What is your favourite Christmas song?

All time favourite would be the 80s band aid version do they know its christmas, also really like driving home for christmas by chris rea, and the more recent one with elton john and ed sheeran, have always found the pogues song not to my liking and find it over rated
 
Not my favourite, but another belter than again takes me back to younger years and, for me at least, happy times (I appreciate the subject of the song isn't happy at all).

 
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I like the old ones and most of the modern ones. Love them all really.

Fairytale of New York by The Pogues has to be my number one though.
 
Hard to pick one, a few faves already mentioned, but something not so far...


Edit: And anyone around in the 80s must remember this one from National Lampoons, closest thing Fleetwood MaC have to an Xmas song, through a Lindsey Buckingham solo and strange video!

 
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Andrew_McP said:
I have about 40 in my Christmas songbook, from school assembly bangers (dressing up as a sheep not compulsory) to Slade, and the one I enjoy playing and gets the best reception is nearly always Fairy Tale of New York... the slow start and rousing chorus is such a winner, even in care homes, where the mood of a song matters more than the words (not that I do the controversial bit). Stop the Cavalry with a Kazoo taped to my mic is fun too. :D

But, on a good day, with a following wind and some drop D tuning, I can bodge a version of this personal favourite, which is sublime. Well, the original is...
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I'd forgotten about this one. It hit me right in the feels. It's up there with the best. Maybe #1 or#2 for me. It blows me away.
 
This year I'm very fond of Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leontovych. Born: 13 December 1877.




A little history on Mykola Leontovych. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Leontovych

Mykola Leontovych, the composer of "Shchedryk" ("Carol of the Bells""), was assassinated by a Soviet secret police (Cheka) agent, Afanasy Grishchenko, in 1921 due to his strong ties to the Ukrainian independence movement and cultural identity, which the Bolshevik regime viewed as a threat, making him a political target despite the initial cover-up as a robbery.


Details of the Murder
  • Date & Location:
    Early morning, January 23, 1921, at his parents' home in Markivka, Ukraine.

  • The Killer:
    Grishchenko, a Cheka agent, posed as a traveler needing shelter, shared a room with Leontovych, and shot him at dawn after robbing the house.

Reasons for the Assassination
    • Political Affiliation:
      Leontovych was a vocal supporter of Ukrainian independence, helping form the Ukrainian Republic Capella to promote Ukraine's distinct culture internationally.

  • Cultural Threat:
    His work, including the folk song arrangement "Shchedryk," became a symbol of Ukrainian identity, challenging Russian cultural dominance, which the Bolsheviks saw as a subversive act against their control.

  • Suppression of Intelligentsia:
    The murder was part of a broader Bolshevik campaign to eliminate Ukrainian intellectuals and leaders who supported an independent state.

Aftermath & Revelation
    • Soviet Cover-up: The murder was initially disguised as a simple robbery by a criminal.


  • Declassified Documents: The truth was only revealed decades later with the fall of the Soviet Union, when archival documents confirmed it was a politically motivated assassination by the Cheka.


And of course :-

 
Subzero85 said:
All time favourite would be the 80s band aid version do they know its christmas, also really like driving home for christmas by chris rea, and the more recent one with elton john and ed sheeran, have always found the pogues song not to my liking and find it over rated
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I could have written this post!

I enjoyed FT in NY when it first came out, but the more i think of it, it's just miserable. Also now, i'm (much!) older, Slade and Wizard can GTFO out too.
 
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