Just found this one on my FB feed:

Sadly, my least favourite came to mind first.  I won't bother posting it though.

I've seen a few good Christmas lights choreographed to a song.  Here's one:

Technically this is NOT a Christmas song, seeing as it comes from the Easter section of Handel's Messiah.  But nobody seems to know/remember that so here are 2 versions of the Hallelujah Chorus:

REcent years have made me a fan of Straight No Chaser

that 'straight no chaser' on for sure.

and 'do they know its christmas?' by the origional 'band aid'. 

'the 12 gays of christmas'... best dance number i've seen!!

http://youtu.be/BSedhEoutP0

I have so many favourites to choose from! As you can see, it's a mix of styles and content. The first one is actually a Hanukkah song, but I absolutely love it:

The Peter Paul and Mary is one of mine too!  I have used or referenced that song at church anniversary services in both my Pastoral Charges over the years.

Wow. It's that time already! I'll see what I can think of in the next week or so. It's just not coming to mind yet.

I think you and I have similar taste in Christmas music because the only video that you posted that I hadn't had the chance to enjoy before was the first one. Both of the Straight No Chaser videos, along with both of the Hallelujah Chorus are all ones that I really enjoy watching at this time of year!

Josh Groban - O HOLY NIGHT

Carrie Underwood - DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?

Faith Hill - WHERE ARE YOU CHRISTMAS

Josh Groban - LITTLE DRUMMER BOY

I'm really getting tired of the same o, same o songs that permeate the radio airwaves during christmas, especially the cutesy santa ones. They're starting to grate on my ears already.

I think I'm going to lean towards the Celtic music this year. Anyone have some unique ones that may not be so well known?

I'm fond of Celtic music as well.  Some I can offer -

This is well known but beautful - O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL

CAROL OF THE BELLS

CIRCLE OF JOY

CELTIC WINTER SOLSTICE

Those songs are beautiful, thanks Gecko!

something tells me I should NOT show this one to my girls (unless I want to replay it ad infinitum)

While the Hallelujah chorus is already on here in the same version…I love this one…makes me laugh every time….

Hah, hah! I have a boy. Bieber, along with Taylor Swift and One Direction, are anathema in our household.

"Power of Love" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood was never meant to be a Christmas song, but the video director and the band did a beautiful video based on the traditional Christmas story (i.e. a mashup of Matthew and Luke) and that led to it being considered one by the radio programming folks. Even odder when one considers that other songs by them were banned by the BBC and other stations for being too explicitly sexual or violent.

Mendalla

medalla... i always thought about the video for 'the power of love' as a paradox to their videos for 'relax' and 'two tribes'...

kind of a 'the sacred vs the profane' type of thing, like the last scenes of 'fantasia' with 'night on bald mountain' juxtaposed with 'ave maria'. 

i have never thought of 'the power of love' as a christmas song, really.. but you do have a point that it can be.

Gord, that Beiber one is actually not bad!  I could see myself enjoying that one with a bunch of Christmas songs.  The video itself - meh.

Here's a really cute song I heard the other day on the radio (sorry, this is the only video I could find):

just found this one, will use it on Dec 23 for worship:

In honour of the first night if Hanukkah:

Nice find Gord - I've always enjoyed Steven Page's work.

Richard Clayderman & Akim Camara - Ave Maria 2009

Akim is 9 years old in this video.  He was discoved by Andre Rieu when Akim was only 3 years old.

riu riu chiu

:

Christmas Is: (sung by Mark Harris and his daughter)

Ummmmm - does that mean that the expectation is that while the merry gentlemen rest their womenfolk shoud be cooking the next meal and taking care of the children?

Sorry - male based language really bothers me.

when the song in question is as old as it is then yes the language and theology and cultural assumptions is not going to match our current understandings  (which is a problem with many traditional carols to be honest)

Yep - it is a problem for me as a 60+ woman.  It is also a problem that many friends grapple with.  Many of us gave up on church because there didn't seem to be any possibility that we females woud ever  be truly regarded as equally created in the image of god.

I realise that this particular song could easily be Aaron's favorite, and that is ok providing it is just as ok for me to point out that it stung me a bit. 

Way back in the 1960's women were objecting to hymns and prayers that didn't obviusly include us.  Occasioanlly they still happen even now.

Sorry, I didn't mean any offense by it. It is the first song I learned to play on the flute :-)

Interesting - I've never made that assumption about this particular hymn. It seems to me that, at the time this was written, people would say "men" instead of "men and women" - and so I always thought was what was meant here too. 

Aaron - what a neat first song to learn!  I used to play the flute too, but I have no idea what the first song I learned was - but I'm sure it was something along the lines of "Hot Cross Buns" or "Twinkle, Twinkle" - lol!

Aaron, you rock for bringing up the Tull :3 *hug*

Another good one is how I came across Tim Minchin, his White Wine in the Sun.  I still cry at its beauty...

Now non Top 20 Christmas songs:

Mediaeval Baebes "The Holly & the Ivory"

The Flaming Lips "Christmas on Mars"

Indigo Girls "There's Still my Joy"

Tom Waits "Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis"

Patsy Cline’s Lost Christmas Song

Pink Floyd "Merry Xmas Song"

Loreena McKennitt “To Drive the Cold Winter Away”

Dio "G_d rest ye merry gentlemen"

Holly Cole “Christmas Blues”

Iron Maiden "Another Rock n roll Christmas"

Christmas Vaginas

Darkness "Don't Let the Bells End"

Tori Amos “Silent Night With You”

Nick Cave “Let the Bells Ring”

Pink Martini “Snowglobe Christmas”

Three Leg Torso “Wanderlust Circus”

Asylum Street Spankers “Zat you Santa Clause?”

”12 Days of Science Christmas”

Monty Python “The Christmas Card”

Zero Physics Christmas Edition

Slade “Merry Christmas Everybody”

Dead Can Dance “Fortune presents Gifts not According to the Book”

Baby’s first Christmas

"I Believe in Father Christmas" by Greg Lake (from King Crimson and Emerson, Lake, & Palmer). Not so much a Christmas song as a song about Christmas, if that makes sense. He originally wrote and recorded the song in the seventies but this live performance is from 2005.

Mendalla

Aaron - I know you didn't intend to step on my sore spot by posting that song.  Not only that - you have a good reason to have a soft spot for it. 

I doubt there is a good fix for situations like this one.  That song is part of the tradition - and yet including that the traditional song has the power to turn some people off.  Quandaries and more quandaries seems to be the name of the game.

Sometimes it's possible to change the words of the traditional carol  to make it more inclusive, for example in "Joy to the World" you can change the words from "let men their songs emply" to "let all their songs employ." That works for me.

Except everyone will still sing the old words.  THe real way to change what we sing would be to write new carols

|Interesting.  At teh church an hour ago I wnet on YouTUbe and got the new format.  Now at home I got the old format which enables me to get teh old embed code and post this:

And This:

Very interesting indeed. What browser and version do you use at home? Maybe if you're running an older browser (or even a particular current browser) it defaults to the old Youtube because of a compatibility issue or something?

Mendalla

SAme browser both places--Firefox.  Infact since my home machine died and had the hard drive replaced 2 weeks ago (requiring a reload of everything) I can be quite sure that it is a recent version on there.  And up until last night I am sure I was getting the old YouTube on teh work machine too....

Then again trying to understand why websites dothe strange things they do is often a fools game.

The video I can take or leave but I have loved the song since I was a child:

I heard an interview with Sarah McLachlan on the radio the other day, and she was talking about the work she does with her music school in Vancouver. You can hear the interview here, and also find a link to the lovely Christmas video she did with them: 

http://www.ocean985.com/2012/12/20/a-conversation-with-sarah-mclachlan/

Yahoo! I have "Use Old Embed Code" again!

Heard this one on the radio today. It's the Barenaked Ladies featuring Sarah McLachlan with a medley God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and We Three Kings:

And a writer in The Globe did a great piece on why the Pogues "Fairytale of New York" is a great pop Christmas song:

Mendalla

a ballad, some filking, a rap and some punk:

"woody allen jesus" by tim minchin

"Merry F'in Christmas" by Jesus & Santa

"Happy Birthday Jesus" by Circus of Dead Squirrels

"Christmas With Mulva" by Mulva

"Christmas Penis" by TSPS

just watche this one: