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Christmas Carols and Other Seasonal Music: An Appreciation Lens

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Behind the music...

For a long time, I've wanted to create a web page about Christmas carols. Some of them have interesting "backstories", either in how the song came to exist, or the subject of the song. And since the same tunes are often popular in different cultures, I also find it fascinating that the lyrics may vary significantly in other languages, since preserving the rhythm may have been more important to the translator than preserving the sentiment. It's also interesting to note how many modern popular songs there are about Christmas, from love songs to novelty songs.

Five things I'd like to do with this page

(As this page is still under development, this list may eventually become obsolete, depending on what I discover during my further research on the subject.)
  • Compare and contrast various translations of Christmas carols.
  • Explore the origin of various songs, especially traditional ones.
  • Present links to other interesting Christmas carol sites.
  • Recommend Christmas music that you can buy at Amazon.com.
  • Make lists of favorites.

Concert Program

what you'll find here

The content of this lens is likely to change, especially near Christmas.

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  1. Christmas links
  2. Favorite seasonal tunes
  3. Christmas Trilogy by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
  4. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music
  5. Holiday music in the Cherokee language
  6. Christmas carols in American Sign Language
  7. Sing out!

Christmas links

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Christmas on the Net - The History of Christmas

The history of Christmas dates back over 4000 year more...0 points

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Auld Lang Syne - Lyrics and MIDI - Christmas Carol Lyrics

Auld Lang Syne means Old Long Ago, and is traditio more...0 points

Favorite seasonal tunes

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Silent Night

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Jingle Bells

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The First Noel

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It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

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Joy to the World

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The Little Drummer Boy

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Christmas Trilogy by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

from Amazon.com

These three albums were conceived as rock opera; each album is part of a continuing story. To find out more about the story, you can visit Trans-Siberian Orchestra's official site.
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Mannheim Steamroller Christmas music

from Amazon.com

People who aren't already fans of these prolific musicians may at least be fans of their Christmas music. Here are some of their most popular holiday recordings.
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Holiday music in the Cherokee language

from Amazon.com

If you saw the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, you probably saw the Cherokee National Youth Choir singing "Jingle Bells" in the Cherokee language. They have recorded a whole album of popular holiday music translated into this Native American tongue. For more information, read the article at Indian Country Today.
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Christmas carols in American Sign Language

from Amazon.com

This DVD is a visual album of Christmas carols performed by Hayden Riley in American Sign Language, with musical accompaniment and English subtitles. For more information, visit ASL-Christmas-Carols.com.
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Sing out!

What's your favorite seasonal tune? Is it traditional? A modern popular song? Do you know who wrote it? Do you know all the verses? Do you know it in more than one language? Even if you don't even know all the words, tell us about it here!

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