Top 5 Favorite Traditional Christmas Songs

I love Christmas carols and Christmas songs. But as I've mentioned before, I'm not an entirely traditional type of person, even at Christmas. I like things, well, weird and different.

So I think for this year's Top 5 Favorite Traditional Christmas Carols, I'm going to pick traditional songs done in a not-so-traditional way.

So, in no particular order....

1. Silent Night



I've never seen this version of Silent Night before I started searching YouTube for examples of the carol. But I like it! The visuals are freaky, the guys look like the guys who live down the street and keep crazy hours. And pitbulls. Yet the song itself has a sweet, melancholy air that's appropriate for a song about the quiet arrival of a savior who was ultimately born to die.

2. God Rest You Merry Gentlemen



I love this version, by Barenaked Ladies, featuring Sarah McLachlan. It's a quirky Canadian take on an old English carol. The perky rhythm picks up on the hopeful lyrics, while Sarah Lachlan's haunting voice underscores the hint of melancholy in the minor key of the carol. Sorry the song cuts off abruptly at the end in the video.

3. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel



This particular version is performed by Enya, whose voice gives this old Christmas song a hint of skin-tingling mysticism. Appropriate, since the song's lyrics are taken from the Old Testament prophecy regarding the advent of the Messiah.

4. Carol of the Bells



Dude, it's the ukelele. And it's pretty amazing. John King plays the stew out of what looks like a kid's toy on one of the hardest songs in the Christmas repertoire.

5. O Come All Ye Faithful



I picked this particular version because I think the euphonium is a beautiful instrument. It's kin to the baritone horn, which was one of the two instruments I played in my high school band.

There are so many versions of this carol out there, including one by Twisted Sister that I almost linked to, but the video was just too strange for me. Yes, there's such a thing as too strange for me.

So, of the traditional carols out there, which are your favorites?