Special Sub-Topic: Christmas Carols. Click Here To Play: Christmas Carols.

'O come, Thou Rod of Jesse,free Thine own from Satan's tyranny.'

O Come Emmanuel. The text was translated by Henry Sloane Coffin and the tune, called Veni Emmanuel was a French piece. As several people have written correction notes, you may be interested to know that 'The First Nowell' seems to be the English version of the carol. In church in England, I never saw it spelt Noel for this carol, although Noel is the spelling used more often otherwise.

'Thus spoke the seraph and forthwith Appeared a shining throng Of angels....'

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night. Written by Nahum Tate (1652-1715). Nahum Tate was born in Dublin, Ireland and became Poet Laureate in 1692.

'Sages leave your contemplations, Brighter visions beam afar.'

Angels From the Realms Of Glory. Written by James Montgomery (1771-1854).

'Hail the heaven-born Prince of peace! Hail the Son of Righteousness!' comes from 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing'.

true. 'Hark the Herald Angels Sing' was written by Charles Wesley (1707-1788), the brother of John Wesley and founder with him of the Methodist movement. The carol was written in 1739. The music was written by Felix Mendelssohn, arranged by William H. Cummings.

'Glories stream from Heaven afar, Heav'nly Host sing Alleluia.'

Silent Night. This was written in 1818 in Hallein, in the Tyrol, by church organist Franz Gruber and schoolmaster Joseph Mohr. It is perhaps the best known carol in the world. During World War 1 the soldiers on the front lines laid down their guns and sang it together across No Man's Land.

'Oh morning stars, together Proclaim the holy birth'

O Little Town Of Bethlehem. Written by Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) from Boston Massachusetts. He wrote the carol three years after his visit to the Holy Land in 1865.

'O sing all ye citizens of Heaven above'

O Come All Ye Faithful. This carol was originally written in Latin, probably by John Francis Wade (1711-1786). The tune, Adeste Fideles, was used in Vaudeville in Paris in 1744.

'Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow.'

In The Bleak Midwinter. Written by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). She was born in London into a family of poets and artists.

'He was little, weak and helpless, Tears and smiles like us he knew.'

Once In Royal David's City. Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895) from County Wicklow, Ireland, wrote this. She also wrote 'All Things Bright And Beautiful' and 'There Is A Green Hill Far Away'.

'When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.'

Good King Wenceslas. 'Good King Wenceslas' was actually Saint Wenceslas (c.903-929), the Duke of Bohemia, who was born in Stochov in what is now the Czech Republic. The words were written by John Mason Neale (1818-1866) in 1853.