Bread Staffers Share Their Favorite Christmas Songs!

Screen grab from Rick Steves European Christmas

Every year, right after (or sometimes before) Thanksgiving, people dust off their old Christmas records, flip through their CD collections, or search their mp3 files for their favorite Christmas songs. I thought it would be fun to ask our staffers to submit their favorite Christmas songs to share with all of you. Here's what they submitted:

Grace Bae, Art Simon Fellow, Government Relations:

My favorite Christmas Carol is “O Holy Night.” I love the words and melody of this song. I especially love the verse: “Truly he taught us to love one another, his law is love and his gospel is peace. Chains he shall bread, for the slave is our brother. And in his name all oppression shall cease.” I was in Uganda for Christmas in 2009, and I remember singing this carol in our office one morning. Christmas in Uganda is difficult because there is no distinction of seasons and I was away from my loved ones. This verse so closely aligned with my line of work in Uganda, and it touches my heart because it shares the gospel message, which drives me to do what I do.

Jennifer Fraser, Organizing Coordinator: 

While living in La Coruña, Spain for my junior year of college, I joined my Spanish university’s choir and performed with them at Christmas time. My year in Spain was one of the happiest times of my life, and experiencing Christmas there was beautiful, holy, and magical. This song is one of the many Spanish Christmas carols I learned and sang while there. The sweet lyrics and happy “bell” sounds instantly bring me back to that wonderful time.

Scott Bleggi, Senior International Policy Analyst:

My first Foreign Service assignment was in Germany.  My kids were very small and everywhere we went we heard children’s choirs. Here is a favorite, “Es fuer uns eine Zeit ankegommen.”  It is a traditional German carol whose lyrics translate to, “A time comes for us, a time of great joy.” (The video below is from our friend, Rick Steves, and the carol begins towards the end of the video, at 3:29.)

Laura Elizabeth Pohl, Multimedia Manager, and Racine Tucker-Hamilton, Media Relations Manager:

Racine: My favorite Christmas song  is "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey. I love the way it starts out slow with just a few chimes and almost acapella, and builds in tempo and a powerful delivery. Similar to how the build-up for Christmas is for some.

Larry Hollar, North Central Senior Regional Organizer

For sheer vocal beauty and simplicity of message, for me, nothing compares to this 17th century French carol. Sometimes I imagine how amazed I would have been as a shepherd experiencing the great good news of Jesus’ birth. This carol evokes images that envelop me -- smell, light, wonder, song. How can we, as today’s shepherds, be open to sensing that deep joy in its fullness again?

Please share your own favorite carols in the comments below! And Merry Christmas from your friends at Bread for the World. God bless you!

Jeannie Choi is associate editor at Bread for the World.