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The Hymns and Carols
of Christmas!
Christmas carols and hymns are one aspect of the holiday season that never fail to lift the spirits
— and require no baking, no tree stands, and no extension cords. While there is a body of well-known Christmas songs that are perennial favorites, there are many more which have slipped into obscurity.
The purpose of this site is to preserve the rich history of Christmas carols and hymns
that might otherwise be lost.
My reasons for doing so are very similar to the feelings expressed
by the early 19th century collector Davies Gilbert. In the
Preface to his landmark 1822 edition
Some Ancient Christmas Carols, he wrote:
The Editor is
desirous of preserving them in their actual forms ... as
specimens of times now passed away, and of religious
feelings.... He is anxious also to preserve them on account of
the delight they afforded him in his childhood, when the
festivities of Christmas Eve were anticipated by many days of
preparation, and prolonged through several weeks by repetitions
and remembrances.
This web site is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Here, the celebration of the Christmas-tide does not mysteriously
end at 6 p.m. on Christmas Day. Rather, you can celebrate the entire
12 days of Christmas — or even the 40 days of Christmas ending with
the Candlemas on February 2nd. Indeed, here you can celebrate the music and spirit of Christmas all year round.
There is no additional content that requires creation of an account
or payment of a fee; all content is free. If you like it, download
it (you never need to ask for permission).
If you have received a benefit from this site, please consider making a donation to an appropriate charity. Please see the
FAQ.
If you have received a "spam" message purportedly from
this site, please see
What's New.
"Spammers" have hijacked several email accounts from this site,
making it appear that someone from this site is sending out "spam."
To be clear: this site does not send unsolicited email of any
sort at any time.
Happy Holidays!
Douglas D. Anderson
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Please help spread the good news at Facebook about the over
3,600 Christmas hymns and carols at this web site:
Thanks!
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Some
New Christmas Recordings in 2013
Celebrate!
150 years of "Silent Night, Holy Night"
Semper Ferians
(Always Keeping Holiday)
The motto of George Ferrers of Lincoln's Inn,
Master of the King's Pastimes,
1551-2
Source: William Sandys,
Christmas-tide,
London: John Russell
Smith, ca. 1852
"'Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing his hands again.
'Mankind was my business.
The common welfare was my business;
charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business.
The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water
in the comprehensive ocean of my business!'"
- Jacob Marley
"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.
I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.
The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.
I will not shut out the lessons that they teach."
- Ebenezer Scrooge
-- Charles Dickens,
A Christmas Carol, 1843
"And
the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"
-- Dr. Seuss,
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Charlie Brown:
Isn't there anybody who
knows what Christmas is all about?
Linus:
"And there were in the
same country shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their
flocks by night ....
Charles Schultz,
A Charlie Brown Christmas
The Biblical Accounts of
The Birth of Christ
"Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your
hearts."
Hebrews 4:7
"Religious songs are proper expressions of thankful praise."
From Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 33
Prayer And
Study Resources - The Motley Crew Notes
Memoirs of the
Lutheran Liturgical Association
Luther's Liturgical Writings
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Christmas
is a joyous time for celebration with family and friends.
For children however it’s all about
Santa Claus.
And the sight of jolly ole
St. Nick
dressed in his
Santa suit quickly gets the attention of children
around the globe.
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Christmas Classics™ Videos
Multi-media video presentations about
21 favorite
carols from Ron Clancy, author of the
Christmas Classics™
series of beautifully illustrated Christmas carol books.
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