You can find lists of great and favorite Christmas songs everywhere, and whose list is definitive will depend on who you trust. This morning, I looked up Parade’s list of 50 best and compared it to a list of 30 from ClassicFM. You might think Parade’s list leans toward pop songs, but I found a 46% overlap between the lists out of a possible 60%. I wish these songs were what you could expect on the radio or while shopping.

Parade’s first 10 (with ClassicFM’s number in parentheses), not intended ranking priority:

1. Silent night (2) 

2. O Come All Ye Faithful (6) 

3. 12 Days of Christmas  

4. Do You Hear What I Hear 

5. The Little Drummer Boy 

6. Joy to The World (13) 

7. The First Noel (29) 

8. Jingle Bells 

9. Deck the Halls 

10. O Christmas Tree (this one also made it on the list at #43 as “O Tannenbaum”)

That leans toward popular fare, and it’s a good, fun list. “O Come All Ye Faithful” is one of the best carols of all time. You could sing it year round in English or Latin. On “Silent Night,” ClassicFM notes, “During the Christmas truce of 1914 during World War I, the carol was sung simultaneously by English and German troops.”

11. We Three Kings 

12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (14) 

13. I Saw Three Ships 

14. O holy night (1) 

15. Away in a Manger(15) 

16. Go Tell It on the Mountain 

17. Caroling, Caroling 

18. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing (5) 

19. The Holly and the Ivy (22) 

20. O Come, O Come Emmanuel (7) 

21. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (10) 

22. I Wonder as I Wander 

23. What Child Is This  

24. Carol of the Bells (23) 

25. March of the Kings 

Now we’re into more reverent while still joyful songs: “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” “O Holy Night,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is old chant material. “I Wonder as I Wander” as a similar vibe. I’m not familiar enough with “March of the Kings” to recognize it by name, but I recognize the melody of this old French carol about the magi coming with their caravan.

26. How Far Is It to Bethlehem 

27. Good King Wenceslas (27) 

28. Once in Royal David’s City 

29. Children, Go Where I Send Thee 

30. Angels We Have Heard on High 

31. We Wish You a Merry Christmas 

32. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 

33. Ding Dong Merrily on High (25) 

34. In the Bleak Mid-Winter (3-4, two versions) 

35. The Sans Day Carol (Saint Day Carol) 

36. Here We Come A-Wassailing 

37. Angels From the Realms of Glory (28) 

38. I Saw a Maiden 

39. Truth From Above 

40. Whence Is That Goodly Fragrance Flowing 

41. Wassail Song 

42. Of the Fathers Heart Begotten 

43. O Tannenbaum 

44. The Cherry Tree Carol 

45. O Little Town of Bethlehem (9) 

46. Coventry Carol (8) 

47. In Dulci Jubilo (12) 

48. Sussex Carol (16) 

49. Shepherd’s Pipe Carol (17) 

50. Gabriel’s Message (19) 

In the last half, Parade’s list has carols I haven’t heard before. I linked to a few of them. We’ve been celebrating Christmas for a so long that we’re bound to have written more music than casual listeners can keep up with. Low on the list, “The Sussex Carol”, is one of my favorites.

From the works on ClassicFM’s list that remain, my church choir has sung three of them recently.

51. Once in Royal David’s City  

52. The Three Kings (Not We Three Kings)

54. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree 

55. Gaudete 

56. See Amid the Winter’s Snow 

57. Candlelight Carol 

58. What Sweeter Music