"Aye, There's the rub!"

Here in Minnesota, we have no worries about a white Christmas this year. We have a nice blanket of white snow that has covered the Minneapolis/Saint Paul area. There is no trouble getting into the Christmas spirit. We have a couple of stations that play Christmas/holiday music 24/7. My top 20 in reverse order looks like this:
20."All I Want for Christmas is You"- Given that my wife and daughter watch the English Movie "Love Actually" almost every day during the holiday season means that Mariah Carey's version of this song has kind of grown on me. Not that she is a bad looking singing elf...
19- "Grandma got run over by a Reindeer". When I first saw the music video of this, I just roared. It's one of the funniest, if not most tasteless song of the holiday season.
18-"Il est ne` le Divin Enfant".  (He is born the Devine Child)- Every time I hear this song, it brings me back to when I was studying in Montpellier, France 26 years ago.
17-"Do you Hear What I hear?"- Bing Crosby's version with his rich and comforting baritone is the gold standard by which others are judged in singing this classic.
16-"Away in a Manger"-When sung by school kids, it adds an innocence and sweetness to this song.
15-"What Child is this?" Again, another fun one to sing in church.
14-"Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer".Growing up in the 60's, we baby-boomers fell in love with the cartoon version of this song which introduced us to Rudolph, Clarice, Hermey the Elf(who wanted to be a Dentist), the Island of Misfit Toys and Yukon Corneilius, among others.
13- "Have a Holly-Jolly Christmas". See above. Burl Ives played Sam the Snowman voice in Rudolph. An excellent dramatic actor and a folk singer(Was a a collegue of the late Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger), he achieved immortality with his version of this song.
12- "The 12 Days of Christmas"...'nuff said.
11- "Mr Grinch" The song from the cartoon adaptation of Dr Seus' "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is great fun. The cartoon itself was narrated by Boris Karloff. A true holiday classic for kids...and overaged kids with a bit of gray hair like me.
10-"Hark the Harald Angels Sing" This is a wonderful song if you are at a Christmas service, but I will always associate this song with the last scene from the film "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.
9-"Feliz Navidad" The Puerto Rico-born singer Jose Feliciano has acheived a certain level of cult status with this song that came out even before Latino culture was embraced in the United States. I think of the time I was in the Air Force in San Antonio, Texas. I loved the Mexican traditions of the Luminarias-the lighted bags with candles that lined the Riverwalk, Tamales and some of the Mexican pastries that were popular during the Christmas season. Even our Creche/nativity scene at our house is one we bought in Piedras Negras Mexico during our time in South Texas.
8-"Un Flambeau Jeanette, Isabelle"(A torch Jeanette and Isabelle) I love the French version of this Christmas song. Again, It brings back nostalgia of Christmas time in France, and what a wonderful Christmas eve and Christmas Day I had care of May and Gerry Gaertner. I refer to their domicile filled with love and caring as "The South African Consulate-Montpellier Branch".
7-"Rockin Around the Christmas Tree". Brenda Lee's rolicking version of this song adds a little rock-a-billy beat to the Christmas season. It never ceases to amaze me how such a diminutive woman can have such a big voice when singing.
6-"The Little Drummer Boy". The Vienna Boys Choir version of this song is by far the best. Nobody else is even a close second.
5-"Joy to the World". When attending a Christmas Eve service, this song, usually the last one sung in the service, just brings down the house.
4-"O Holy Night". Very few mortals can do justice to this song. People with exceptional pipes who I have heard sing this song that have brought tears to my eyes are the Late Luciano Pavarotti, Celine Dion and Joan Baez. When you have somebody with great vocal range singing this song, it really is a treat.
3-"Do They Know it's Christmas?" This was a group of top British Performers in the winter of 1984 who got together to record a song with proceeds going to African famine relief. It was a worthwhile cause, but the finished product gets more airplay each Christmas the last couple of years. When this all star group of British artists get to "Feed the World...Let them know it's Christmas after all", the harmony is just heartfelt and exquisite.
2-"So This is Christmas(war is over)"- John Lennon's career with the Beatles put him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He did not need this song from his solo career to achieve imortality-That said, it only added to his rich body of work. This powerful song gives us all a chance to ponder what really is important during this Christmas Season.
1. "Silent Night" -I have heard this song in English, French and it's original German. Irregardless of the Language it is sung in, I think that this is the most beautiful song ever written. When sung in church with the church darkened and with everybody holding a lighted candle, it is a magical experience.

The great thing about lists is that they are, by nature, subjective. I just wanted to share my favorites with you.