Favorite Christmas Songs?

For me, I like

Away in a Manger

We Three Kings (I think because of the 3/4 time and because I played it on piano as a kid)

O Holy Night (pretty good; tough to sing; gotta hear Kate Smith's version)

O Tannenbaum


I tend to like the Christian ones, since they cut to the core of what it's all about (anytime can be Shop-It-Up Weekend/Sale/Blow-out), and touch on what's truly important. Very nice stuff, all Christmas stuff; I'm ear-tired of the pop 1950s stuff/fluff on the local Christmas radio channel.

I'm not Christian, but I do love the "religious" Christmas songs the best because the melodies are so lovely. Half the time I don't even know the stories behind them, but it doesn't bother me one bit because my interpretation is that the sentiment is pretty universal. In the first post you covered a few of my favorites already, I'd add to that What Child is This, Adeste Fidelis, and O Come O Come Emmanuel.

On the secular side, I actually just made a list of my top five unrelated to this post. In no particular order, I included: Silver Bells, I'll Be Home for Christmas, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland, and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

I just played a mini holiday gig last night. I started with a Dropbox folder of holiday song charts, most of them supplied by other people, a few of them mine, and selected from that list. Here's the set list I chose:

Angels We Have Heard on High - (this was glorious when my audience joined on the "glorias" - I chose my moment when the best singers were there)
Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You (Billy Squier) - (I don't think I've ever actually heard this song, so I made up my own melody - might video it this weekend)
Deck the Halls - (another good singalong)
Do You Hear What I Hear - (ditto ... needs the echo part!)
Feliz Navidad - (simple and fun)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer - (my personal favorite )
Happy Everything - (original I wrote last year)
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - (well, I'll do it next year after I transpose it from C to F)
Holiday Road (Lindsey Buckingham) - (hey, it's from a Christmas movie!)
Jingle Bell Rock
Silver Bells - (another fun singalong / echo part)

There were two mashups I didn't have time to learn but looked intriguing:
- Blue+White Christmas - mashup of "White Christmas" and "Blue Christmas" done by a local guy
- We Three Kings / God Rest Ye (Barenaked Ladies) - I haven't heard it, but it looks cool
I do love me a good mashup - the Blue / White Christmas looks really cool!

I'd have done "Good King Wenceslas" if we'd had it.

Silent Night in the key of D is made for the baritone if the player understands the use of the E9 chord. One of these days I may do a Y-tube on my chording and method, we'll see.

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Christmas Day In The Cookhouse (adult advisory !!)a fusion of ribald rugby song humour , Tidings of Comfort and Joy ...and actually the naughty humour is all in your head...

Winter Wonderland ..in which there is not one mention of Crimble.

Greensleeves and My Favorite Things(both by Coltrane) are my favorites though arguably not christmas songs at all. I can't play either but will likely attempt to learn within the next year.

When the club is playing in public, standard songs like Run, Run Rudolph, Frosty, Jingle Bell Rock, Santa Baby, etc. When it's just us, Fairytale of New York (The Pogues), and Merry Christmas From the Family (Robert Earl Keene) are known to appear.

Like janeray1940 I am not a Christian, I gave it up for Lent when I was 13. None the less Christmas is my favorite holiday season because of the music and traditions. I also like the concept of the Promise Fulfilled.

English carols and wassails are right up there. The Wassails are drinking songs, A fondness since my days at university. My favorite drinking song for the season is "Twelve days of Christmas". "The Cherry Tree" is my favorite Carol. "Holly and the Ivy" too.

"Good King Wenceslas" has pride of place in the Bluegrass and Hungarian Ballad Categories.
"The Restroom Door Said Gentleman" - Parody
"Rudolf" - for the kids
"Would you like to Swing on a Star" - for my dad
"Let it Snow" - personal favorite
"Sleigh Ride" -bucket list

Corn, Water and Wood

My fave Christmas songs are O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy, and Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas.

I started to work with a few kids, from church, on Little Drummer Boy. They were singing it and a few played along with their ukes. We were suppose to perform it tomorrow during the service. Eight days ago my daughter and I came down with the flu. She's better now, but I'm still sick. We missed 2 practices. Had we started practicing sooner, they could still perform tomorrow, without me. But since we decided to do this, as late as we did, we had to cancel. We will have to work up something else now, for another week. But I was excited that we were going to do such a great song.

O Come, O Come Immanuel
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
The Coventry Carol
O Come All Ye Faithful
Silent Night
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Joy to the World
Selections from Handel's Messiah
And many more . . .

Farp said:

Silent Night in the key of D is made for the baritone if the player understands the use of the E9 chord. One of these days I may do a Y-tube on my chording and method, we'll see.

Click to expand...

Do it! Please?

Here is lead sheet that I made up of my favorite. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas:

http://files.meetup.com/1634379/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas G Major.pdf

Trivia: Judy Garland insisted the original lyrics be changed prior to the song's inclusion in "Meet Me in St. Louis" because they were too depressing. Frank Sinatra had the composer adjust the lyrics again, when he recorded the tune. He belived the song was still too depressing for Christmas.

O Holy Night, my most favorite! Also It's a Marshmallow World

The only song I can play that sounds like what I think it should sound like is Aldrine's Greensleeves/What Child is This? found on the UU song videos.

When I play the chords, or the chords/fingerpicking on the many holiday tabs available, it does not sound like my mind says it should, if that makes sense.

I think what I will do starting about September of next year is to purchase the Ukulele Mike Lynch Chord Melody arrangements for Christmas music, as that is closest in sound to what I am aiming for in holiday music. Learn one or two a week and I will have a better grasp of the music for the next season. I did not start practicing Christmas music until Thanksgiving break, and that is not enough time for me to internalize it.

Robert Earl Keen's "Merry Christmas from the Family ..."

http://youtu.be/p053GxJX5y8

Jim Nabors' Christmas Eve in My Hometown

Roger Whittaker's Ding, Dong Merrily on High

Johnny Mathis' We Need a Little Christmas

Leroy Anderson's Sleigh Ride

Alfred Apaka's Mele Kalikimaka

Merry Christmas, everyone!

keep uke'in',

Being Christian, i prefer the Christian songs over the secular songs. For the last few years however, Mary Chapin Carpenter's "Come Darkness, Come Light" album gets the first play and most play. I start playing it on Thanksgiving Day with the Thanksgiving Song.