What’s the most popular Christmas song of all time? Is it a traditional carol like Silent Night, a familiar favorite like Jingle Bells, or a more modern hit like Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You? Unfortunately, there’s no simple, straightforward answer. It depends on whom you ask, where you ask, and perhaps most importantly, when you ask!
And the Winner Is…
According to a 2022 survey by Monmouth University, Silent Night was the most frequently named traditional Christmas carol in the United States, selected by 12% of respondents. That’s not exactly a majority, but it was named more frequently than any other carol. O Holy Night came in second with 6%.
Across the Atlantic, a 2025 YouGov survey found that Silent Night was also Britain’s favorite carol, chosen by 28% of those who named a favorite. However, a listener vote conducted by the British classical music station Classic FM produced a very different result. O Holy Night was voted the favorite Christmas carol in 2025, for the tenth consecutive year! Perhaps that’s not so surprising. A beautiful performance of O Holy Night can be breathtaking, but Silent Night is much easier for a group of friends or family members to sing together.
These surveys raise an interesting question: Is our favorite Christmas song the one we listen to most, or is it the one we most enjoy singing or performing ourselves?
Christmas Songs That Have Topped the Charts
If we look back through the history of popular music, we find some remarkable Christmas hits. One of the most extraordinary is Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, recorded by Bing Crosby in 1942.
Although many people associate the song with the 1954 movie White Christmas, it actually appeared twelve years earlier in the movie Holiday Inn, starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Crosby performed it as a duet with actress Marjorie Reynolds, whose singing voice was dubbed by Martha Mears.
The song had an interesting history even before the film opened. Crosby first introduced it on his NBC radio program on Christmas Day, 1941, just weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He recorded it in May 1942, and the record was released on July 30, five days before Holiday Inn premiered in New York.
On October 31, White Christmas reached the top of the Billboard record-sales chart, where it remained for eleven consecutive weeks.
The United States was deeply involved in World War II. By the end of 1942, more than a million U.S. Army personnel were stationed outside the continental United States, far from their families. Berlin’s nostalgic song about Christmases past resonated with Americans both at home and overseas. Rather than simply offering cheerful holiday entertainment, it expressed the longing for home, family, and happier times.
White Christmas went on to become one of the best-selling recordings in history. But it wasn’t the last Christmas song to reach the top of the charts.
In December 1958, The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late), featuring Alvin and the Chipmunks with David Seville, reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It held that position for four weeks, proving that a novelty Christmas song could become a national sensation.
That same year, a 13-year-old Brenda Lee recorded Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. The song achieved some success in the early 1960s, but its popularity received a major boost when it was featured in the 1990 movie Home Alone. It became a holiday favorite for a new generation, and streaming services eventually introduced it to even more listeners.
In 2023, Lee celebrated the song’s 65th anniversary with its first official music video and a new promotional campaign. She was 78 at the time! That December, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree finally reached No. 1 on the Hot 100—an amazing 65 years after its original release!
And then there’s Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You. First released in 1994, it reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 for the first time in 2019, and has repeatedly returned to the top of the charts during subsequent Christmas seasons.
It’s remarkable how Christmas songs can remain popular for generations, sometimes finding their greatest success decades after they were first recorded.
Six Weeks Until Christmas!
Christmas is just six weeks away! If you’re planning to perform Christmas music this year, now is a great time to choose your favorites and start practicing.
ChristmasMusicSongs.com has free printable sheet music for more than 30 traditional Christmas songs and carols, with arrangements for woodwinds, brass, strings, recorder, guitar, piano, and voice. Many of the carols are available in multiple keys, making it easier to find music that suits your instrument and playing preferences.
For pianists, there are five different versions of each carol, ranging from simple melodies for beginners to more elaborate arrangements for advanced players. It’s also a useful resource for music teachers looking for Christmas music appropriate for students at different levels.
Whether you’re preparing for a holiday concert, planning to play with family and friends, or simply enjoying Christmas music at home, there’s plenty of music to explore.
And that brings us back to our original question: What’s your favorite Christmas song?
Is it a traditional carol, a familiar recording, or something completely different? If you’d like to share your favorite in the comments, I’d enjoy hearing about it!