From carols to children’s favourites, xmas pop classics to funny festive songs, we round up our top 10 Christmas songs. Christmas time is not only the time for buying presents, decorating Christmas tree and gathering at the festive table with all of your family members. It is also the time to unite all together while singing Christmas songs and carols, who are capable of binding each other’s hearts.

So what are they, the most famous Christmas songs and why have they become so popular?

“Mary’s Boy Child / Oh My Lord” is a 1978 Christmas single for Boney M., a cover of Harry Belafonte’s 1956 hit, put in medley with the new song “Oh My Lord”. This is the original singel-version of Boney M.’s mega-hit from 1978.

Quite a curious thing that one of the most famous Christmas songs, Jingle Bells, has not always been associated with this holiday and its roots remain undiscovered until nowadays. The song was written by James Lord Pierpont when he was still a young boy attending boarding school. Originally, the song didn’t mean to tell anything about Christmas and a Santa Clause riding the sledges. The lyrics, indeed, reflect the Pierpont’s fond memories of his childhood in New England where winters were filled with the thrill of racing through the snow covered landscape in open sleighs drawn by horses.

Introduced back in 1944, the “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” song is still popular nowadays and is widely sang all around the world. It has managed to come one of the symbolic Christmas songs. So in order to achieve a perfect Christmas mood while directing their movies, the filmmakers use this particular song as their featuring soundtracks.

This is a perfect song for singing with your little ones for Christmas and remains the most successful Christmas carol of all times. Though in the very beginning there were troubles to convince anyone to produce it, as the song was seen too childish, soon after its appearance, it has become world’s sweetheart for both little and adult ones. Besides, it’s recognized as the most-performed holiday song of all time.

The “Last Christmas” song has become a Christmas symbol, even though the song features the story of a broken heart. Many famous singers, such as Taylor Swift, Ashley Tisdale, Coldplay, and Jimmy Eat World created their own covers of this song. And even though being so widely known and admired and after having become the biggest selling single in UK and Japan, it didn’t manage to reach the top rankings of music charts in these same countries.

This Nigerian Christmas song was written by the Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. Today this song is widely known all around the world and is usually accompanied by drumming and choreography.

Silent Night is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems,  was written by Charles Wesley, brother of John Wesley founder of the Methodist church

Feliz Navidad is a macaronic Christmas song written in 1970 by the Puerto Rican singer and songwriter José Feliciano. With its simple Spanish chorus (the traditional Christmas/New Year greeting, “Feliz Navidad, próspero año y felicidad” meaning “Merry Christmas, a prosperous year and happiness”) and equally simple English verse “I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart”, it has become a classic Christmas pop song in the United States, throughout the Spanish-speaking world and internationally.

“Joy to the World” is a popular Christmas carol. The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on the second half of Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts’ collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and worship. Watts wrote the words of “Joy to the World” as a hymn glorifying Christ’s triumphant return at the end of the age, rather than a song celebrating his first coming. The nations are called to celebrate because God’s faithfulness to the house of Israel has brought salvation to the world.