in Sweden it is tradition to dance around the Christmas tree and sing, this being one of the traditional songs sung Hark! The Herald’ – an 1840 tune from Mendelssohn. ‘ Silent Night’? Composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. ‘ Good King Wenceslas’? – 1853 lyrics set to an older tune. The list goes on…

In Britain, this hymn is better known with GLORIA, the French carol tune associated with “Angels We Have Heard on High.” It is often called IRIS, after the newspaper in which Montgomery first published the text. When/Why/How: A Christmas carol in a Calypso style. This song probably comes from Trinidad, but it is often also sung in Jamaica. It was made popular when it was included in a piano songbook of Christmas carols by Edric Connor in 1945. The chorus is in a ‘call and response’ format. The minister Philip Brooks wrote this carol after a visit to Bethlehem in 1865. He asked their church organist to compose the melody. The carol has since become of the most-performed Christmas songs the world over. The carol is actually sung to a different tune in the United Kingdom, by the iconic British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. Words: French poem, Minuit Chrétiens translated by Jonathan Sullivan Dwight Tune: Cantique De Noël by Adolphe Adam. First two stanzas unknown, often erroneously attributed to Martin Luther; third stanza written by John McFarland (1904)Musicologist Cecil Sharp, influential in the folklore revival in England, noted in his 1916 One Hundred English Folksongs that the words are "so corrupt, indeed, that in some cases we can do little more than guess at their original meaning" Rather than celebrating the birth of Christ, the text of this hymn represents Christ’s triumphant return. The words, dreamed up by English writer Isaac Watts, are based on the second half of Psalm 98 in the Bible. In the late ’90s, it was named the most-published Christmas hymn in North America. You can just feel the merriness pouring out of it. Many English Christmas carols have their origins in the Medieval Mystery Plays of the 16th century, and the Coventry Carol is no exception. words by Zachris Topelius (1887; Finnish translation by Martti Korpilahti, 1909); music by Jean Sibelius (1895)

: Hear the angels singing, 'Christ is born'. Charles Oakley’s text found its appeal when paired with a rousing tune by Martin Shaw called Little Conard. The hymn tells the story of the Advent message of the coming of the Christ Child spreading to all four corners of the globe. known among English speakers as "The Christ-Child's Lullaby", as popularized by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser Hymns for Easter, Traditional Easter lyrics midi and PDF 100+ Hymns for Ascension, lyrics (some with chords) and PDF Originally based on a poem entitled, ‘A Christmas Carol’ by Christina Rossetti, this carol has become equally popular in settings by Gustav Holst and Harold Darke. The text is delicate and intimate, and both settings bring out its beauty.

8. Coventry Carol

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