 The holiday-song canon is closed. Why? |date=December 9, 2013 |work=Slate |access-date=December 21, 2013}}</ref> "[[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.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4101207.stm |title=Pogues track wins Christmas poll |date=December 16, 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref>

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 Ciccone|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]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Falcon |first=Russell |date=2022-12-03 |title=What's the most hated Christmas song? |url=https://www.wivb.com/news/national/whats-the-most-hated-christmas-song/ |access-date=2022-12-04 |website=[[Nexstar Media Group]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

====Pinnacle Media Worldwide survey====
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&B" fans liked the [[Jackson 5]]'s "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' 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===
====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 [[List of Christmas number one singles (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 (band)|Band Aid]]'s 1984 song "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" is the [[UK Singles Chart#Best-selling singles|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.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Martin Chilton|date=2011-12-15|title=Fairytale Of New York is true sound of Christmas|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8957971/Fairytale-Of-New-York-is-true-sound-of-Christmas.html|access-date=September 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111215120515/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/music-news/8957971/Fairytale-Of-New-York-is-true-sound-of-Christmas.html |archive-date=December 15, 2011|work= The Telegraph |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4101207.stm |title=Pogues track wins Christmas poll |date=December 16, 2004 |work=BBC News |access-date=September 22, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4533030.stm |title=Fairytale still the festive pick |date=December 15, 2005 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 19, 2005}}</ref> 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 (band)|Mud]] all remain hugely popular.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/slade/32997 |title=UK's most popular Christmas song revealed |date=December 6, 2007 |website=NME |access-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref>

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:<ref>{{Cite press release|title=Fairytale of New York most popular Christmas song|url=https://www.prsformusic.com/press/2012/fairytale-of-new-york-most-popular-christmas-song|date=December 14, 2012|access-date=2023-01-01|website=[[PRS for Music]]|language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Rank !! Song title !! Composer(s) !! Performer(s) !! Year
|-
| 1 || "[[Fairytale of New York]]" || {{Sort|finer|[[Jem Finer]]}} and [[Shane MacGowan]] || {{Sort|pogues|[[The Pogues]]}} with [[Kirsty MacColl]] || 1987
|-
| 2 || "[[All I Want for Christmas Is You (Mariah Carey song)|All I Want for Christmas Is You]]" || {{Sort|carey|[[Mariah Carey]]}} and [[Walter Afanasieff]] || {{Sort|carey|Mariah Carey}} || 1994
|-
| 3 || "[[Do They Know It's Christmas?]]" || {{Sort|geld|[[Bob Geldof]]}} and [[Midge Ure]] || [[Band Aid (band)|Band Aid]] || 1984
|-
| 4 || "[[Last Christmas]]" || {{Sort|micha|[[George Michael]]}} || [[Wham!]] || 1984
|-
| 5 || "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]" || {{Sort|coots|[[John Frederick Coots]]}}, [[Haven Gillespie]] || {{Sort|reser|[[Harry Reser]]}} || 1934
|-
| 6 || "[[Do You Hear What I Hear?]]" || {{Sort|regney|[[Noel Regney]]}}, Gloria Shayn || {{Sort|crosby|[[Bing Crosby]]}} || 1962
|-
| 7 || "[[Happy Christmas (War Is Over)]]" || {{Sort|lenn|[[John Lennon]]}} || {{Sort|lenn|John Lennon}} || 1971
|-
| 8 || "[[Wonderful Christmastime]]" || {{Sort|mcca|[[Paul McCartney]]}} || {{Sort|mcca|Paul McCartney}} || 1979
|-
| 9 || "[[I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday]]" || {{Sort|wood|[[Roy Wood]]}} || [[Wizzard]] || 1973
|-
| 10 || "[[Merry Xmas Everybody]]" || {{Sort|hold|[[Noddy Holder]]}}, [[Jim Lea (musician)|Jim Lea]]|| [[Slade]] || 1973
|}

Included in the 2009 and 2008 lists are such other titles as [[Jona Lewie]]'s "[[Stop the Cavalry]]", [[Bruce Springsteen]]'s "[[Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town]]", [[Elton John]]'s "[[Step into Christmas]]", [[Mud (band)|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 (song)|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".<ref>{{Cite news |last=McCrum |first=Kirstie |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/best-christmas-songs-adults-children-11736486?service=responsive |title=Best Christmas songs to get adults and children in the festive spirit |date=December 24, 2017 |work=Mirror |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />
{{Quote box
|width=30%
|align=right
|quote="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."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx |title=PRS for Music |date=December 5, 2009 |publisher=PRS for Music |access-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref> |source=Ellis Rich, Chairman of PRS for Music}}

====Christmas Number Ones====
{{See also|List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number ones|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 [[List of UK Singles Chart Christmas number twos|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/in-the-mix/2011/12/13/will-christmas-number-one-hopes-the-w-factor-the-wombles-or-mw-factor-the-military-wives-beat-the-x-factor-100252-29942852/ |title=Will Christmas Number One hopes 'The W Factor' (The Wombles) or 'MW Factor' (The Military Wives) beat The X Factor? |last=Shennan |first=Paddy |date=December 13, 2011 |website=Liverpool Echo |access-date=August 23, 2012}}</ref><ref name="cn1-Choir">{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16285101 |title=Military Wives Choir capture Christmas number one |date=December 25, 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 25, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sexton |first=Paul |date=December 23, 2011 |title=Military Wives & Italian Donkey in Race for U.K.'s No. 1 Christmas Single |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/464672/military-wives-italian-donkey-in-race-for-uks-no-1-christmas-single |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 25, 2011}}</ref>

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 (band)|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; it eventually reached Christmas number one in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Griffiths|first=George|title=Christmas Number 1 2023: Wham! make history as Last Christmas finally secures festive top spot for the first time|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/christmas-number-1-2023-wham-last-christmas-makes-chart-history-andrew-ridgeley/|website=[[Official Charts]]|date=22 December 2023}}</ref>

[[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 five 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 2022 (all five of LadBaby's Christmas number-ones were [[parody music|parodies]] of other popular songs that included a [[running gag]] mentioning [[sausage roll]]s). "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]" is the only recording to have ever been Christmas number one twice, in both 1975 and 1991.<ref>{{Cite news|author= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/may/08/3 |title=Bohemian Rhapsody named favourite song |date=May 8, 2002 |work=The Guardian |access-date=December 20, 2018 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 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 show]]s 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 (UK TV series)|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]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm |title=Rage win Christmas chart battle |date=December 20, 2009 |work=BBC News |access-date=December 20, 2018}}</ref> In 2011, "[[Wherever You Are (2011 song)|Wherever You Are]]", the single from a choir of military wives assembled by the TV series ''[[The Choir (TV series)|The Choir]]'', earned the Christmas number-one single in Britain—upsetting ''X Factor'' winners [[Little Mix]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16285101 |title=Military Wives Choir captures Christmas number one |date=December 25, 2011 |work=BBC News |access-date=January 7, 2020 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> With the Military Wives Choir single not being released in Ireland, Little Mix won Christmas number-one in Ireland that year.{{Citation needed|date=January 2020}}

===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 [[Christmas and holiday season|Christmastime]] often go to [[Bondi Beach]] where tens of thousands gather on Christmas Day.
[[File:Blandfordia nobilis Berowra Valley.JPG|thumbnail|right|upright|''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 (broadcaster)|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 (entertainer)|Colin Buchanan]]'s "Aussie Jingle Bells", and the "Australian Twelve Days of Christmas",<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/christmas-season-celebrations |title=Christmas season celebrations in Australia |website=australia.gov.au |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |location=Australia |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160402150537/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/christmas-season-celebrations |archive-date=April 2, 2016 |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref> proudly proclaim the differing traditions Down Under. A verse from "Aussie Jingle Bells" makes the point:
<poem>
Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
[[swagman|Swaggie]] climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas Day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!<ref>[http://silver-mg.com/Xmas/Aussie_Christmas.htm Merry Christmas From Australia] website by 'Silver'.</ref>
</poem>

"The [[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|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 [[numbat]]s nagging, 10 lizards leaping, 9 [[wombat]]s working, 8 [[dingo]]es digging, 7 possums playing, 6 [[brolga]]s dancing, 5 kangaroos, 4 koalas cuddling, 3 [[kookaburra]]s laughing, 2 pink [[galah]]s, and an [[emu]] up a gum tree."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://alldownunder.com/australian-music-songs/twelve-days-of-christmas.htm |title=Australian version of the song Twelve Days of Christmas |website=ALLdownunder |access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref>

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 (singer)|John Williamson]], "Go Santa, Go" by [[The Wiggles]], and "Six White Boomers" by [[Russel Coight]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lowry |first=Bryce |url=http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/10-greatest-ever-australian-christmas-songs/ |title=10 greatest ever Australian Christmas songs |date=December 12, 2017 |work=Australian Times |access-date=December 23, 2017}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|text=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.<ref name="Anderson">{{Cite web |url=https://dailyreview.com.au/how-to-make-gravy-australias-only-christmas-carol/1555/ |title=How To Make Gravy: Australia's only Christmas carol? Daily Review: Film, stage and music reviews, interviews and more. |last=Anderson |first=Ben |date=2016-12-23 |website=dailyreview.com.au |access-date=2017-12-23}}</ref>|sign=Ben Anderson|source=''[[Daily Review]]''|title=}}

"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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Slater |first1=Joe |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/40132773 |title=My little Christmas belle |last2=McAlister |first2=Ward |date=1909 |publisher=Melbourne : published by A.M. Dinsdale by arrangement with Mr. Joe Slater}}</ref> Whereas "The Holly and The Ivy" (1937) by Australian Louis Lavater (1867–1953) mentions northern hemisphere foliage.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-174316239 |title=The holly and the ivy [music] : Christmas carol |last=Lavater |first=Louis |website=TROVE: National Library of Australia |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref>

Australian singer-songwriter [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|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:

{{Blockquote|text=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.<ref name="Anderson" />|sign=Nicholas Brown|source=[[Australian National University]]}}

===Philippines===
{{further|List of Filipino Christmas carols and songs|Christmas in the Philippines}}

{{expand section|date=December 2023}}
The Philippines, a tropical country, has a long tradition of Christmas music influenced by its climate and cultural traditions. Originally building from Spanish and American influences, Filipinos has developed its own Christmas music traditions. These began as far back as 1933, with carols written by Vicente D. Rubil and [[Levi Celerio]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Medina |first=Aaron |date=2018-03-18 |title=A history of our favorite Filipino Christmas carols – Ateneo Celadon |url=https://elements.ateneo-celadon.org/christmas-in-our-hearts-and-the-history-of-modern-philippine-christmas-carols/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |language=en-US}}</ref> Most Filipino Christmas music is written in the [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]] language, and some in English and other [[languages of the Philippines|Philippine languages]].

Most Filipino Christmas songs describe the local Christmas traditions and traditions such as caroling, ''[[parol]]'', [[Simbang Gabi]]/[[Misa de Gallo]], returning to one's hometown for the holidays and the [[Nochebuena]]. Songs can be celebratory or sentimental, with the sentimental songs aimed toward [[overseas Filipinos]] who long for the Christmas season in the Philippines. Other songs describe the Biblical narrative of Christmas or call to love and charity. The most popular Filipino Christmas song is [[Jose Mari Chan|Jose Mari Chan's]] "[[Christmas in Our Hearts]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hicap |first=Jonathan |title=Jose Mari Chan, Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' most streamed holiday artist, song in PH |url=https://mb.com.ph/2023/12/18/jose-mari-chan-mariah-carey-s-all-i-want-for-christmas-is-you-most-streamed-holiday-artist-song-in-ph |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=Manila Bulletin |language=en}}</ref> The success of that song led to a Christmas album from Chan with the same name, which went on to become the best-selling album in [[Original Pilipino Music]] (OPM) music with more than 800,000 albums sold.

Radio stations in the Philippines usually play Christmas music, both local and foreign, as early as September up to Christmas Day or New Year's Eve, but Philippine radio stations usually do not switch to an all-Christmas format, instead interspersing Christmas music onto their regular music programming.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Casal |first=Marj |date=2017-09-26 |title=Why does Christmas in the Philippines start in September? |url=https://www.rappler.com/brandrap/travel-and-food/183411-shakeys-ber-bundle-christmas/ |access-date=2023-12-23 |website=RAPPLER |language=en-US}}</ref> Major television networks in the Philippines also have a tradition of producing Christmas-themed [[station identification|station IDs]], which take the form of promotional music videos, some of which became popular such as "[[Star ng Pasko]]" and "Thank You, Thank You, Ang Babait Ninyo" produced for [[ABS-CBN]].<ref name=":5" />

===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 Ramsey Murray|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 (rockabilly singer)|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 (composer)|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's Three Blazers|Johnny Moore]], whose group originally recorded it in 1947, featuring singer and pianist [[Charles Brown (musician)|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), [[The Little Drummer Boy|"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|date=April 2023}} include:

====1950s====
* 1950: "[[(Everybody's Waitin' for) The Man with the Bag]]", written by [[Irving Taylor (songwriter)|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 (song)|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 [[Chuck Berry]] (though [[Johnny Marks]] successfully took songwriting credit on [[derivative work]] grounds in a lawsuit),<ref>{{cite web |title=140-Run!-Rudolph,-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer-and-the-copyright-mystery|url=http://www.crlf.de/ChuckBerry/blog/archives/140-Run!-Rudolph,-the-Red-Nosed-Reindeer-and-the-copyright-mystery.html |access-date=1 April 2022 }}</ref> 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====
* 1960: "Caroling, Caroling", written by [[Alfred Burt]] in 1953; popularized by Nat King Cole on ''[[The Magic of Christmas (Nat King Cole album)|The Magic of Christmas]]''.
* 1960: "[[Please Come Home for Christmas]]", written by [[Charles Brown (musician)|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 (song)|Must Be Santa]]", written by Hal Moore and Bill Fredericks;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=1026080&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |title=Must Be Santa |website=BMI Repertoire |publisher=[[Broadcast Music Incorporated]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714164530/http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyID=1026080&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |access-date=December 3, 2011}}</ref> first released by [[Mitch Miller]];<ref name="Billboard">{{Cite magazine |date=November 7, 1960 |title=Reviews of This Week's Singles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eR0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA46 |magazine=The Billboard |page=46 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=December 3, 2011}}</ref> [[Tommy Steele]]'s cover of the song reaching No. 40 on the [[UK Singles Chart]] the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/tommy%20steele/ |title=Tommy Steele |website=UK Chart Archive |publisher=Official Charts Company |access-date=December 3, 2011}}</ref>
* 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 [[Santa Claus's reindeer|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 (bandleader)|Les Brown]]; released by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and [[Fred Waring]]'s Pennsylvanians on ''[[12 Songs of Christmas (Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Fred Waring album)|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 (song)|Pretty Paper]]" by [[Willie Nelson]]; sung by [[Roy Orbison]]. Nelson had a hit with his own song in 1978.
* 1964: "[[Silver and Gold (Burl Ives song)|Silver and Gold]]", written by Johnny Marks; sung by [[Burl Ives]] on the Rankin-Bass Christmas special ''[[Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)|Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]].''
* 1964: "[[Babes in Toyland (operetta)#Musical numbers|Toyland]]" written by [[Victor Herbert]] and [[Glen McDonough]] for the [[operetta]] [[Babes in Toyland (operetta)|''Babes in Toyland'']] (originally produced in 1903); released by [[Doris Day]] on ''[[The Doris Day Christmas Album]]''.
* 1964: "[[Claude Thornhill#Cover versions of "Snowfall"|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 (song)|My Favorite Things]]", written by [[Richard Rodgers]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Oscar Hammerstein]] for the 1959 musical, ''[[The Sound of Music]]''; recorded by [[Diana Ross and the Supremes]] on ''[[Merry Christmas (The Supremes album)|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 (musical)|Mame]]'', and first performed by [[Angela Lansbury]] in that 1966 production; popularly covered by [[Percy Faith]] & His Orchestra on ''Christmas Is... Percy Faith.''
* 1966: "The Happiest Christmas Tree", written by Cathy Lynn; recorded by Nat King Cole.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/the-happiest-christmas-tree-mt0054632991 |title=The Happiest Christmas Tree - Nat King Cole - Song Info |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/christmas-album-2-mw0001657266 |title=Christmas Album [#2] - Nat King Cole {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=December 21, 2017}}</ref>
* 1967: "[[Snoopy's Christmas]]", written by [[George David Weiss]] and [[Hugo & 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====
* 1970: "[[Give Love on Christmas Day]]", written by [[The Corporation (record production team)|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 (musician)|Richard Carpenter]] with lyrics by [[Frank Pooler]]; released by [[the Carpenters]] as a single (re-released 1974 & 1977); remixed on ''[[Christmas Portrait]]'' in 1978 with new vocal by [[Karen Carpenter]].
* 1970: "[[This Christmas (Donny Hathaway song)|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 (Joni Mitchell song)|River]]" written by [[Joni Mitchell]]; released by her on ''[[Blue (Joni Mitchell album)|Blue]].''
* 1973: "[[Step into Christmas]]", written by [[Elton John]] and [[Bernie Taupin]]; released by John as a stand-alone single (with "Ho! Ho! Ho! (Who'd Be A Turkey At Christmas" on B-side).
* 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 Kijé (Prokofiev)|Lieutenant Kijé]] Suite'', written for 1934 [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] film, ''[[Lieutenant Kijé (film)|Lieutenant Kijé]]''
* 1975: "[[A Spaceman Came Travelling]]", written by Christopher Davison; released under Davison's stage name [[Chris de Burgh]] as a single, taken from his album ''[[Spanish Train and Other Stories]]''. 
* 1976: "[[When a Child Is Born#Johnny Mathis version|When a Child is Born]]" (original melody titled "[[Soleado]]"), written by [[Daniel Sentacruz Ensemble|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 (song)|Celebrate Me Home]]", written by [[Kenny Loggins]] and [[Bob James (musician)|Bob James]]; recorded by Loggins as title track of his debut solo album ''[[Celebrate Me Home]]''.
* 1977: "[[Father Christmas (song)|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 (composer)|Ian Fraser]], [[Larry Grossman (composer)|Larry Grossman]], and [[Buz Kohan|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 & Patsy]] as a single (with "Christmas" on B-side).

====1980s====
* 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 (musician)|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 theatre|musical]], ''[[The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas]]''; released by [[Dolly Parton]] as a single (with "Act Like a Fool" on B-side).
* 1984: "[[Another Rock and Roll Christmas]]"; written by [[Gary Glitter]], [[Mike Leander]] and Edward Seago; released by Gary Glitter as a single, with the instrumental version as the B-side. The song had appeared earlier in the year on his 1984 album ''[[Boys Will Be Boys (Gary Glitter album)|Boys Will Be Boys]]''.
* 1984: "[[Thank God It's Christmas]]", written by [[Brian May]] and [[Roger Taylor (Queen drummer)|Roger Taylor]]; released by [[Queen (band)|Queen]] as a single (with "[[The Works (Queen album)#"Man on the Prowl"|Man on the Prowl]]" and "[[The Works (Queen album)#"Keep Passing the Open Windows"|Keep Passing the Open Windows]]" on B-side).
* 1984: "Another Lonely Christmas", written by [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]; released by [[Prince and the Revolution]] as a single.
* 1984: "[[The Power of Love (Frankie Goes to Hollywood song)|The Power of Love]]", written by [[Holly Johnson]], [[Peter Gill (FGTH drummer)|Peter Gill]], [[Mark O'Toole (musician)|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 (album)|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 (screenwriter)|Jeremy Paul]], [[Leslie Stewart (writer)|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 (Vince Vance & The Valiants song)|All I Want for Christmas Is You]]", written by Troy Powers and Andy Stone; released by [[Vince Vance & The Valiants]] as a single.
* 1989: "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" by [[The Ramones]] on their ''[[Brain Drain (album)|Brain Drain]]'' album.

====1990s====
* 1990: "[[Saviour's Day (song)|Saviour's Day]]", written by [[Chris Eaton (UK musician)|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 (actress)|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 (American singer)|Michael English]] on a self-titled album (with a 1996 version by [[Kenny Rogers]] and [[Wynonna Judd|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|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 (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers album)|Playback]]''
* 1993: "[[Hey Santa!]]", written (with the help of Jack Kugell) and sung by [[Carnie Wilson|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 (Australian musician)|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 (NSYNC album)|Home for Christmas]]'' and ''[[The Winter Album (NSYNC album)|The Winter Album]]''

====2000s====
* 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 (band)|The Darkness]]
* 2004: "[[Believe (Josh Groban song)|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 (rock producer)|Paul O'Neill]] and [[Robert Kinkel]], performed by the [[Trans-Siberian Orchestra]]
* 2007: "[[Mistletoe (Colbie Caillat song)|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====
* 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|Mariah Carey's Magical Christmas Special's]]'' soundtrack.
* 2010: "[[Christmas Lights (song)|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 (Justin Bieber song)|Mistletoe]]" by [[Justin Bieber]] from his album ''[[Under the Mistletoe]]''
* 2012: "[[Christmas in the Sand (song)|Christmas in the Sand]]" by [[Colbie Caillat]] from her album of the [[Christmas in the Sand|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 (song)|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|''Billboard'' 200]], double platinum by [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]])
* 2014: "[[Santa Tell Me]]" by [[Ariana Grande]] on her EP ''[[Christmas Kisses (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 (album)|Everyday Is Christmas]]''
* 2017: "[[Snowman (Sia song)|Snowman]]" written by [[Sia]] and [[Greg Kurstin]] and released by Sia on ''[[Everyday Is Christmas (album)|Everyday Is Christmas]]''

====2020s====
* 2020 "[[Holiday (Lil Nas X song)|Holiday]]" by [[Lil Nas X]]
* 2020: "[[Christmas Saves the Year]]" a single written and recorded by [[Twenty One Pilots]]; released after a [[Twitch (service)|Twitch]] stream where lead singer [[Tyler Joseph]] played in a ''[[Fortnite]]'' tournament sponsored by [[Chipotle Mexican Grill|Chipotle]] in hopes to raise money for [[Make-A-Wish Foundation]].
* 2021: "[[Merry Christmas (song)|Merry Christmas]]" by [[Ed Sheeran]] and [[Elton John]]
* 2022: [[Three Lions (song)#"Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas)"|Three Lions (It's Coming Home for Christmas)]] by Baddiel, Skinner & 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 women's national football team|England Lionesses]] in the [[UEFA Women's Euro 2022|Women's Euro 2022]].

===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 (song)|White Christmas]]" was introduced in the film ''[[Holiday Inn (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 (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 film)|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===
{{more citations needed|section|date=November 2022}}
{{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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Weir |first=William |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/12/how-jingle-bells-by-the-singing-dogs-changed-music-forever/68273/ |title=How 'Jingle Bells' by the Singing Dogs Changed Music Forever |date=December 20, 2010 |work=The Atlantic |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref>
* "[[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 (British band)|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]].<ref>[http://www.millenniumeffect.co.uk/audio/tributes/songs1.php Tribute Songs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610133733/http://www.millenniumeffect.co.uk/audio/tributes/songs1.php |date=June 10, 2016 }} at The Millennium Effect.</ref>
* "[[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 & Chong]]'s debut single in 1971 was "[[Santa Claus and His Old Lady]]". [[The Kinks]] did "[[Father Christmas (song)|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:

* "[[The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)|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 (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 & Make Out This Christmas".

[[Kristen Bell]] and [[a cappella]] group [[Straight No Chaser (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."<ref name="Sieczkowski">{{Cite news |last=Sieczkowski |first=Cavan |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/17/kristen-bell-text-me-merry-christmas_n_6172524.html |title=Kristen Bell's 'Text Me Merry Christmas' Is A New Kind of Holiday Tune |date=November 17, 2014 |work=HuffPost |access-date=December 12, 2014}}</ref>

====Juvenile====
{{unreferenced section|date=November 2022}}
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)
*『{{Lang|es|[[¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?]]|italic=no}} (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 (Christmas Don't Be Late)|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 (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|date=November 2022}}

===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 (song)|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 (song)|White Christmas]]" by [[Irving Berlin]] (born Israel Isidore Beilin in Russia)—who also wrote "[[Happy Holiday (song)|Happy Holiday]]"—with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages.

Others include:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/The_Jews_Who_Wrote_Christmas_Songs/ |title=The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs |last=Bloom |first=Nate |date=December 2006 |website=InterfaithFamily |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |url=https://articles.latimes.com/2009/dec/24/entertainment/la-et-jewish-musicians24-2009dec24 |title=Bob Dylan joins long list of Jewish musicians performing Christmas music |date=December 24, 2009 |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=December 24, 2017 |issn=0458-3035}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |url=http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Jews-among-musicians-with-Christmas-spirit-3204919.php |title=Jews among musicians with Christmas spirit |date=December 26, 2009 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204630904577056440658448440?mod=googlenews_wsj |title=Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas |last=Da Fonseca |first=Corinna |date=November 28, 2011 |website=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref> 
* "[[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 (songwriter)|Robert Wells]] (born Levinson) and [[Mel Tormé]] 
* "[[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 [[Robert Allen (song composer)|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.<ref name="InterfaithFamily 2012">{{Cite news |last=Bloom |first=Nate |url=http://www.interfaithfamily.com/arts_and_entertainment/popular_culture/The_Jews_Who_Wrote_Christmas_Songs_2012.shtml |title=The Jews Who Wrote Christmas Songs (2012) |date=December 2012 |work=InterfaithFamily |access-date=December 23, 2013}}</ref>
* "[[Baby, It's Cold Outside]]" by [[Frank Loesser]]
[[Leiber-Stoller|Lyricist Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and composer Mike Stoller]] wrote "[[Santa Claus Is Back in Town]]", which [[Elvis Presley]] debuted on his first [[Elvis' Christmas Album|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 (composer)|Ian Fraser]], [[Larry Grossman (composer)|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''.<ref name="Washington Post">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/19/AR2006121901260.html |first=Paul |last=Farhi |date=December 20, 2006 |title=Bing and Bowie: An Odd Story of Holiday Harmony |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

==Adopted Christmas music==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2021}}
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, Duke of Bohemia|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]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/12/joy-to-the-world-aka-christmas/420330/ |title=12 Days of Christmas Songs: 'Joy to the World' Isn't Supposed to Be One |first=David A. |last=Graham |date=December 17, 2015 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref>
* "Jingle Bells", first published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857, was originally associated with [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] rather than Christmas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Estrella |first=Espie |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/jingle-bells-history-2456082 |title=What Are the Origins of the Christmas Carol 'Jingle Bells'? |date=August 18, 2017 |work=ThoughtCo |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref>
*With a Welsh melody dating back to the sixteenth century, and English lyrics from 1862, "Deck the Halls" celebrates the [[Paganism|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 film)|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 (2013 film)|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.

"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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lennon |first=Troy |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/songs-that-were-never-written-for-christmas/news-story/cfb7bcb96b526b03379920a81fe78e12 |title=Songs that were never written for Christmas |date=December 18, 2017 |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=December 20, 2017}}</ref> "[[Holiday (Vampire Weekend song)|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 (Schubert)|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 [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Virgin Mary]] sung in [[Latin]], would become a "staple of family holiday record collections."<ref name="Balke">{{Cite news |last=Balke |first=Jeff |url=http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/12/classic_christmas_the_perry_co.php |title=Classic Christmas: The Perry Como Christmas Album |date=December 19, 2011 |work=Houston Press Blog |access-date=December 23, 2013 |archive-date=December 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224110118/http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/12/classic_christmas_the_perry_co.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> American ''a capella'' group [[Pentatonix]] released their version of "[[Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen song)|Hallelujah]]", the 1984 song written by [[Leonard Cohen]] and covered famously by a number of acts, on [[A Pentatonix Christmas|their Christmas album]] shortly before the songwriter's death in 2016. Besides the [[Hallelujah|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]] [[arrangement]]s styled it as an appropriate song to play in the Christmas season. Children's songs such as "[[Mr Blobby (song)|Mr Blobby]]" (No. 1, 1993) and [[Can We Fix It?|the theme from ''Bob the Builder'']] (No. 1, 2000), novelty songs such as [[Benny Hill]]'s "[[Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)|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==
{{Quote box
| width = 30%
| align = right
| quote = "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."<ref name="hollywoodreporter1" />
| source = Darren Davis, Senior V.P., [[iHeartMedia|Clear Channel]]
}}

In the United States, it is common for local [[radio station]]s to gradually begin adding Christmas music to their regular playlists in late-November, typically after [[Thanksgiving (United States)|Thanksgiving]] (which is generally considered the official start of the holiday season), and sometimes culminating with all-Christmas music by Christmas itself.<ref name=":2" /> More prominently, some stations temporarily drop their regular music [[Radio format|format]] entirely and switch exclusively to Christmas music for the holiday season.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Bergman |first=Ben |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2011/11/24/142705695/on-commercial-radio-christmas-is-coming-early |title=On Commercial Radio, Christmas Is Coming Early |date=November 24, 2011 |work=NPR: Heard on Morning Edition |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Sisario |first=Ben |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/31/business/media/all-christmas-radio-is-an-enduring-and-profitable-tradition.html |title=Radio Dusts Off Mistletoe, in October |date=October 30, 2014 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The latter practice became more widespread in 2001 after the [[September 11 attacks]], as a means of helping improve the morale of listeners.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4487350-1.html |title=The Christmas Format: Santa Claus Is Coming To Town |last=Tucker |first=Ken |date=May 13, 2005 |website=Radio Monitor |publisher=AllBusiness}}</ref>

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 [[Audience measurement|ratings]] that such a shift can attract.<ref name="hollywoodreporter1">{{Cite news |last=Bond |first=Paul |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/christmas-music-radio-station-ratings-269928 |title=Ka-Ching! How All-Christmas Music Doubles Radio's Ratings |date=December 5, 2011 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref> 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.<ref name="hollywoodreporter1" />

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 [[WBGB (FM)|WODS]], Los Angeles's [[KOST]], New York's [[WLTW]], and San Diego's [[KYXY]].<ref name="hollywoodreporter1" /> In 2017, Chicago's [[WLIT-FM]] roughly quadrupled its audience share between November (2.8) and December (12.4) after making the switch.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |url=http://www.insideradio.com/christmas-remains-king-in-holiday-ratings/article_08911e9a-00dc-11e8-9375-237d39cff16f.html |title=Christmas Remains King in Holiday 2017 Ratings. |work=Insideradio.com |access-date=July 20, 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://radioink.com/2017/11/16/wbeb-flips-christmas-music/ |title=WBEB Flips To Christmas Music |date=November 16, 2017 |work=Radio Ink |access-date=July 20, 2018 }}</ref> The practice may not always transition well into financial success, since advertisers do not universally recognize Nielsen's holiday ratings book.<ref>[http://www.radioinfo.com/2012/12/03/insight-the-all-christmas-music-format-phenomenon/ Insight: the All-Christmas music format phenomenon]. ''RadioInfo.com''. Retrieved December 3, 2012.</ref>

In some [[Media market|markets]], there may be one dominant broadcaster of Christmas music, but this is not always the case.<ref name=":4" /> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/10/in-defense-of-christmas-music-in-october/381429/ |title=In Defense of Christmas Music in October |last=O'Keeffe |first=Kevin |date=October 15, 2014 |website=The Atlantic |access-date=November 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/198517/wwiz-youngstown-begins-christmas-music-season/|title=WWIZ Youngstown Begins Christmas Music Season|date=September 25, 2020}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2020/11/syracuse-radio-station-switches-to-christmas-music-becomes-santa-102.html|title=Syracuse radio station switches to Christmas music, becomes Santa 102|first=Geoff|last=Herbert|work=Syracuse Post-Standard|date=November 4, 2020|access-date=November 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wivb.com/news/local-news/star-102-5-begins-playing-christmas-music/|title=Star 102.5 begins playing Christmas music|work=WIVB-TV|date=November 1, 2020|access-date=November 5, 2020}}</ref>

The typical Christmas music format in the United States carries a mix of approximately 150 recordings, with a heavy focus on vocal [[adult standards]] and [[Middle of the road (music)|MOR]] selections (both formats otherwise being rare on major commercial radio since the early 21st century) from before 1970.<ref name=schedulingxmasmusic>{{Cite web |last=Lucas |first=Rob |date=2023-10-25 |title=Scheduling Christmas Music from a Different Perspective - RadioInsight |url=https://radioinsight.com/blogs/260100/scheduling-christmas-music-from-a-different-perspective/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=Radio Insight |language=en-US}}</ref> Instrumental selections from that era, which generally fall under the [[beautiful music]] category, are rarely heard and unpopular.<ref name=ross2005/> Rob Lucas, who for 22 years served as music director and morning host for the now-defunct [[WBKV#Buffalo's Christmas Station|Star 102.5]] in [[Buffalo, New York]], outlined his scheduling formula for that station:<ref name=schedulingxmasmusic/>

*A wider library of core records—over 250 during the station's last season in existence—with 50 or so [[Rotation (music)|power rotation]] (the most frequently played) records replayed every four hours and most of the rest played two to three times per day;
*An emphasis on new releases and contemporary and/or upbeat selections, as this not only fit Star's regular format but helped play against the all-Christmas format's reputation of being slow and boring;
*A willingness to play local artists;
*Judicious spacing of similar records (a half-hour between different instrumental records or religious songs, 1{{frac|1|2}} hours between [[cover version]]s of the same song, and two hours between songs by the same artist or collective) this would include similar-sounding but different groups that appear on the same album, such as selections from ''[[A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector]]'');
*The withholding of [[novelty song]]s and other records that do not withstand [[recurrent rotation]] without complaints until later in the Christmas season.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-01|title=Star 102.5 flips to all-Christmas|url=https://www.audacy.com/wben/news/local/star-102-5-flips-to-all-christmas|access-date=2023-01-01|website=[[WBEN (AM)|WBEN]]|language=en}}</ref>

The period from late afternoon Christmas Eve to noon Christmas Day, Lucas reserved for heavy rotation of religious and spiritual records, as a nod to the solemnity of the holiday.<ref name=schedulingxmasmusic/>

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 (holiday)|Epiphany]] on January 6), most stations typically end their all-Christmas programming at some point on December 25 or 26. If a station opts to continue playing Christmas songs beyond the date itself, Lucas advises that these songs be removed from the playlist, noting a substantial number of seasonal winter records still remain playable through the weekend following Christmas, or even through [[New Year's Day]].<ref name=schedulingxmasmusic/>

===As a stunt format===
Christmas music is a popular [[stunting (broadcasting)|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).<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/tis-the-season-for-format-flips/article_4aee3230-cc0a-11e6-a0dc-ef30940bdbd1.html |title='Tis the Season for Format Flips. |work=Insideradio.com |access-date=May 9, 2018}}</ref> 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 (FM)|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]]).<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/kmps-christmas-flip-fuels-talk-of-post-holiday-changes/article_0d51bc3c-ce41-11e7-8dbc-339949101329.html |title=KMPS Christmas Flip Fuels Talk of Post-Holiday Changes. |work=Insideradio.com |access-date=May 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/seattlenews/article/Seattle-radio-s-king-of-country-goes-soft-rock-12405420.php |title=Seattle radio's king of country goes soft rock |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |access-date=December 9, 2017}}</ref>

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.<ref name="starphoenix-wired">{{Cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=ea2e5bed-7be4-46b7-8614-1d47379b94c9 |title=Radio station takes down the tree |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |access-date=March 11, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320030155/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=ea2e5bed-7be4-46b7-8614-1d47379b94c9 |archive-date=March 20, 2016}}</ref><ref name="saskatoon-jinglealltheway">{{Cite news |url=http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=2b3f4df6-2c4d-452c-848b-69cfed580c53 |title=New station jingles all the way |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |access-date=March 11, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320024644/http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=2b3f4df6-2c4d-452c-848b-69cfed580c53 |archive-date=March 20, 2016 |publisher=Postmedia}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=On The 125th Day Of Christmas Music, Why Is WJSR Still In Holiday Mode? |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/204969/on-the-125th-day-of-christmas-music-why-is-wjsr-still-in-holiday-mode/ |access-date=March 2, 2021 |website=RadioInsight |date=February 15, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SummitMedia Makes Double Flip In Richmond |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/205784/summitmedia-makes-double-flip-in-richmond/ |access-date=March 5, 2021 |website=RadioInsight |date=March 4, 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WURV (103.7 Play)/Richmond Is (Not) Our First Christmas Station |url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/146391/wurv-103-7-play-richmond-is-not-our-first-christma |access-date=2021-03-05 |website=All Access |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=WURV Comes Clean Over Christmas Stunt |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/94846/inappropriately-early-christmas-music-comes-to-richmond/ |access-date=2021-03-05 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Outside the United States===
Christmas music stations in Canada tend to follow a similar pattern to those in the United States but with the addition of [[Canadian content]]; because of the relative lack of older Christmas music written or recorded in Canada and/or by Canadians, this leads to a more contemporary sound compared to most American stations.<ref name=ross2020>Ross, Sean (December 2, 2020). [https://www.powergold.com/2020/12/02/what-i-learned-from-scheduling-christmas-music-sean-ross/ What I Learned from Scheduling Christmas Music]. Retrieved October 25, 2023.</ref>

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 (city)|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 (2010)|Smooth Radio]], Guardian Media Group, on national [[Digital One]] DAB in November/December 2011, with the slot used after Christmas by [[Smooth 70s]].<ref name="Wohnort11">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives11.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2011|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> The Christmas station returned around the same timeframe of 2012<ref name="Wohnort12">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives12.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2012|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> with this space taken over after Christmas by [[Bauer Radio]] station [[Kiss (UK radio station)|Kiss]]. Following the acquisition of Smooth by [[Global Media & Entertainment|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<ref name="Wohnort14">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives14.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2014|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> and 2015<ref name="Wohnort15">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives15.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2015|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> 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 (UK)|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,<ref name="Wohnort16">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives16.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2016|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> 2017<ref name="Wohnort17">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives17.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2017|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> and 2018;<ref name="Wohnort18">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archives18.html|title=DAB Ensembles Worldwide &#124; Archives 2018|website=www.wohnort.org|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Wohnort19">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.org/dab/archivesXX.html|title=Wohnort DAB archives, 20XX|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/10/heart-christmas-launches-early-for-christmas-2020/|title=RadioToday.co.uk, Oct 2020|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref>
* 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<ref name="Wohnort14" /><ref name="Wohnort15" /><ref name="Wohnort16" /><ref name="Wohnort17" /><ref name="Wohnort18" /><ref name="Wohnort19" /> 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<ref name="Wohnort16" /> and 2017,<ref name="Wohnort17" /> 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,<ref name="Wohnort15" /> 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 105.4 FM|Magic]] station, on national [[Digital One]] DAB in late 2017,<ref name="Wohnort17" /> 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,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/08/bauer-launches-magic-100-christmas-in-august/|title=Bauer launches Magic 100% Christmas in August|date=August 25, 2020|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> 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,<ref name="Wohnort17" /> 2018<ref name="Wohnort18" /> and 2019<ref name="Wohnort19" /> 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<ref name="Wohnort18" /> and 2019,<ref name="Wohnort19" /> 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<ref name="Wohnort15" /> and 2017<ref name="Wohnort17" />) or as a temporary rebranding of an existing regular station (such as [[Sandgrounder Radio]] temporarily renaming as 'Santagrounder' on DAB in 2016<ref name="Wohnort16" /> and 2017<ref name="Wohnort17" />). [[Radio Exe]] earned some attention for launching its DAB Christmas service, Radio Exemas, in August 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ball |first=Elliot |date=2023-08-25 |title=Xmas radio station goes live in Devon |url=https://www.devonlive.com/whats-on/family-kids/christmas-radio-station-goes-live-8705971 |access-date=2023-09-01 |website=DevonLive |language=en}}</ref>

===Christmas music on satellite and Internet radio===
Outside of traditional AM/FM radio, [[satellite radio]] provider [[SiriusXM Satellite Radio|SiriusXM]] typically devotes multiple channels to different genres of Christmas music during the holiday season.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haidet |first=Ryan |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2013/11/12/sirius-satellite-radio-christmas-music-2013/3503983/ |title=SiriusXM begins 24/7 Christmas music |date=November 21, 2013 |work=USA Today |access-date=December 24, 2017}}</ref> 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 (music)|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, Arizona|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==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{Commons category|Christmas music}}
{{Div col}} 
* [[Best-selling Christmas/holiday singles in the United States]]
* [[List of calypsos with sociopolitical influences#Christmas period|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|''Billboard'' Christmas Holiday Charts]]
* [[Villancico]]
* [[Halloween music]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==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==

* {{Curlie|Society/Holidays/Christmas/Music|Christmas music}}
* {{ChoralWiki|Category:Christmas|description=Free Christmas sheet music}}

{{Subject bar|commons = y |wikt=y|wikt-search = Christmas carol |b = y|b-search =Christmas carol |q = y|q-search = Christmas|s = y|s-search = Portal:Christmas#Christmas_Carols|v = y|v-search = }}

[[Category:Christmas music| ]]
[[Category:Christmas songs| ]]
[[Category:Christmas albums| ]]
[[Category:Lists of songs]]
[[Category:Radio formats]]
[[Category:Music genres by theme]]

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