Christmas and Carols songs and songbooks in the SLM

Christmas and Carols songs and songbooks in the SLM

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Artist or Composer / Score name	Cover or sample	Contents (if available)*
5 Christmas Songs Sheet Music Trumpet in B & Piano accompaniment (Viktor Dick)	5 Christmas Songs Sheet Music Trumpet in B & Piano accompaniement (Viktor Dick)
36 Christmas Christmas Carols And Songs		36 christmas carols songs
100 Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Easy Piano Vocal		100 Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Easy Piano Vocal
100 Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Piano Vocal Guitar		100 Most Beautiful Christmas Songs Piano Vocal Guitar
A Cool Yule. Ten Jazzy Christmas Songs		A Cool Yule. Ten Jazzy Christmas Songs
A Festival Gathering Of Carols (Musescore File).mscz
A Ragtime Christmas By Kenon D. Renfrow 6 Intermediate Piano Solos		A Ragtime Christmas By Kenon D. Renfrow 6 Intermediate Piano Solos
A Rockin’ Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar		A Rockin’ Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar Contents — Rockin Christmas
A Smooth Jazz Christmas – Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano arr. Roger House		A Smooth Jazz Christmas – Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano arr. Roger House
Adam Cantique de Nöel Christmas song	Adam Cantique de noel
Adult Piano Adventures Christmas – Book 1 (Nancy Faber Randall Faber)
Adult Piano Adventures Christmas – Book 2		Adult Piano Adventures Christmas – Book 2
Alan Menken – A Christmas Carol A Place Called Home
Alan Menken A Christmas Carol (The Musical) piano conductor score		Alan Menken A Christmas Carol (The Musical) piano conductor score
Alan Menken My Christmas Tree from Home Alone 2 Lost In New York
Alfred Basic Adult Christmas Book Level 1
All I Want For Christmas Is You (Musescore File).mscz
All The Best Christmas for Piano Solo 20 arrangements for solo piano		All The Best Christmas for Piano Contents
Animal Crossing Christmas Eve
Animal Crossing – Christmas Eve (Musescore File).mscz
Bar Piano Susi’s Merry Christmas by Susi Weiss		Bar Piano Susi’s Merry Christmas by Susi Weiss
Beginning Solo Guitar Merry Christmas with Tablature		Beginning Solo Guitar Merry Christmas
Blues & Soul Christmas (piano, guitar & vocal songbook)		Blues & Soul Christmas
Brenda Lee Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Johnny Marks Piano Vocal chords	Brenda Lee Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree by Johnny Marks Piano Vocal chords
Carol Of The Bells – M.D. Leontovych (Ucranian Christmas Carol Easy Piano) (Musescore File).mscz
Carols For Guitar Arr John Duarte		Carols For Guitar Arr John Duarte
Carsten Gerlitz – Christmas Time (25 Famous Christmas songs)		Carsten Gerlitz Christmas Time contents
Chris Rea Driving home for Christmas (piano solo arr.)
Christmas – Angels We Have Heard On High Sheet Music
Christmas – It Came Upon The Midnight Clear Sheet Music
Christmas – We Are The Reason Sheet Music
Christmas – A Swingin’ Christmas		Christmas – A Swingin’ Christmas
Christmas – Favourites collection
Christmas A Very Special Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar Chords		Christmas A Very Special Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar Chords
Christmas At The Keyboard With Mark Hayes		Christmas At The Keyboard With Mark Hayes
Christmas At The Piano Easy Piano Solo 23 seasonal selections Piano Solo		Christmas At The Piano Easy Piano Solo 23 seasonal selections Piano Solo
Christmas Bock’s S Best 25 Outstanding Christmas Piano Arrangements Vol 3		Christmas Bock’s S Best 25 Outstanding Christmas Piano Arrangements Vol 3
Christmas Carol – Jingle Bell Rock Sheet Music
Christmas Carol – Jingle Bell Rock Sheet Music Easy Piano
Christmas Carols All Jazzed Up		Christmas Carols All Jazzed Up
Christmas Chris Rice The Living Room Sessions		Christmas Chris Rice The Living Room Sessions
Christmas Classics Jazz Piano Solos Series Vol 61		Christmas classics
Christmas Cocktail Jazz Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 65		Christmas Cocktail Jazz Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 65
Christmas Easy Piano (Klimper Spass 3 Poppige Weihnachten!		Christmas Easy Piano (Klimper Spass 3 Poppige Weihnachten!
Christmas Edition 40 Greatest Hits Easy Piano Brimhall Easy Piano Vocal Guitar Chords		Christmas Edition 40 Greatest Hits Easy Piano Brimhall Easy Piano Vocal Guitar Chords
Christmas Fake Book, The Ultimate – 275 Songs Sheet Music Piano Vocal Guitar		The Ultimate Christmas Fake Book 275 Songs Sheet Music Piano Vocal Guitar
Christmas Favorites Book 1 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Early Elementary)		Christmas Favorites Book 1 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Early Elementary)
Christmas Favorites Book 2 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Elementary)		Christmas Favorites Book 2 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Elementary)
Christmas Favorites Book 3 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Late Elementary)		Christmas Favorites Book 3 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Late Elementary)
Christmas Favorites Book 4 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Early Intermediate		Christmas Favorites Book 4 Helen Marlais In Recital With (Early Intermediate
Christmas Guitar Solos arr. for Intermadiate guitar with TABs by Edward Wright		Christmas Guitar Solos arr. for Intermediate guitar with TABs by Edward Wright
Christmas Hits Easy Guitar With Notes Tab		Christmas Hits Easy Guitar With Notes Tab
Christmas Hits Singer Piano Guitar 31 Songs		Christmas Hits Singer Piano Guitar 31 Songs
Christmas In Recital by Helen Marlais Popular Christmas For The Advancing Pianist		Christmas In Recital by Helen Marlais Popular Christmas For The Advancing Pianist
Christmas Jazz (Carol of the Bells, Jingle Bells, We wish you a Merry Christmas) (arr. by Kirby Shaw)		Christmas Jazz
Christmas Jazz Cafe by Jacob Koller Piano and guitar Chords songbook		Christmas Jazz Cafe by Jacob Koller Piano and guitar Chords songbook
Christmas Jazz Duets Book Jazz Tutorial Christmas Song Collection		Christmas Jazz Duets Book Jazz Tutorial Christmas Song Collection
Christmas Jazz For Piano		Christmas Jazz For Piano
Christmas Jazz It Up! Christmas – 2nd Edition12 traditional Christmas favorites by Eric Baumgartner		Christmas Jazz It Up! Christmas – 2nd Edition12 traditional Christmas favorites by Eric Baumgartner
Christmas Jazz It Up! Christmas – Six Traditional Carols for the Mid-Intermediater Pianist by Eric Baumgartner		Christmas Jazz It Up!
Christmas Medley Special Kyle Landry
Christmas Medleys for Piano Solo by Jason Lyle Black		Christmas Medleys for Piano Solo by Jason Lyle Black
Christmas Meets Jazz 15 Famous Christmas Songs For Piano		Christmas Meets Jazz 15 Famous Christmas Songs For Piano
Christmas Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano, A Smooth Jazz (Roger House)		Christmas Mellow Seasonal Favorites for Piano, A Smooth Jazz (Roger House)
Christmas Memories Books 1 to 3 by Melody Bober (Complete) Early to Late Intermediate Piano Arr. Of Carols		Christmas Memories Books 1 to 3 by Melody Bober (Complete) Early to Late Intermediate Piano Arr. Of Carols
Christmas Motets (Choral Classics) Edited by John Rutter		Christmas Motets (Choral Classics) Edited by John Rutter
Christmas Piano Solos John Thompsons Modern Course For The Piano		Christmas Piano Solos John Thompsons Modern Course For The Piano
Christmas Pop Favorites For Piano Solo Intermediate To Advanced Level		Christmas Pop Favorites For Piano Solo Intermediate To Advanced Level
Christmas Pop Standards Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar		Christmas Pop Standards_ 22 Holiday Favorites
Christmas Presence. Sound Of The Season		Christmas Presence. Sound Of The Season
Christmas Professional Singers Christmas Fake Book 120 songs		Christmas Professional Singers Christmas Fake Book 120 songs
Christmas Recital For Piano		Christmas Recital For Piano
Christmas Song For Play In First-Class Restaurant Piano Solo		Christmas Song For Play In First-Class Restaurant Piano Solo
Christmas Song, The – Mel Tormé & Wells Bob Merry Christmas to You Easy Piano Solo
Christmas Song, The – Mel Tormé & Wells Bob Merry Christmas to You Easy Piano Solo.mscz
Christmas Songbook The Readers Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (William L. Simon, Dan Fox) Vintage sheet music		Christmas Songbook The Readers Digest Merry Christmas Songbook (William L. Simon, Dan Fox)
Christmas Songs All Jazzed Up		Christmas Songs All Jazzed Up
Christmas Songs for guitar arr. by Jim Giddings		Christmas Songs for guitar arr. by Jim Giddings
Christmas Songs Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 25		Christmas Songs Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 25
Christmas Songs Piano Vocal guitar Chords		Christmas Songs Piano Vocal guitar Chords
Christmas Standards Jazz Guitar Chord Melody Solos		Christmas Standards Jazz Guitar Chord Melody Solos
Christmas The Best Christmas Songs Ever 5th Edition Easy Piano Piano Vocal Guitar Chords		The Best Christmas Songs Ever 5th Edition Easy Piano Piano Vocal Guitar Chords
Christmas The Definitive Christmas Collection 3rd Edition Piano Vocal Guitar		Christmas The Definitive Christmas Collection 3rd Edition Piano Vocal Guitar_compressed
Christmas The Giant Book Of Christmas For Piano Sheet Music Top Requested 60 Best Songs Piano Vocal		Christmas The Giant Book Of Christmas For Piano Sheet Music Top Requested 60 Best Songs
Christmas World’s Greatest Christmas Music 55 Of The Most Popular Holiday Songs And Solos Piano Vocal Guitar Chords		World’s greatest Christmas music _ 55 of the most popular holiday songs and solos
Classical Carols II for the advanced Pianist – Christmas arrangements by Carolyne M. Taylor		Classical Carols II for the advanced Pianist – Carolyne ;. Taylor
Coldplay – Christmas Lights (Piano Solo)
Danny Elfman The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton’s movie) Songbook incl. This is Halloween		Danny Elfman – Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
Dave Brubeck A Dave Brubeck Christmas		Dave Brubeck A Dave Brubeck Christmas
David Lanz Christmas Eve		David Lanz Christmas Eve
Dennis Alexander Christmas Just For You Popular Performer Series Advanced Piano Solos		Dennis Alexander Christmas Just For You Popular Performer Series Advanced Piano Solos
Dennis Alexander Especially For Christmas Complete 3 Books 1-3		Dennis Alexander Especially For Christmas Complete 3 Books 1-3
Easy Piano Christmas Duets by Dan Coates		Easy Piano Christmas Duets by Dan Coates
El Noi de la Mare (classical guitar) Andrés Segovia ver. Traditinal Cataln Christmas song
El Noi De La Mare (Classical Guitar) Andrés Segovia Ver. Traditinal Cataln Christmas Song (Musescore File).mscz
Faith Hill – Where Are You Christmas
Gannon and Kent – I’ll Be Home For Christmas (sheet music)	Gannon and Kent – I’ll Be Home For Christmas (sheet music)
Glad Tidings Of Great Joy (Christmas Traditional) For Two Pianos Or Piano And Voices
Great Piano Christmas Hits (piano solo arrangements by Dan Coates)		Great Piano Christmas Hits (piano solo arrangements by Dan Coates)
Guilmant Christmas Carols (Premiere Livre De Noëls) Op 60 Book 1
Guilmant Christmas Carols (Deuxieme Livre De Noëls) Op 60 Book 2
Guitars For Christmas (20 Christmas carols for one or two guitars)		Guitars For Christmas (20 Christmas carols for one or two guitars)
Handel – Joy To The World Blues Christmas (Easy Piano Solo)	Handel – Joy To The World Blues Christmas (Easy Piano Solo)
Hans-Günter Heumann The Classical Piano Method Christmas Collection		Hans-Günter Heumann The Classical Piano Method Christmas Collection
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. Arranged for solo piano and guitar chords	Have-Yourself-A-Merry-Little-Christmas 1st page
Hellbach, Daniel Christmas Carols For Easy Piano Vol. 1 Piano Solo		Hellbach, Daniel Christmas Carols For Easy Piano Vol. 1 Piano Solo
Henry Mancini A Merry Mancini Christmas Piano Vocal Chords		Henry Mancini A Merry Mancini Christmas Piano Vocal Chords
I’ll Be Home For Christmas (Musescore File).mscz
Irving Berlin – White Christmas – Movie Holiday Inn
Irving Berlin – White Christmas (from the film Holiday Inn) lyrics and piano
Irving Berlin – White Christmas (From The Film Holiday Inn) Lyrics And Piano (Musescore File).mscz
Irving Berlin – White Christmas (from the film Holiday Inn) piano solo arr.
Irving Berlin – White Christmas (Jazz Piano cover)	Irving Berlin – White Christmas (Jazz Piano cover)
Irving Berlin White Christmas The Musical Piano Vocal Selections		Irving Berlin White Christmas The Musical Piano Vocal Selections
Irving Berln – White Christmas (Jazz Piano Cover) (Musescore File).mscz
It’s Christmas Piano Favorites For Advanced Piano Dan Coates		Its Christmas Piano Favorites For Advanced Piano Dan Coates
It’s Easy To Play Christmas Songs		Various Artists – It’s Easy To Play Christmas Songs
Jacob Koller The Christmas Song
Jazz at Christmas – Frank Mantooth
Jazz Play Along Vol. 20 – Christmas Carols – PDF with MP3 audio tracks		Hal Leonard – Vol.20 – Christmas Carols
Jazz Play Along Vol. 25 – Christmas Jazz – PDF with MP3 audio tracks		Hal Leonard – Vol.25 – Christmas Jazz
Jazz Play Along Vol. 66 – A Charlie Brown Christmas – PDF with MP3 audio tracks		Jazz Play Along Vol. 66 – A Charlie Brown Christmas
Jazz up your Christmas	Jazz up Christmas
Jazzy Christmas for Guitar with TABs		Jazzy Christmas for Guitar with TABs
Jazzy Christmas Tunes Piano Solo 10 spicy settings by Crag Curry		Jazzy Christmas Tunes Piano Solo 10 spicy settings by Crag Curry
Jazzy Jingles Holiday Solos (Christmas piano solos) For Early Intermediate By Jennifer Eklund		Jazzy Jingles Holiday Solos (Christmas piano solos) For Early Intermediate By Jennifer Eklund
Jim Brickman Christmas Themes		Jim Brickman Christmas Themes
John Bayless – White Christmas (sheet music transcription)	John Bayless – White Christmas (sheet music transcription)
John Lennon – Happy Christmas (War Is Over) Piano & Vocal	John-Lennon-Happy-Christmas-War-Is-Over 1st page
John Williams Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas – from Home Alone 2 Lost In New York
Jon Schmidt Christmas Book sheet music pdf		Jon Schmidt Christmas Book sheet music pdf
Last Christmas (Musescore File).mscz
Last Christmas Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Piano Vocal Guitar		Last Christmas Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack Piano Vocal Guitar
Last Christmas Wham! (George Michael)
Leontovych – Carol of the Bells (Ucranian Christmas Carol easy piano)
Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride Piano Vocal Guitar chords (Vintage sheet music) Christmas Trad.
Ludovico Einaudi Corale Solo Christmas Gift Version	Ludovico Einaudi Corale Solo Christmas Gift Version
Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Extraordinaire Piano Solo		Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Extraordinaire Piano Solo
Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas Is You (Piano Solo)
Mariah Carey Merry Christmas		Mariah Carey Merry Christmas
Martha Mier Jazz Rags & Blues Christmas – Book 1
Meredith Willson It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Piano vocal Guitar chords (Vintage, 1951)
Meredith Willson It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Piano vocal Guitar Sheet Music	Meredith Willson It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Piano vocal Guitar Sheet Music
Michael Bublé Christmas Vocal Piano Arrangements		Michael Bublé Christmas – Vocal Piano Arrangements Contents
Michael Buble It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas By Meredith Willson (Piano Vocal Lyrics)	Michael Buble It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas By Meredith Willson (Piano Vocal Lyrics)
O Christmas Tree – Traditional Christmas Carol (Musescore File).mscz
O Christmas Tree – O Tannenbaum (Arr. Vince Guaraldi) (Musescore File).mscz
Pachelbel Christmas By Fred Kern Canon In D With Traditional Carols Elementary Piano Solo		Pachelbel Christmas By Fred Kern Canon In D With Traditional Carols Elementary Piano Solo
Paul Cardall – Christmas Piano Solo		Paul Cardall – Christmas Piano Solo
Paul McCartney – Wonderful Christmastime (Wings) Piano Solo sheet music	Paul Mccartney – Wonderful Christmastime (Wings) Piano Solo sheet music
Pentatonix Thats Christmas To Me Piano Vocal Guitar		Pentatonix Thats Christmas To Me Piano Vocal Guitar
Perry Como Meredith Wilson Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Piano Solo Vintage Sheet Music (1951)	Perry Como Meredith Wilson Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas Piano Solo Vintage Sheet Music (1951)
Phillip Keveren Jingle Jazz Christmas		Phillip Keveren Jingle Jazz Christmas
Piano Solos For Advent, Christmas Epiphany		Piano Solos For Advent, Christmas Epiphany
Popular Christmas Sheet Music -1940-1979		Popular Christmas Sheet Music -1940-1979
Popular Christmas Sheet Music–1980-2017		Popular Christmas Sheet Music–1980-2017
Praise In Many Colors by Melody Bober Piano Hymns, Spirituals, Gospel Songs and Carols (Christmas)		Praise In Many Colors by Melody Bober Piano Hymns, Spirituals, Gospel Songs and Carols (Christmas)
Richard Clayderman A Romantic Christmas Piano Solos		Richard Clayderman A Romantic Christmas Piano Solos
Sakamoto Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Easy piano)
Sakamoto, Ryuichi Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence (Piano Solo Arr.)
Taylor Swift Last Christmas
The Joy Of Christmas – The Best loved Carols, Hymns, songs and solos		The Joy Of Christmas – The Best loved Carols, Hymns, songs and solos
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Jack And Sally Montage – Danny Elfman
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Jacks Lament
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Sallys Song
The Nightmare Before Christmas – This Is Halloween (Musescore File).mscz
The Peanuts Christmas Carol Collection Big Note Very Easy Piano		The Peanuts Christmas Carol Collection Big Note Very Easy Piano
The Piano Guys Christmas Together Piano Solo With Optional Cello		The Piano Guys Christmas Together Piano Solo With Optional Cello Contents
The Polar Express – When Christmas Comes to Town – Glen Ballard
The Real Christmas Book Bb Instruments Fake Book		The Real Christmas Book Bb Instruments Fake Book
The Real Christmas Book C Instruments Fake Book		The Real Christmas Book Fake
The Real Christmas Book Eb Instruments Fake Book		The Real Christmas Book Eb Instruments Fake Book
Three’s A Crowd Christmas Saxophone Trios by James Power Easy Intermediate		Three’s A Crowd Christmas Saxophone
Ukulele – 3-Chord Christmas Carols For Ukulele (Guitar Songbook Sheet Music) 30 Holiday Favorites With Just 3 Chords		Ukulele – 3-Chord Christmas Carols For Ukulele (Guitar Songbook Sheet Music) 30 Holiday Favorites With Just 3 Chords
Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas		Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas
Vince Guaraldi Christmas Time Is Here
Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas For Solo Jazz Guitar with TAB		Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmas For Solo Jazz Guitar with TAB
Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmast Beginning Piano Solos		Vince Guaraldi A Charlie Brown Christmast Beginning Piano Solos
Vince Guaraldi The Christmas Song
Vince Guaraldi The Christmas Song (Mel Tormé and Robert Wells) Piano Solo	Vince Guaraldi The Christmas Song (Mel Tormé and Robert Wells) Piano Solo
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs)	We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Anonymous (Guitar arr. sheet music with TABs)
We Wish You A Merry Christmas – Guitar TABlature
We Wish You A Merry Christmas (piano solo sheet music)
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol
We Wish You A Merry Christmas Trad. English Christmas carol.mscz
Where Are You Christmas From Dr Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas Piano Vocal Guitar
White Christmas -Irving Berlin – Piano sheet music
White Christmas Irving Berlin (Musescore File).mscz
White Christmas Medley (Liberace)
Winter Wonderland Other Christmas Favorites Songbook Piano Vocal guitar Chords		Winter Wonderland and Other Christmas Favorites Songbook Piano Vocal guitar Chords
Wonderful Christmastime -Paul Mccartney (Wings) (Musescore File).mscz

What is the difference between Christmas songs and Carols?

What is Christmas music?

Well, according to the WIKIPEDIA: Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of carols, may employ lyrics about 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.

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Traditional Christmas carols include pieces such as “Silent Night“, “O Holy Night“, “Down in Yon Forest“, “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing“. While most Christmas songs before the 20th century were of a traditional religious character and reflected the Nativity story of Christmas, the Great Depression brought a stream of widely popular songs of U.S. origin. These songs did not explicitly mention the Christian nature of the holiday, but rather the more cultural 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“, as well as sentimental ballad-type songs performed by famous crooners of the era, such as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas“, “Blue Christmas” and “White Christmas“, the latter of which remained the best-selling single of all time as of 2024. Elvis’ Christmas Album (1957) by Elvis Presley is the best-selling Christmas album of all time, having sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

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. Some stations adopt the format as early as the day after Halloween (or, exceptionally rarely, even sooner) 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 Christmas–Epiphanytide season.

What is a Carol Anyway?

Carols started out as the 12^th Century equivalent to a disco anthem. They were dance tunes with words that first became popular around the year 1150. The word probably comes from the Latin term choraula, which refers to musicians, but the French word “carole” refers to a circle dance where everyone would join hands, a leader would sing verses and the rest of the group would join on the refrain, also known as the “burden.”

This explains why none of us know the verses to Christmas carols. It’s not our job. We’re just waiting for the leader to finish so we can contribute to the burden.

Carols Weren’t Originally Religious

We now tend to think of Christmas carols as religious songs, contrasted with other Christmas songs such as “White Christmas.” (Some songs, like “Jingle Bells,” aren’t religious or even Christmasy, but they have quaint lyrics so we treat them as Christmas carols.)

Songs like “Away in a Manger,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “The First Noel” definitely refer to the Christ part of Christmas. However, many of the original carols were just popular songs that could be written for any season. People used to sing harvest carols and May carols. Many medieval carols were complex and performed by professionals at banquets and festivals, and they often told a story that had a moral message.

While sources seem to disagree about when the focus of carols became religious, it might make more sense to ask when the secular carols disappeared. The original Christmas hymns, as songs of the church, were sung in Latin, which was a language generally only used by highly-educated people. The religious reformation movements, particularly starting in the 1500s, emphasized spreading the Word of God in common language rather than Latin, and songs are the easiest way to do that.

Christmas Carols vs. Hymns

From a technical perspective, there is a difference between Christmas carols and Christmas hymns. Despite devoting a solid 15 minutes of my life to copious research, I don’t quite understand the distinction. My best guess is that when no one’s sure who wrote the melody, they call it a carol and when they have a definite author of both lyrics and music, historians call it a Christmas hymn. But the distinction is probably far more technical. Some writers have said that hymns are theological while carols focus on factual parts of the Christmas story such as the manger, animals, star, and wise men.

Many popular Christmas hymns and carols date from the 1700s, including “Joy to the World” (hymn), “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (hymn) and “Angels We Have Heard on High” (carol). However, most of the ones we sing these days come from the 1800s including “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” (hymn), “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” (hymn), and “We Three Kings” (carol).

Gangs of Roving Carolers

Unlike hymns, which are associated with church, Christmas carols are associated with people singing from door to door. This tradition of going around the village with a bowl of wassail to share and spread cheer dates back as far as the original Christmas carols. Although it seems likely that those original carolers were not actually singing true carols (which were professional), but just basic drinking songs. Some sources say that the wassailers brought a giant goblet to share from house to house while other traditions insist that those singing expected to be rewarded with wassail at each stop.

Wassail is a warm drink based on ale, cider, or wine with spices and sometimes a frothed egg. The spices and eggs would have made it an expensive beverage, so it would be saved for special occasions such as the harvest or Christmas.

I’m guessing that that traditions of door-to-door drinking is what made the Puritans ban Christmas carols and everything else associated with the holiday.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Carol

The next time you hear a Christmas song, you can wonder whether it is a carol, a hymn, or something different. The song “Carol of the Bells,” for instance, is a Ukrainian song celebrating the new year. Though we now associate the turning of the year with the Christmas season, the song dates back to the pagan era when the new year was marked in April. And “Jingle Bells?” Don’t even get me started on that one. (I’ve got a whole blog ranting about why we shouldn’t be singing it.)

From today on, you’ll stop hearing Christmas songs until marketers start pushing the season in September or so. But traditionally, the Christmas season lasted another 12 days, with the biggest celebrations on Twelfth Night to mark Epiphany. So those of us who live our lights up for a while are not being lazy but liturgical.

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