Christmas, traditionally, is a holiday celebrated by Christians as a means to honor their faith. These days, on top of that, Christmas represents family holiday time the world over (oh, and presents hehe). To celebrate how much this one holiday encompasses the entire world, I’m dedicating this second to last SMILE to various songs and carols for Christmas from all over the globe. Enjoy!
The first carol comes from France, it’s called Les Anges dans nos Campagnes (French)(lyrics in previous link). Translated, the title is “Angels in our countryside”, but many church goers will know it better by its English title: “Angels We Have Heard on High”.
A stop over in Austria gives us Stille Nacht (German)(lyrics in previous link). This carol, known to most people as Silent Night, was originally composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr and has since become a staple in all Christmas playlists.
Our next stop is Latvia with Circenīša Ziemassvētki (Latvian)(lyrics – sorry, no English). I wasn’t able to find out much about this one, but apparently it’s about a mother singing to her son that he won’t be hungry for Christmas.
Going back down to Italy, we find Tu scendi dalle stelle (Italian)(lyrics in previous link). Written in 1732 by Saint Alfonso Liguori, the English title is “You Come Down from the Stars”.
Jumping all the way over to the Philippines, we find Pasko na Naman (Filipino)(lyrics). This traditional Filipino Christmas song has been covered many times, but I quite like this version by Freddie Aguilar.
Spinning around to the other side of the globe and landing in Puerto Rico gives us José Feliciano‘s Feliz Navidad (Spanish/English)(lyrics), one of the few modern Christmas songs that can equal the popularity of those above. Released in 1970, the song’s simply lyrics are credited for its massive success.
Up in America, my personal favorite Christmas song is Bing Crosby‘s White Christmas (lyrics). When talking about Christmas songs, this song penned by the amazing Irving Berlin takes the cake. Bing Crosby’s version is recognized as the the best-selling single of all time and watching the movie has become a holiday tradition for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14
As a sort of bonus song, because it just came out a few days ago, here’s a new Christmas song from Korea: 서인국, 빅스, 박정아, and 박윤하‘s 사랑난로 (Seo Inguk, Vixx, Park Jungah, and Park Yoonha’s Love In The Air) (Korean)(lyrics). This is the newest release in Jellyfish Entertainment‘s Jelly Christmas series, which have been released ever year (minus 2014) since 2010.
What Christmas songs do you enjoy? Leave them in the comments below, and be sure to include any suggestions you may have for an upcoming SMILE!