Christmas Carols

I found this Christmas carol meme over at MacBeth's.

Christmas Carols:

1. Love 'em, hate 'em, tolerate 'em, or...? Love them!
2. Policy: none before Christmas, none before Thanksgiving, or...? None before Thanksgiving.
3. Favorite? Favorites, if you've got more than one?Wow--lots of favorites. The Andy Williams Merry Christmas cd takes me waaaaay back. The first "jing-a-ling, jing-jing-a-ling" perks me right up. Luckily my children have been brainwashed indoctrinated into the tradition.

I really like Advent and chant-type songs: O Come, O Come Emmanuel; Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence; Of the Father's Love Begotten; People Look East; What Child is This? Also Joy to the World; The Holly and the Ivy (beautiful verses); O Holy Night. Newer songs like Breath of Heaven and Mary Did You Know? Weston Priory songs. And more I can't think of right now. I love Christmas music!
4. Least favorite? Drives you batty/hate it/turn it off if it comes on the radio? Santa Baby, Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
5. Caroling door to door in neighborhood? Ever done it/would do it? Wouldn't even consider it? Caroled some as a kid, and fortunately have a friend who hosts a caroling party every year. We'll be going on Friday!
6. Funniest kids' rendition, if any? Hmmm...
7. Most inappropriate carol ever heard in a church setting (Catholic or otherwise)? Hmmm... Guess I've been lucky (or forgetful).
8. The one foreign language carol I know (or know best) is...? Probably one verse of Silent Night in the original German.
9. Carol that perplexes you the most? Remember the adage, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all?" That's what I don't get about some secular "Christmas" songs (see #4 and their ilk)--WHY?

Too much "styling" always perplexes me, as well. A singer may want to add his or her touch to a familiar carol, but the ones that stray too far from familiar tune or tempo or instrumentation make me wonder, "Why?"
10. Carol your whole family will sing? Away in a Manger, if we start on the right note.

Mary, Did You Know? is a song I didn't hear until I was a homeschooling parent. I distinctly remember receiving the Rescue cd as an extra in a big order from Rainbow Resources one year. Here's someone else's version for you to enjoy.