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The Hymns and Carols
of Christmas

"Song of the Angels," by Adolphe-William Bouguereau, 1881.

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:8-14 KJV

On many pages, you will see links to "Noteworthy Composer files" and "XML files."
For more information about these two formats, see: NWC & XML.

Advent - Resources for the Season & Advent Hymns and Carols

Carol Services

Calendars of Carols
November, December and January

Christmas Poetry And Prose

Tables of Contents

The notation "Text Only" means that the original collection contains just lyrics, and no music. However, many songs will have music from other collections.

Theodoricus Petri, Piæ Cantiones ecclesiasticae et scholasticae veterum episcoporum
Griefswald, Sweden: 1582; With Music

Edward Bliss Reed, Christmas Carols Printed in the 16th Century Including Kele's Christmas Carolles Newly Inprynted
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1932; Text Only
Kele's Christmas Carolles

Richard Leighton Greene, A Selection of English Carols
Prior to 1550.
(London: The Clarendon Press, 1962); Text Only

Christmas Carols of Waddinge and Devereux
Bishop Luke Waddinge and Rev. William Devereux; Text Only
 Luke Wadding, A Small Garland of Pious & Godly Songs, 1684
William Devereux, A New Garland, containing songs for Christmas, ca. 1730

Christmas-tide Hymns of Charles Wesley
Rev. Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) - Text Only

Joseph Ritson, ed., Ancient Songs and Ballads From the Reign of King Henry the Second to the Revolution. 1790.
W. Carew Hazlitt, ed., Third Edition. Text Only
London: Reeves And Turner, 1877.
Repr. Detroit, MI: Singing Tree Press, 1968.

Davies Gilbert, Some Ancient Christmas Carols
London: John Nichols And Son, 1822
London: John Nichols And Son, Second Edition, 1823
Preface
Table Of Contents

William Sandys, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern
London: Richard Beckley, 1833; With Limited Music
Introduction
Christmas Play of Saint George
Table of Contents

Richard R. Terry, Gilbert and Sandys' Christmas Carols
London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, Ltd., 1931; With Music
Preface
Table of Contents

Anonymous, Christmas Carols, or Sacred Songs, Suited to the Festival of our Lord's Nativity,
London: John William Parker, 1833 (SPCK); Original Lyrics with Music

Thomas Wright, Specimens of Old Christmas Carols Selected from Manuscripts and Printed Books
The Percy Society,  1841; Text Only

Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols Now First Printed From a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century
The Percy Society, 1847; Text Only

C. Walters, A Good Christmas Box
C. Walters, 1847; Text Only

William Sandys, Christmas-tide, Its History, Festivities and Carols, With Their Music
London: John Russell Smith, 1852; Limited Music
A Mock Play
Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon
Table of Contents

Rev. John Mason Neale and Rev. Thomas Helmore, Carols for Christmas-tide
London: Novello, 1853; With Music

Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols from a Manuscript in the British Museum of the Fifteenth Century.
The Warton Club, 1856, Text Only

Rev. J. (John) Freeman Young, ed., Carols For Christmas Tide
New York: Daniel Dana, Jr., 1859; With Music
Earth Today Rejoices
Earthly Friends Will Change And Falter
Good Christian Men Rejoice
Good King Wenceslas
Here Is Joy For Every Age
Royal Day That Chasest Gloom
Silent Night, Holy Night - First Known Publication of this Famous Carol

Also see additional notes in
Hymns and Music For The Young - Parts One & Two - J. F. Young.

Joshua Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern
 London: John Camden Hotten, 1861; Text Only
Reprinted by A. Wessels Company, New York, 1901 & 1905
Table of Contents and Introduction

Book of Christmas Hymns
London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1868; Text Only

John Clark Hollister, ed., The Sunday-School Service and Tune Book
New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1863, 1865; With Music

John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Carols, Hymns and Songs
New York: Church Book Depository, 1863; With Music
The Angel Chorus
Evergreen, Holly And Laurel
The Christmas Tree
The Shepherds of Bethlehem
Three Kings Of Orient

Edward F. Rimbault, A Little Book of Christmas Carols
London: Cramer, Beale & Co., 201, Regent Street, No Date (circa 1863); With Music
Preface
Table Of Contents

William Henry Husk, Songs of the Nativity
London: John Camden Hotten, 1868, reprinted by Norwood Editions, Norwood, PA, 1873; Text Only
Introduction
Table of Contents

Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer, Christmas Carols New and Old
London: Novello, Ewer & Co., ca 1871, 1878; With Music
Introduction To The First Series
Introduction To The Second Series
Introduction To A Combined Volume 1871 (First and Second Series)
Introduction To A Combined Volume
(First, Second & Third Series)
Table of Contents

Orby Shipley, Annus Sanctus: Hymns of the Church for the Ecclesiastical Year
London and New York: Burns and Oates, 1884; Text Only

A. H. Bullen, A Christmas Garland: Carols and Poems From The Fifteenth Century To The Present Time
London: John C. Nimmo, 1885; Text Only
Preface
Table of Contents

J. H. Hopkins, Great Hymns of the Church Compiled by the Late Right Reverend John Freeman Young
New York: James Pott & Company, 1887; With Music
Preface
Table of Contents
John Freeman Young

J. A. Fuller Maitland, English Carols of the Fifteenth Century
London: The Leadenhall Press, E.C., ca. 1891.; With Music
Introduction
Table of Contents
Appendix

Edgar Pettman, Modern Christmas Carols
London, 1893; With Music

Richard R. Chope, Carols for Use in Church
London: William Clowes & Sons, The Complete Edition, 1894; With Music
Introduction
Table of Contents
Carol Services

Edgar Pettman, The Westminster Carol Book
London: Houghton & Co., 1899; With Music

Rev. John Brownlie, Christmas Hymns from The East
38 Translations from Six Collections, 1900-1913; Text Only

George Ratcliffe Woodward, The Cowley Carol Book
First Series, Expanded and Enlarged, Preface To First Series
London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., ca. 1902
Second Series, Preface To Second Series
London: A. R. Mowbray & Co., Ltd., ca. 1912; With Music
Table Of Contents

Phillips Brooks, Christmas Songs and Easter Carols
New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1903; Text Only
Table of Contents

E. K. Chambers and F. Sidgwick, Early English Lyrics
London: A. H. Bullen, 1907; Text Only

George Ratcliffe Woodward, ed., Songs of Syon
London: Schott & Co., Third Edition, 1908; Text Only

Edith Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols
London: Chatto & Windus, 1910; Text Only
Introduction
Table of Contents
Glossary
Illustrations

Cecil J. Sharp, English Folk-Carols
London: Novello & Co., 1911; With Music
Table of Content, Preface, and Introduction

Richard R. Terry, Twelve Christmas Carols
London: J. Curwen & Sons, Ltd., 1912; With Music

Martin Shaw and Percy Dearmer, The English Carol Book
London: Mowbray & Co., Ltd.; With Music
First Series, 1913
Second Series, 1919
Complete Edition, 1938 (Preface Only)
Carol Service, 1947

Charles L. Hutchins, Carols Old and Carols New
Boston: Parish Choir, 1916; With Music

Charles Wood and George Ratcliffe Woodward, eds., An Italian Carol Book
London: The Faith Press, Ltd., 1920; With Music
Table of Contents and Preface

George Ratcliffe Woodward, The Babe of Bethlehem
Being Some Christmas Carols
Hillsgate Village, 1923; Text Only

Charles Wood and George Ratcliffe Woodward, The Cambridge Carol-Book
Being Fifty-Two Songs For Christmas, Easter, And Other Seasons
London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1924; With Music

W. A. Pickard-Cambridge, A Collection of Dorset Carols
London: A. W. Ridley & Co., 1926; With Music
Preface
Table of Contents
This significant collection has been overlooked;
I would recommend this volume to the serious student of carols.

Ralph Dunstan, The Cornish Song Book (Lyver Canow Kernewek)
London: Reid Bros., Ltd., 1929; With Music
Introduction To Cornish Carols
Cornish Carols

Roy Ringwald, Book Of American Carols
Penn State University, 2004
Index

Christmas Carols now annually Printed
From Chapter Three, Christmas Carols, of William Hone's Ancient Mysteries Described (1823)

◊◊◊

Celebrate!
150 years of "Silent Night, Holy Night"

William Emmett Studwell
1936-2010

Acknowledgements

Bibliography
Includes links to other sites and to Amazon.com for printed collections, histories, etc.

Sheet Music Sources

Free Christmas MP3s

◊◊◊

William Hone, The Every Day Book
2 Vols.
London: William Tegg, 1825, 1827.

Brand's Popular Antiquities Of Great Britain
Selections from Hazlitt's Edition of 1905

What Is Meter?

Hymnals And Carol Collections

Collections Being Sought

Excerpt from King Charles I's Proclamation of 9 Sept 1630:
A Proclamation for adjourning of part of Michaelmas Terme

Christmas Classics™ Videos

Multi-media video presentations about favorite carols from Ron Clancy, author of the Christmas Classics™ series of beautifully illustrated Christmas carol books. Updates will appear approximately daily through early December, 2009. A total of 22 videos are expected to be linked.

Some Feast Days During the Christmas-Tide

St. Nicholas
Feast Day: December 6
From Saint Nicholas to Santa Claus: A History

St Stephen
(December 26)

St. John The Evangelist
(December 27)

The Holy Innocents
(December 28)

◊◊◊

Christmas Plays

Christmas Play of Saint George, from William Sandys, Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern (1833)

 Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon, from William Sandys, Christmas-tide: its History, Festivities and Carols (1852)

St. George He Was For England, from William Hone, Volume 2, the Every-Day Book (1827)
submitted by "W.S."

A Mock Play, from William Sandys, Christmas-tide: its History, Festivities and Carols (1852)

 A Mock Play, from William Hone, Volume 2, the Every-Day Book (1827)

◊◊◊

Other Christmas Literature and Reference Works

A Little Book for Christmas - Cyrus Townsend Brady (1917)

A Righte Merrie Christmasse!!! - John Ashton (1894)

Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of England - Robert Bell (1857) (Text)

Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England - Robert Bell (PDF)

Another Easy Christmas Book - Ruth Putnam Kimball (PDF, Illustrated; Source: Internet Archive)

The Children's Book of Christmas Stories - Asa Don Dickinson and Ada M. Skinner

Christmas: Its Origin and Associations - William Francis Dawson (1902)

Christmas: Its Origin, Celebration and Significance as Related in Prose and Verse - Robert Haven Schauffler (1907; from the Our American Holidays series; PDF, Illustrated; Source: Internet Archive)

Christmas Entertainments - Alice Maude Kellogg (Text)

Christmas In Legend And Story - Elva S. Smith and Alice I. Hazeltine (1915)

Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian and Pagan - Clement A. Miles (1912)

Christmas Stories And Legends - Phebe A. Curtiss (1916) (Text)

The Doré Gallery of Bible Illustrations - Gustave Doré (1891)

Folk Lore of East Yorkshire - John Nicholson (1890)

The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints - Alban Butler
January-February-March (1895)

Holiday Stories for Young People - Margaret E. Sangster

The Night Before Christmas and Other Popular Stories For Children - Anonymous

Our Holidays: Their Meaning and Spirit - from St. Nicholas Magazine

Traditions, Superstitions, and Folklore - Charles Hardwick (1872)

Yule-Tide in Many Lands - Mary P. Pringle and Clara A. Urann (1916)

Latin for Beginners - Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge (1911)

New Latin Grammar - Charles E. Bennett (1895, 1908, 1918)

Ritchie's Fabulae Faciles - A First Latin Reader - John Kirtland (1903)

The Roman Pronunciation of Latin - Frances Ellen Lord

A_Latin_English_Dictionary-Thomas Hewitt Key (1888)

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