December Madness – Ranking the top Christmas Carols

I usually restrain my Christmas music listening to the 10 days before the big day, but this year was different. During the #bestyearever I started as soon as the calendar turned December. I’ve always enjoyed Christmas carols and everybody has his or her favorites. So this year, I decided to take a nationwide poll to determine the top-ranked Christmas carol. Gallup was busy, so I turned to Facebook for my research.

December is also the month when the college hoops season begins to heat up. Therefore, in honor of basketball’s glorious March tournament, I bring you December Madness -- the Road to the Christmas Carol Final Four. 

To begin with, the songs have been placed in a bracket consisting of seeds 1-16. 

1.    Hallelujah

2.    Silent Night

3.    O Holy Night

4.    Joy to the World

5.    Little Drummer Boy

6.    Mary, Did You Know?

7.    What Child is This?

8.    Hark the Herald Angels Sing

9.    God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

10.  O Come Emmanuel

11.  O Come All Ye Faithful

12.  Angels We Have Heard on High

13.  Come Let Us Adore Him

14.  Away in the Manager

15.  Do You Hear What I Hear?

16.  O Little Town of Bethlehem

Seedings were given out based upon votes received during my online polling. I then took the competition to the streets. For the first round games, I stood outside my grocery store, polling shoppers entering the doors while boxing out the Salvation Army guy collecting coins. For the second round matchups, I moved down a few yards and questioned the Douglas Fir-finding consumers in the Home Depot tree lot. For the two Final Four matchups I spent an hour in two different Starbucks locations, polling people frantically seeking caffeine like the shepherds looking for the baby in the manger. Then, I had to go big time for the championship game: the mall. I went to the food court, the perfume department at Macy’s, and of course the Foot Locker, since this is a basketball-style tournament. Note: Beautiful Karla cast the deciding vote when a tiebreaker was needed.

The Results:

Shockingly, the tournament opened with a major upset, not unlike No. 1 Virginia losing to 16-seed University of Maryland Baltimore County in last year’s basketball tourney. O Little Town of Bethlehem’s stunning upset of Hallelujah is one for the ages. Also the matchup was a true David and Goliath confrontation. Interestingly, Hallelujah is about Israel’s King David, who hailed from all places, Bethlehem. Personally, I was glad to see Hallelujah get the boot, because without any references to Christmas, I’ve always wondered why it is played during the holiday season.  

The next three top seeds all cruised to victory, Both Silent and Holy Nights, as well as Joy to the World. But the brackets were further busted when Angels We Have Heard on High took down the 5-seed Little Drummer Boy. LDB, perhaps overconfident, or lacking a big man in the paint, was one of the tournament’s biggest disappointment. AWHHOH was quick to give glory to God in the highest after its victory.

Two songs with a lot of question marks entering the tournament both advanced easily: Mary, Did You Know? and What Child Is This? The closest first-round contest was the 8-9 game featuring Hark the Herald Angels Sing and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. GRYMG, which presents one of the clearest gospel messages in the tournament field, kept the game close thanks to a little known version sung by Annie Lennox. But the former Eurythmics vocalist wasn’t a match for Carrie Underwood on this night. Underwood’s version of Hark led the way to a close two-point win for Charles Wesley’s famous hymn.

Second Round:

In the next batch of games, Silent Night squashed the Final Four hopes of Little Town. It was also a bad day of action for the shooting cherubim. Both Angels We Have Heard on High (to Mary, Did You Know?) and Hark (to What Child is This?) went down in defeat. Perhaps the most intriguing match-up of the tournament was No. 3 O Holy Night’s showdown with No. 4 Joy to the World. These are two heavyweights. While dozens of uber-talented vocalists from Mariah Carey to Aretha Franklin have belted out JTTW, tonight Celine Dion’s version of OHN was the only song repeating the sounding joy.

Final Four:

Semi Final Game One – What Child is This? vs. Mary, Did You Know?:

Boy, was this a matchup or what? Mary, a relative newbie to the Christmas carol landscape, seemed unfazed by the history of WCIT. All the question marks went out the window as these two song played on. The wonderfully creative Mary, powered by the version of Kenny Rogers and Martina McBride actually took a lead into the fourth quarter. But the powerful rendition by Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige was the difference maker for WCIT.

Semi Final Game Two – Silent Night vs. O Holy Night:

This matchup was the Christmas Carol equivalent of a Duke - North Carolina showdown. Unfortunately, the game didn’t live up to its billing. Silent Night came out weak and uninspired. Maybe because it’s just too hard for an average churchgoer to sing. Even with Bing Crosby on lead vocal, Silent Night was so quiet from the field that everybody, including the round yon virgins, headed for the exits early. Meanwhile, Johnny Mathis’ version coasted to victory.

Championship Game:

No. 3 O Holy Night vs. No. 7 What Child is This?

With Bocelli and Blige on the bench, WCIT went with Faith Hill’s version. However, O Holy Night had Josh Groban waiting. This game went down to the wire. But OHN was powered by the simple phrase, “The thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices”. To me, “The thrill of hope” is one of the best expressions in the English language. And it’s why OHN is the tournament’s champion.

Hope, for the Christian is the certainty of getting what is promised. It’s not wishing for an easy, trouble-free life. It’s knowing that in all things … sad times, hard circumstances, difficult seasons … God, in his love, goodness, and faithfulness will see you through them. I know this is true. I have first-hand experience. It’s a hope that only Jesus provides. For me, it’s why a weary world and a weary person can rejoice.

CBS always ends its NCAA Tournament coverage with a video montage to the song One Shining Moment sung by Luther Vandross.

One Shining Moment. 

I can’t think of a better name for a time when the Son of God entered the world to bring peace and hope –

under the glow of a twinkling, bouncing,

basketball. 

… I mean

star.