‘O Holy Night’ is officially the nation’s favourite Christmas carol

25 December 2019, 14:55 | Updated: 25 December 2019, 15:07

O Holy Night named the nation's favourite Christmas carol. Picture: King's College Choir/YouTube

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

Over the last few weeks, you’ve been voting for your favourite Christmas music. And now we can reveal the Nation’s Favourite Carol for 2019...

‘O Holy Night’ has been crowned the UK’s favourite Christmas carol in our annual poll, for the fourth consecutive year.

A historic favourite in the Nation’s Favourite Carol, ‘O Holy Night’ held the top spot for 11 years from 2003 to 2013, and is believed to have been the first carol played on the radio.

Originally a French carol, ‘O Holy Night’ was composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam, and released under the name ‘Cantique de Noël’ (Andrea Bocelli does a lovely version here). It wasn’t until a decade later that the English translation was released.

The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus and of humanity’s redemption, and has become a firm favourite with choirs around the world at Christmas time.

Adam’s carol was ousted from its No. 1 spot only for two years, in 2014 and 2015, by ‘Silent Night’, which now stands at No. 2.

The two popular carols are followed by Gustav Holst’s setting of ‘In the Bleak Mid-Winter’ at No. 3, and ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ at No. 4.

View the full top 30 below.

1. O Holy Night
2. Silent Night
3. In the Bleak Mid-Winter (Holst)
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. In the Bleak Mid-Winter (Darke)
7. Carol of the Bells
8. Once in Royal David’s City
9. O Little Town of Bethlehem
10. Joy to the World
11. Away in a Manger
12. Ding Dong! Merrily on High
13. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
14. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
15. Coventry Carol
16. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
17. The Holly and the Ivy
18. In Dulci Jubilo
19. Gaudete
20. The Three Kings
21. Sussex Carol
22. Gabriel’s Message
23. Angels from the Realms of Glory
24. Candlelight Carol
25. The First Nowell
26. See Amid the Winter’s Snow
27. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
28. Shepherd’s Pipe Carol
29. Angel’s Carol
30. Good King Wenceslas

You can also view the full chart here >

To hear the Nation’s Favourite Carol in full, listen back to John Brunning’s two-hour countdown on Listen Again, or on the Global Player app.