Christmas Around the World

Join in a festive journey across the globe as Christmas Around the World celebrates the rich tapestry of cultures and traditions of this joyous season. From snowy European villages to sun-drenched tropical shores, experience the universal spirit of Christmas through beloved carols and timeless holiday melodies.

Christmas Around the World is available on all major streaming services:

Track Listing

1. It’s Christmas Time All Over the World

It’s Christmas Time All Over the World offers holiday greetings in nine different languages, including English, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Croatian, German, Greek, and Japanese. Written by Hugh Martin (who also composed Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas) and first recorded by Sammy Davis Jr., this joyous opening sets the stage for a global celebration of the season.

It's Christmas time all over the world
And Christmas here at home
The church bells chime wherever we roam
So Joyeux Noël
Feliz Natal
Gelukkig Kerstfeest
to you

The snow is thick in most of the world
And children's eyes are wide
As old Saint Nick gets ready to ride
So Feliz Navidad
Sretan Božić
And Happy New Year to you

Though the customs may change 
and the language is strange 
this appeal we feel is real in Holland or Hong Kong

It's Christmas time all over the world
In places near and far 
And so my friends wherever you are
A Fröhliche Weihnachten
Kalá Christoúgenna
Yoi Kurisumasu
Which means a very Merry Christmas to you!

2. A Christmas Carol Suite

A Christmas Carol Suite collects four traditional European carols into a grand symphonic piece suitable for a concert hall.

The Sussex Carol is a traditional English folk carol with lyrics collected by Ralph Vaughn Williams in 1904. Today, it is a staple of the annual Lessons and Carols service from King’s College, Cambridge.

On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring
On Christmas night all Christians sing
To hear the news the angels bring
News of great joy, news of great mirth
News of our merciful King's birth

All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night:
All out of darkness we have light
Which made the angels sing this night:
"Glory to God and peace to men
Now and forevermore. Amen!"

The well-known O Tannenbaum is based on a German folk song from the mid-1500s. While the first known lyrics date to the mid-16th century as well, the best known version (used here) was written by Ernst Anschütz in 1824.

O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum
Wie treu sind deine Blätter
Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit
Nein auch im Winter, wenn es schneit

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How loyal are your leaves/needles.
You're green not only in the summertime,
No, also in winter when it snows.

The lively Il Est Né le Divin Enfant comes from the Burgundy / Provance region of France and was first published in 1874. The musette (referenced in the lyric) is a refined form of the bagpipe that was used by French aristocracy.

Il est né, le Divin Enfant
Jouez hautbois, résonnez musette
Il est né, le Divin Enfant
Chantons tous son avènement

Depuis plus de quatre mille ans
Nous le promettaient les prophètes
Depuis plus de quatre mille ans
Nous attendions cet heureux temps

He is born, the Divine Child
Play the oboe, resound the musette
He is born, the Divine Child
Let us all sing of his coming

For more than four thousand years
We’ve been promised by the prophets
For more than four thousand years
We’ve been waiting for this happy time

The Latin hymn Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) comes from the mid-18th century, with a melody widely attributed to John Francis Wade. Today, it is one of the most enduring and widely sung Christmas hymns of all time.

Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes
Veníte, veníte in Bethlehem
Natum vidéte, Regem Angelorum

Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum

Come, ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
Come, come to Bethlehem
Behold the newborn King of Angels

Come, let us adore
Come, let us adore
Come, let us adore the Lord

3. Christmas Island

Christmas Island was written by Lyle Moraine while deployed on a ship in the Pacific during World War II. Inspired by seeing Christmas Island in the distance, he borrowed the ship chaplain’s organ and quickly wrote the song. First recorded in 1946 by the Andrew Sisters and Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, this simple arrangement featuring ukulele and pedal guitar takes us to the islands of the South Pacific.

Let's get away from sleighbells
Let's get away from snow
Let's make a break some Christmas dear
I know the place to go

How'dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island? 
How'dja like to spend a Holiday away across the sea
How'dja like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island? 
How'dja like to hang your stockin' on a great big coconut tree? 

How'dja like to stay up late like the Islanders do
Wait for Santa to sail in with your presents in a canoe? 

If you ever spend Christmas on Christmas Island
You will never stray, for ev'ry day your Christmas dreams come true

4. Riu Riu Chiu

Riu Riu Chiu is a traditional Spanish villancico (a form of song popular in Spain and Portugal in the 15^th and 16^th centuries) and first appeared in print in a collection of anonymous Spanish music published in Venice in 1556. Featuring tambourine, drum, and recorders, this arrangement reflets the Renaissance history of the piece.

Riu riu chiu la guarda ribera
Dios guardo el lobo de nuestra cordera
Dios guardo el lobo de nuestra cordera

El lobo Rabioso la quiso morder
Mas Dios poderoso la supo defender
quiso le hazer que no pudiesse pecar
Nia un original esta vergen no tuviera

Este qu’es nacido es El Gran Monarca
Christo Patriarca de carne vestido
A nos redimido con se hazer chiquito
Aunqu’era Infinito, finito se hiziera

Pues que y a tenemos lo que des seamos
Todos Juntos vamos presentes Ilevemos
Todos ledaremos nuestra voluntad
Pues a seigualar con el hombro viniera

Riu, riu chiu the river guard
God kept the wolf from our lamb
God kept the wolf from our lamb

The rabid wolf tried to bite her
But the mighty God knew how to defend her
He willed to make her unable to sin
Even original sin this virgin did not have

The one who is born is the Great Monarch
Christ the Patriarch clothed in flesh
He has redeemed us by making himself small
Though he was infinite he became finite

Now we have what we desire
Let us go together to present him gifts
Let us all give him our will
For he came as our equal

5. Christmas in Killarney

Christmas in Killarney takes us to a cozy, festive Irish town for a traditional Christmas celebration. Written by Frank Weldon, James Cavanaugh, and John Redmond and first recorded in 1950 by Dennis Day, the song is perhaps best known from the Bing Crosby recording released the following year. The orchestral arrangement reflects the joyful sprit of the song, with soaring strings, playful woodwinds, and plenty of opportunities to join in a traditional jig.

Christmas in Killarney is wonderful to see
Listen to my story and I'll take you back with me

The holly green, the ivy green
The prettiest picture you've ever seen is
Christmas in Killarney with all of the folks at home

It's nice, you know, to kiss your beau
while cuddling under the mistletoe
and Santa Claus, you know of course, is one of the boys from home

The door is always open, the neighbors pay a call;
and Father John before he's gone will bless the house and all

How grand it feels to click your heels
and join in the fun of the jigs and reels
I'm handing you no blarney, the likes you've never known
is Christmas in Killarney with all of the folks at home

6. Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming

Low, How a Rose E’er Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen) originally dates from 15^th century Germany, with the English lyrics used here written by Theodore Baker in 1894. The first verse of this a capella arrangement replicates the traditional Praetorius harmonization from 1609, while the second pays tribute to the recording of this song by First Call on their album An Evening in December.

Lo, how a rose e'er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung
Of Jesse's lineage coming
As men of old have sung;
It came, a flow'ret bright
Amid the cold of winter
When half spent was the night

Isaiah was foretold it
The Rose I have in mind
With Mary we behold it
The virgin Mother kind
To show God's love aright
She bore to men a Savior
When half spent was the night

7. Carol of the Bells

The melody for Carol of the Bells was written by Mykola Leontovych in 1916, based on a Ukrainian folk chant traditionally sung on the eve of the Ukrainian New Year (celebrated January 13). The familiar English lyrics were written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky, a composer and conductor who worked for NBC and wanted to create a Christmas-themed version. This unique arrangement includes several types of bells, and keys off the lyric “on, on they send / on without end” to provide a sense of endless motion with clock-work precision.

Hark! how the bells, sweet silver bells all seem to say, "throw cares away"
Christmas is here bringing good cheer to young and old, meek and the bold
Ding, dong ding dong, that is their song with joyful ring, all caroling
One seems to hear words of good cheer from ev'rywhere filling the air
Oh, how they pound, raising the sound O'er hill and dale, telling their tale

Gaily they ring, while people sing songs of good cheer, Christmas is here
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas
Merry, merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas

On, on they send, on without end their joyful tone to ev'ry home

8. Buon Natale

Buon Natale brings our Christmas celebration to a quaint little town on the sunny shores of Italy. Written in 1959 by Bob Saffer and Frank Linale, this song first appeared on Nat King Cole’s 1960 album The Magic of Christmas. With a full orchestra supplemented by mandolin solo, this arrangement brings the warm, vibrant feeling of an Italian Christmas to all.

Buon Natale, means Merry Christmas to you
Buon Natale to ev'ryone, Happy New Year and lots of fun
Buon Natale, may all your wishes come true
Buon Natale in Italy means a Merry Christmas to you

Far away across the sea in sunny Italy
There's a quaint little town, not a clock has been wound for over a century
They don't know the time or year, and no-one seems to care
And this is the reason the Christmas season is celebrated all year