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The Nation's Favourite Christmas Carols, Revealed

Image by Frauke Riether from Pixabay

A new study has revealed Silent Night is Britain's favourite Christmas carol of 2023.

The research conducted by digital headphones magazine Headphonesty analyzed the last 12 months of Google Search data to determine which of Classic FM's top 30 Christmas carols are most searched by Britons on Google and YouTube.

The UK’s 10 Favourite Christmas Carols

Rank	Title	Google search volume (monthly)	YouTube search volume (monthly)	Total
1	Silent Night	33,730	12,000	45,730
2	Carol of the Bells	9,830	13,000	22,830
3	Away in a Manger	14,900	6,900	21,800
4	O Holy Night	9,110	7,900	17,010
5	In the Bleak Mid-Winter	9,060	3,600	12,660
6	Joy to the World	7,910	3,300	11,210
7	Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	6,110	4,500	10,610
8	O Come All Ye Faithful	6,690	3,000	9,690
9	O Little Town of Bethlehem	5,450	2,800	8,250
10	Good King Wenceslas	5,730	2,000	7,730

Silent Night, the nation's most popular Christmas carol, beats other favorites such as Ding Dong! Merrily on High and Away in a Manger to number one. The lyrics are Googled in the UK more than any other carol. Silent Night is searched across YouTube and Google almost over 45,000 times a month, over double the combined volume of the second-ranking song. Its widespread popularity can be traced back to World War I when the carol was instrumental in bringing about the famous Christmas truce of 1914 between Germany and England. Silent Night has been translated into hundreds of languages and rerecorded by popular artists. Billboard reports it is the most-recorded holiday song, with over 137,000 versions.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Carol of the Bells takes second place with almost 23,000 searches per month. It began as a Ukrainian folk song, with new lyrics later added by a Ukrainian-American composer.

Away in a Manger, often sung in British schools during nativity plays, takes third place, receiving over 21,000 monthly searches.

O Holy Night, which the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, has covered, receives over 17,000 UK monthly searches and ranks fourth most popular in Britain.

Fifth place goes to In the Bleak Mid-Winter, written by English poet Christina Rossetti. It has been referenced in the TV shows Peaky Blinders and The Crown and sung by Katherine Jenkins in Doctor Who.

Joy to the World's merriness has made it one of the most popular Christmas carols ever. It ranks sixth for Britons, with 11,210 monthly searches.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, placing seventh, remains among the nation's favourite carols despite being written in 1739. In the UK, it is searched approximately 10,610 times a month.

O Come All Ye Faithful ranks eighth among the most popular Christmas carols, and receives almost 10,000 monthly searches.

O Little Town of Bethlehem has been recorded by many singers, leading to its enduring popularity. It ranks ninth in Britain with 8,250 monthly searches.

Good King Wenceslas is the tenth most popular carol in the UK. It has famously appeared in many films and TV shows, including The Simpsons, Love Actually and A Muppet Christmas Carol.

Here are the UK's top hymns based on search volume.

The UK’s 10 Favourite Hymns

Rank	Title	Google search volume (monthly)	YouTube search volume (monthly)	Total
1	Jerusalem	22,200	18,400	40,600
2	Amazing Grace	12,500	20,600	33,100
3	I Vow To Thee My Country	3,330	13,760	17,090
4	How Great Thou Art	7,990	6,710	14,700
5	In Christ Alone	5,560	6,320	11,880
6	Abide With Me	5,560	6,100	11,660
7	The Lord is My Shepherd	6,500	2,210	8,710
8	Be Thou My Vision	3,250	3,800	7,050
9	Morning Has Broken	4,000	2,800	6,800
10	Lord of the Dance	4,600	1,450	6,050

Jerusalem is the most-searched hymn, with the UK searching for the song and lyrics an estimated 40,600 times per month on YouTube and Google. The hymn was originally a poem by William Blake and became a song after composer Sir Hubert Parry added music in his later adaptation. It has been proposed as an alternative English national anthem to God Save the King.

Photo by David Beale on Unsplash

Amazing Grace is second and is searched an extra 2,000 times per month on YouTube compared to Jerusalem. It is among the most commonly known hymns and has been covered by many musicians.

I Vow To Thee My Country, a patriotic anthem associated with Remembrance Day and played at Winston Churchill's funeral, is third with over 17,000 monthly searches.

How Great Thou Art, sung by popular musicians Elvis Presley and Carrie Underwood, is fourth among Britain's top hymns at almost 15,000 monthly searches.

In Christ Alone, the only modern hymn on the list (composed in 2001), has stormed the rankings to become one of the UK's most-loved, searched almost 12,000 times per month.

Abide With Me is sixth with 11,660 monthly searches.

King Charles' favourite hymn, Be Thou My Vision, ranks eighth in Britain with over 7,000 monthly searches. Queen Elizabeth II's preferred hymn, The Lord is My Shepherd, ranks one place above.

Morning Has Broken, popularised by Cat Stevens, ranks ninth with 6,800 monthly searches.

Lord of the Dance ranks tenth with just over 6,000 monthly searches.

Colin Toh, Chief Editor of Headphonesty, commented on the findings:
"With Christmas less than a week away, the study sheds light on the most popular traditional holiday songs. Silent Night and Jerusalem are the UK's most popular carol and hymn by far, with search volumes showing a difference of thousands more searches per month than the next ranking songs. Traditional songs written over a hundred years ago dominate both rankings, with only a few modern songs in between - though some have had rerecorded versions by modern artists, which helps extend the songs' reach to a broader range of listeners."