If you’ve seen my list of autumn carols, you already know I love festive music. Last year, I stumbled upon a list of Christmas carols that purported to be secular. But “Christmas” carols, by their very name, are not secular, because Christmas is not a secular holiday. (Again, it’s in the name.) However, Christmas and its celebrations, traditions, and decorations are based on both secular and pagan holidays (Winter Solstice and Yule, respectively). So I wondered if I could put together enough songs to make a better list than the first one I came up with. It was a fun puzzle, and even though, unlike some other people I know, I literally never get sick of Christmas songs, I thought it would be fun to add more to my seasonal playlists that aren’t specifically about Christmas and make room for the other holidays at its roots!
Eventually, I had come up with so many that I actually had to make two playlists–one for Solstice, and one for Yule! (I will publish the Yule list next, well in time for the holidays. Keep an eye out for that.)
I was very strict with the songs I included and gave myself certain rules to follow:
- An instrumental version of a Christmas song whose lyrics mentioned the holiday was cheating. (I did not, for example, include “Greensleeves” like several other lists I came across did, since the original tune is not specific to a holiday and the only thing associating it with this time of year is the Christmas lyrics.)
- A Christmas song with alternate lyrics didn’t count. Still a cheat.
- Songs long thought of as Christmas carols were acceptable, provided they did not specifically mention the holiday or anything related to it. (“Frosty the Snowman” was okay; “Old King Wenceslas”, which mentions the Feast of Stephen–a religious holiday tied in with Christmas–was not.)
So whether you’re like me and you want new holiday songs to love for the season, or you’re one of those people who are just sick of the same old Christmas songs, or if you don’t celebrate Christmas at all but celebrate the season, Solstice, or Yule, there may be something in here for you!
I like to own all of my own music and still burn playlists to disc to listen to in my car, so there are links to all the MP3s below. However, if you prefer to stream, I have also created a Spotify playlist here.
(Note: This post contains affiliate links to MP3s that you can listen to, download, and purchase from Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thank you.)
1. “Wintering” – Circle
This song celebrating the season includes lyrics by Keats and Wordsworth, as well as beautiful vocals!
2. “Valley Winter Song” – Fountains of Wayne
What playlist is not improved by Adam Schlesinger (of That Thing You Do! and My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend fame)?
3. “Toyland” – Doris Day
Not officially a Christmas song as it’s a song from a musical that also isn’t technically about the holiday, but the show is definitely festive and whimsical enough!
4. “Last Time By Moonlight” – Enya
Enya’s ethereal voice is perfect for this description of snow by moonlight.
5. “The Cutty Wren” – Damh the Bard
A traditional Solstice song sung on Boxing Day.
6. “Frosty the Snowman” – The Ray Conniff Singers
Famously a Christmas song, yet it doesn’t actually mention Christmas at all! Just a magical snowman.
7. “Winter Jig” – Ashley Davis
This one is about the joy of dancing with your love whom you only see once a year in a white winter clearing with glistening trees.
8. “Winter Song” – Ingrid Michaelson & Sara Bareilles
This song questions whether love can still flourish in the winter when everything else ceases to grow, and promises to be a beacon for that same love.
9. “Waiting for the Snow” – Of Monsters and Men
It’s right there in the title.
10. “Winter Wonderland” – The Ray Conniff Singers
This and the next have always been two of my favorite Christmas songs (and one of my favorite two versions of each), but technically, neither one mentions the holiday at all. They are both about the joys of the season.
11. “Sleigh Ride” – The Ray Conniff Singers
See above.
12. “The Stormy Scenes of Winter” – Quadriga Consort
A traditional from Nova Scotia.
13. “Winter Light” – Linda Ronstadt
A song of unrequited love under the winter twilight.
14. “My Favorite Things” – Julie Andrews
This song has always been surrounded by debate about whether or not it counts as a Christmas song. For most of my life, I was strongly on the “not a Christmas song” side, because it was part of the soundtrack for a Broadway musical and doesn’t mention the holiday at all. However, I also always reluctantly thought that it somehow sounded and felt like a Christmas song and still somehow reminded me of the season. So this seems like a good compromise. Now it can be a Solstice song instead.
15. “The Little Swallow (Shchedryk)” – Katie Melua, Bob Chilcott, & the Oxford Choir
This Ukrainian tune will sound familiar, but if you suspect I broke my own “Greensleeves” rule above, I did not! This was originally a New Year’s song, and the lyrics were later changed (in a few different ways) to make it about Christmas. This version translates the original Ukrainian lyrics into English.
16. “Winter Singing” – The Imagined Village
This one is about singing through an icy winter night.
17. “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” – Dean Martin
Another non-Christmas “Christmas song”. (If you’re burning these to disc like I did, this is where I ended disc one.)
18. “Once Upon a December” – Liz Callaway
I know above I mentioned how I used to be opposed to “My Favorite Things” counting as a Christmas song because it was part of a soundtrack, but I’ve definitely eased up on that. And this, my favorite song from Anastasia, has very seasonal vibes. (And if you love the songs from Anastasia, the Broadway soundtrack, which has several new songs by the same composers as the film, is also wonderful–however, I’m partial to this version of this song because there’s this great dramatic bit with horns which for some reason is not in the Broadway version!)
19. “Song for a Winter’s Night” – Gordon Lightfoot
This is about being lonely for your love on a cold winter’s night.
20. “Robin Tells of Winter” – Jackie Oates
This one is about birds and the various messages they bring–in particular, the robin, who tells us that winter is here.
21. “Winter Light” – Tim Finn
This one is about the winter light that spills over everything and makes the world beautiful.
22. “A Marshmallow World” – Darlene Love
This song about the joys of winter and snow-covered ground does not mention Christmas even once.
23. “Snow” – Loreena McKennitt
The descriptive lyrics here mull over what happens to the world when the snow falls.
24. “Green Grow’th the Holly” – Paul Hillier & Theatre of Voices
A traditional winter love song written by Henry VIII.
25. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” – Idina Menzel & Michael Buble
This one is about the reluctance to end a cozy fireside evening inside to go out into the cold snow.
26. “The Oak and the Ivy” – Bella Hardy
A traditional song about a winter scene with oak and ivy.
27. “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” – Bing Crosby
This is another one that was always one of my favorite Christmas songs–and I had no idea it was even part of the soundtrack from White Christmas until just a few years ago! However, despite that, it still doesn’t actually mention the holiday at all. It just has vibes.
28. “Turning of the Year” – Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith
This one is about how winter clears away the year before and makes way for the new.
29. “Walking in the Air” – Peter Auty
Yet another “soundtrack-with-vibes” choice.
30. “A Winter’s Tale” – Queen
This one is about the beauty and magic of the season.
31. “Snowfall” – Ingrid Michaelson
A “snowfall kind of girl” wishes for a similar kind of love.
31. “Fare Thee Well, Cold Winter” – Quadriga Consort
A traditional song welcoming the end of winter.
32. “We Toast the Days” – Linda Kachelmeier, Desmond Earley, & Ciaran O’Donovan
This one is more of a New Year’s song, but I allowed it. New Year’s is a part of the 12 days of Yule, after all.
33. “My Dear Acquaintance (A Happy New Year)” – Regina Spektor
Same as the above.
34. “The Snow, It Melts the Soonest” – Ryan Louder & Freya Catherine
Another traditional piece about unrequited love at the end of winter.
If you liked this list, check back soon for my list of Yuletide carols!
Leave a Reply