Sing a Christmas Carol: Christmas Music in the Latter-day Saint Hymnbooks

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather today around the world for their Christmas Sunday meetings, Christmas hymns and songs will be sung and performed as an important part of those meetings. One thing that not everyone may realize, however, is that the options for that music varies around the world. As a teenager, I had a strange obsession with collecting Church materials in different languages. When I picked up a few hymnbooks, I was surprised to find that they were not only much smaller than the English hymnbook I was used to, but that there were some different hymns in them. This was most noticeable in the Christmas section, where I was able to spot a few carols that I knew but that weren’t in the hymnbook as I knew it. I have been curious since then what Christmas songs have received approval from the Correlation Department to become part of the corpus of Latter-day Saint Christmas music that aren’t in the English hymnbook or children’s songbook. Finally, I sat down this weekend to spend a few hours browsing SingPraises.net in order to find out.

My first area of interest was in the hymnbooks. Do you agree with the Living Scriptures blog that “He is Born” (“Il est Né, le Divin Enfant”) is one of the most gorgeous Christmas hymns not in our hymnbook?[1] It actually turns out that it is in the Latter-day Saint hymnbook … if you speak French or Tahitian. Do you love the beautiful and iconic English carol “What Child is This?” While you won’t be able find it in most of the Latter-day Saint hymnbooks in the song’s homeland, you can go further east to Russia or Latvia to find it there. Do you remember the grand choral piece “Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light” from the 1948/1950 hymnbook? As it turns out, it’s still in the Portuguese hymnal. In all, while there are only 14 Christmas hymns in the English hymnbook (not counting New Year’s carols), there are 62 different Christmas hymns in Latter-day Saint hymnals around the world. Many are carols known in the regions that speak the language of the individual hymnbook, but not known widely elsewhere. For example, the Croatian hymnbook had the highest number of unique Christmas hymns at eight traditional Croatian songs. Some Christmas hymns were used repeatedly in different hymnbooks, such as “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming” (featured in five different languages) and “Fair Is Creation” (found in all of the Nordic language hymnbooks). See Table 1 for a list of all the Christmas hymns I found in the current hymnbooks of the Church (I’ve included all of the tables at the bottom of the post for the sake of those reading this post on small screens).

There are some implications for sacrament meetings at Christmastime here. I’ve had at least bishop who was an absolute stickler about only using music found in the Church’s hymnbook and children’s songbook, since those are the Correlation-approved music and thus the only music he thought would allow the Spirit into our meetings. I have often wondered since how he would react if we proposed to perform “Sing We Now of Christmas” with the ward choir, noting that it has passed Correlation in the French hymnbook. With that in mind, I also compiled a list of Christmas songs in the various editions of the children’s songbook used around the world to complete the list of Correlation-approved Christmas music (see Table 2). Fewer Christmas songs were added to the songbooks here than the hymnbooks. Still, it’s fun to see what Latter-day Saint children around the world have the opportunity to sing at Christmas.

I was also curious about what has been included in previous hymnbooks for Christmas hymns. This was a little bit more difficult and time-consuming to do, but I looked through the list of entries in English on SingPraises.net and tried to identify all Christmas songs used in the hymnbooks and Sunday School songbooks (which can also be viewed as the ancestors of the current hymnbook). Looking at all languages for this was a little too daunting, but I was able to compile what should be (but probably isn’t) a complete list of hymns used in English over the years. The most intriguing thing of note to me was that we did have the classic Christmas songs “Good Christian Men Rejoice” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory” in our hymnbook at one point, but only for the brief period of two years (1948-1950). I was also surprised to find more Christmas pieces with words or music written by Latter-day Saints than I expected (including a different setting of “Joy to the World” by Thomas C. Griggs), and that it was only in the previous (1948/1950) hymnbook that a large portion of the current Christmas songs we use today were included (see Table 3).

There are, of course, more lists that could be made–past children’s songbooks and the Mutual Improvement Association (M.I.A) publications contain many Christmas songs in particular. In a way, this post will likely be a moot point a few years down the road when the new hymnbook is published. It is possible, however, that regional supplements to the core hymnbook may include Christmas music in additional to patriotic songs. Regardless, I thought that this is a fascinating glimpse into the diversity that exists in Latter-day Saint music around the globe at Christmastime.

 

Table 1. List of all Christmas hymns identified in current Latter-day Saint hymnbooks used around the world as of 2018. When English is identified as language, it is likely to appear in many (if not most) of the other languages as well. In this case, other languages were omitted to reduce the size of the table.

Title	Author	Composer	Tune Name	Languages
A Babe Is Born in Bethlehem (Puer Natus)	Latin hymn	A. P. Berggreen	Et barn er født i Betlehem	Danish, Icelandic
A Child Is Born	Martin Luther; Johan Olof Wallin	Middle Ages melody	Ett barn är fött	Swedish
A Child Was Born unto Us	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Djetes?ce nam se rodilo	Croatian
Angels We Have Heard On High	French Carol	French Carol	Gloria	English
At This Time of Year	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	U to vrijeme godis?ta	Croatian
Away in a Manger	Martin Luther	William J. Kirkpatrick	Cradle Song	English
Baby Jesus in a Manger Lay	Hans Christian Andersen	Niels W. Gade	Barn Jesus i en krybbe lå	Danish
Born unto Us	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Narodi nam se	Croatian
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light	Johann Rist	Johann Schop	Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht	Portuguese
Bright and Glorious is the Sky	N. F. S. Grundtvig	J. G. Meidell	Dejlig er den himmel blå	Danish
Carol of the Shepherds	Czech folk tune	Czech folk tune	Nesem vám noviny	Czech (also in Samoan Children’s Songbook)
Christ the Lord to Us is Born	Jan Franus	Czech folk tune	Narodil se Kristus Pán	Czech
Christ Was Born Today	Traditional Romanian carol	Traditional Romanian carol	Ast?zi S-a n?scut Hristos	Romanian
Christmas Has the Sound	N. F. S. Grundtvig	A. P. Berggreen	Julen har englelyd	Danish
Come, Shepherds	Tárkányi Béla	Hungarian Christmas carol	Pásztorok, Pásztorok	Hungarian
Daughter of Zion, Rejoice	Johann Joachim Eschenburg	George Frideric Handel	Tochter Zion, freue dich	German
Fair Is Creation (Beautiful Savior)	Bernhard Severin Ingemann	Silesian folk song	Schönster Herr Jesu	Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Swedish, and Norwegian
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains	John Menzies Macfarlane	John Menzies Macfarlane	Chatterley	English
From Heaven Above	Martin Luther	Martin Luther	Vom Himmel hoch	Finnish
Give Me No Splendour, Gold, or Pomp	Zacharias Topelius	Jean Sibelius	Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt	Finnish
Glory	Simon Péter Jukundián	Hungarian Christmas carol	Dics?ség	Hungarian
Glory to God	F. A. Schultz	F. A. Schultz	Ere zij God	Dutch
God is Born	Franciszek Karpin?ski	Traditional	Bo?g sie? rodzi	Polish
God’s Glorious Angel	Hungarian Christmas carol	Hungarian Christmas carol	Mennyb?l az angyal	Hungarian
Hail, Beautiful Morning Hour	Johan Olof Wallin	Philipp Nicolai	Var hälsad, sköna morgonstund	Swedish
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Charles Wesley	Felix Mendelssohn	Mendelssohn	English
He Is Born, the Divine Christ Child	French Carol	French Carol	Il est né le divin Enfant	French and Tahitian
Heaven’s Court	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Dvorani neba	Croatian
Hosanna	Georg J. Vogler	Georg J. Vogler	Hosianna	Swedish
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	John Baptiste Calkin	Waltham	English
In the Silence of the Night	Anon.	Anon.	Ws?ro?d nocnej ciszy	Polish
It Came upon the Midnight Clear	Edmund H. Sears	Richard S. Willis	Carol	English
Joy to the World	Isaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps	George Frideric Handel; Lowell Mason	Antioch	English
Let All Together Praise our God (Praise God, All Christians)	Nikolaus Herman	Nikolaus Herman	Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, all zugleich	German
Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming	German Carol	German carol; Michael Praetorius	Es ist ein Ros entsprungen	German, Dutch, French, Icelandic, and Swedish
Now Light One Thousand Christmas Lights	Emmy Köhler	Emmy Köhler	Nu tändas tusen juleljus	Swedish
O Jesu Sweet	German carol	German melody; arr. Johann Sebastian Bach	O Jesulein süß	Dutch
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Phillips Brooks	Lewis H. Redner	St. Louis	English
O Lord, Have Mercy	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Kirie eleison	Croatian
O Ye Joyful People	John Daniel Falk; Johann C. Heinrich Holzschuher	Sicilian folk tune	O du fröhliche	German, Italian, Swedish
Oh How Valuable Is Every Soul	N. F. S. Grundtvig	Danish melody	Unknown	Icelandic
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful	John F. Wade	John F. Wade	Adeste Fideles	English
Oh, Ye Shepherds	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Oj pastiri, c?udo novo	Croatian
Once in Royal David’s City	Cecil Frances Alexander	Henry J. Gauntlett	Irby	English
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord	Frans Mikael Franzén	German folk tune	Bereden väg för Herran	Swedish
Rejoice, Ye Peoples!	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Radujte se narodi	Croatian
Ring, O Ye Bells	N. F. S. Grundtvig	Henrik Rung	Kimer, I klokker	Danish
Shepherds, He is Born	Liefde-vier in den Kerstnacht	De gheestelijcken leeuwercker; Gerardina Debaene	Herders, Hij is geboren	Dutch
Shepherds, Hear Ye	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Oj pastiri, c?ujte novi glas	Croatian
Silent Night	Joseph Mohr	Franz Gruber	Stille Nacht	English
Sing We Now of Christmas	French carol	French carol	Noël nouvelet	French
The Angel Told the Shepherds	Anon.	Anon.	Dies est lætitiæ	Polish
The First Noel	Traditional English carol	Traditional English carol	The First Noel	English
The Lights in the Peaceful Village	Jakob Sande	Lars Søraas	Det lyser i stille grender	Norwegian
The Shepherds Ran to Bethlehem	Anon.	Anon.	Przybiez?eli do Betlejem	Polish
Today in Bethlehem	Anon.	Anon.	Dzisiaj w Betlejem	Polish
We Welcome Thee	Paradijs der Gheestelijcke en Kerkelijcke Lofsangen	Paradijs der Gheestelijcke en Kerkelijcke Lofsangen	Nu zijt wellekome	Dutch
What Child is This?	William Chatterton Dix	English folk song	Greensleeves	Latvian and Russian (also in Ukrainian Children’s Songbook)
What Wonderful News!	Traditional Romanian carol	Traditional Romanian carol	O ce veste minunat?!	Romanian
When Christ Is Born	Anon.	M. M. Mioduszewskiego	Gdy sie? Chrystus rodzi	Polish
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks	Nahum Tate	Yorkshire carol	Yorkshire Melody	English
With Wondering Awe	Anon.	Anon.	Laudis Corona	English

 

Table 2. List of all Christmas and Advent songs identified in current Latter-day Saint children’s songbooks used around the world as of 2018. When English is identified as language, it is likely to appear in many (if not most) of the other languages as well. In this case, other languages were omitted to reduce the size of the table.

Title	Author	Composer	Tune Name	Languages
Advent	Carl-Bertil Agnestig	Carl-Bertil Agnestig	Adventstid	Swedish
Away in a Manger	Martin Luther	Charles H. Gabriel	Away in a Manger	English
Carol of the Birds	Martin Shaw	Martin Shaw	Carol of the Birds	French
Carol of the Shepherds	Czech folk tune	Czech folk tune	Nesem va?m noviny	Samoan
Christmas Bells	A. Laurence Lyon	A. Laurence Lyon	Christmas Bells	English
Have a Very Merry Christmas!	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Michael F. Moody	Have a Very Merry Christmas!	English
He Sent His Son	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Michael F. Moody	He Sent His Son	English
Little Jesus	Marilyn Curtis White	Mark Newell; Charlene A. Newell	Little Jesus	English
Mary’s Lullaby	Jan Pinborough	German folk tune	Mary’s Lullaby	English
Oh, Hush Thee, My Baby	Joseph Ballantyne	Joseph Ballantyne	Christmas Cradle Song	English
Once within a Lowly Stable	Patty S. Hill	Mildred J. Hill	Once within a Lowly Stable	English
Picture a Christmas	Patricia Kelsey Graham	Patricia Kelsey Graham	Picture a Christmas	English
Rejoice, O Bethlehem	Anon.	Traditional Croatian melody	Raduj se, o, Betleme	Croatian
Samuel Tells of Baby Jesus	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Grietje Terburg Rowley	Samuel Tells of the Baby Jesus	English
Sleep, Little Jesus	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Michael F. Moody	Sleep, Little Jesus	English
Star Bright	Lorin F. Wheelwright	Lorin F. Wheelwright	Star Bright	Spanish
Stars Were Gleaming	Nancy Byrd Turner	Polish Carol	W ?lobie le?y kt?? pobie?y	English
The Nativity Song	Avon Allen Compton	Patricia Kelsey Graham	The Nativity Song	English
The Shepherd’s Carol (Round)	Daniel Carter	Daniel Carter	The Shepherd’s Carol	English
There Was Starlight on the Hillside	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Michael F. Moody	There Was Starlight on the Hillside	English
We Wish You a Merry Christmas	English carol	English carol	We Wish You a Merry Christmas	Korean
What Child is This?	William Chatterton Dix	English folk song	Greensleeves	Ukrainian
When Joseph Went to Bethlehem	Bessie Saunders Spencer	I. Reed Payne	When Joseph Went to Bethlehem	English
Where Are You Coming From, Shepherdess?	French Canadian carol	French Canadian carol	D’où viens-tu, bergère?	French
Who is the Child?	Mabel Jones Gabbott	Michael F. Moody	Who is the Child?	English

 

Table 3. Christmas and Advent hymns used in Anglophone Latter-day Saint hymnbooks, tunebooks, and Sunday School songbooks. The focus was on words paired with music, so the earliest hymnbook used is generally the first time that the tune was paired with the text in Latter-day Saint hymnbooks, unless no tune has been used with the text in our hymnbooks.

Title	Author	Composer	Tune Name	First Hymnbook/Songbook	Most Recent Hymnbook/Songbook
“Glory be to God” the Angels Sang	Evan Stephens	Evan Stephens	Glory Be to God the Angels Sang	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 241	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 241
A Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem	Orson F. Whitney	Edwin F. Parry	A Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem	Primary Songbook (1905), 34	Deseret Sunday School Songs (1909, 1937 ed.), 28
A Stranger Star O’er Bethlehem	Orson F. Whitney	Evan Stephens	A Stranger Star That Came From Far	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 335	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 335
Angels From the Realms of Glory	James Montgomery	Henry Smart	Angels from the Realms of Glory	Hymns (1948), 5	Hymns (1948), 5
Angels We Have Heard On High	French Carol	French Carol	Gloria	Recreational Songs (1949), 140	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), no. 203
At First, the Babe of Bethlehem	Parley P. Pratt	George Careless	Vesper	Latter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889), 260	Latter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889, 1920 ed.), 260
Away in a Manger	Martin Luther	William J. Kirkpatrick	Cradle Song	Hymns (1985), 206	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 206
Away in a Manger	Martin Luther	Charles H. Gabriel	Away in a Manger	Songs of Zion (1908, 1912 ed.), 248	Children’s Songbook (1989, 2005 ed.), 42
Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light	Johann Rist	Johann Schop	Brich an, o schönes Morgenlicht	Hymns (1948), 234	Hymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 239; also Hinos (1990, 2015 ed.), no. 130 (Portuguese Hymnbook)
Christ is Born, the Joyful Story	Evan Stephens	Evan Stephens	Christ is Born, the Joyful Story	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 347	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 347
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains	John Menzies Macfarlane	John Menzies Macfarlane	Chatterley	Deseret Sunday School Song Book (1891, 1894 ed.), 135	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 212
Glory Be to God in the Highest	Evan Stephens	Evan Stephens	Glory Be to God in the Highest	Hymns (1948), 359	Hymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 359
Good Christian Men, Rejoice	John Mason Neale; Heinrich Seuse	Fourteenth-century melody	In dulci jubilo	Hymns (1948), 52	Hymns (1948), 52
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	John Baptiste Calkin	Waltham	Hymns (1948), 72	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 214
It Came upon the Midnight Clear	Edmund H. Sears	Richard S. Willis	Carol	Hymns (1948), 82	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 207
Joy to the World	Isaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps	George Frideric Handel; Lowell Mason	Antioch	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927), 188 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)’	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 201
Joy to the World	Isaac Watts, ed. William W. Phelps	Thomas C. Griggs	Maggie	Deseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 49 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)	Songs of Zion (1908, 1925 ed.), 128
Mortals, Awake! With Angels Join	Samuel Medley	John Rippon	Incarnation	Latter-day Saints’ Psalmody (1889), 131 (text included in 1835 hymnbook)	Latter-day Saint Hymns (1927, 1940 ed.), 304
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Phillips Brooks	Lewis H. Redner	St. Louis	Hymns (1948), 141	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 208
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful	John F. Wade	John F. Wade	Adeste Fideles	Hymns (1948), 129	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 202
Once in Royal David’s City	Cecil Frances Alexander	Henry J. Gauntlett	Irby	Hymns (1985), 205	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 205
Silent Night	Joseph Mohr	Franz Gruber	Stille Nacht	Hymns (1948), 160	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 204
The First Noel	Traditional English carol	Traditional English carol	The First Noel	Hymns (1948), 39	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 213
The Incarnation	Joseph H. Ward	Ebenezer Beesley	The Incarnation	Deseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 88	Deseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884, 1888 ed.), 88
Watchmen! Tell us of the Night	John Bowring	NA	NA	Sacred Hymns (Nauvoo Hymnal) (1841), 242	Sacred Hymns (Nauvoo Hymnal) (1841), 242
When Christ Was Born in Bethlehem	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow	Ebenezer Beesley	When Christ Was Born in Bethlehem	Deseret Sunday School Songs (1909), 221	Hymns (1948, 1979 ed.), 295
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks	Nahum Tate	Yorkshire carol	Yorkshire Melody	Hymns (1948), 206	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 211
With Wondering Awe	Anon.	Anon.	Laudis Corona	Deseret Sunday School Union Music Book (1884), 86	Hymns (1985, 2002 ed.), 210

 

[1] Living Scriptures, “10 Gorgeous Christmas Hymns Not In the LDS Hymnbook,” 30 November 2017 http://blog.livingscriptures.com/index.php/2017/11/30/10-gorgeous-christmas-hymns-not-in-the-lds-hymnbook/.

 

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