Songs for Christmas is a box set of five separate EPs of Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

-related songs and carols recorded by independent musician Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens is an American singer-songwriter and musician born in Detroit, Michigan. Stevens first began releasing his music on Asthmatic Kitty, a label co-founded with his stepfather, beginning with the 1999 release, A Sun Came...

 between 2001 and 2006. The EPs had been given as gifts to friends and family of Stevens over the past six years, except for 2004 where he was too busy recording the Illinois

Illinois (album)

Illinois is a 2005 concept album by American indie folk songwriter Sufjan Stevens. His fifth studio album, Illinois features songs referencing places, events, and persons related to the U.S. state of Illinois...

album. Though the first three EPs have been available on Sufjan Stevens-related fansites for several years, Songs for Christmas is the first official release of these EPs. Most of the tracks are versions of traditional Christmas songs, with a number of original compositions such as "Sister Winter" and "Star of Wonder". Sufjan Stevens has developed a reputation for being a devoted Christian and many of the songs he chose for inclusion on Songs for Christmas are religious in nature, including his original compositions.

The box set includes a poster of Sufjan Stevens, an animated short for "Put the Lights on the Tree" by Tom Eaton

Tom Eaton

Tom Eaton is the self proclaimed "second best" working prop comic. He tours nationally with his "trunk o' junk", the trademark of his outlandish prop comedy. Eaton has performed his comedy act in over three countries and on two continents.-Early life:...

, an essay by Rick Moody

Rick Moody

Rick Moody is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel The Ice Storm, a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1973, which brought widespread acclaim, became a bestseller, and was made into a feature film of...

, two original short stories by Stevens, stickers, comics and a sing-a-long book for all five discs.

During Stevens' international tour in the later half of 2006, he regularly performed the original song "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever" while releasing inflatable Santas into the audience for fun.

Songs for Christmas was generally well-received by music critics.

Track listing

Noel: Songs for Christmas, Vol. I

Recorded December 2001

1. "Silent Night" – 0:47 (instrumental)
2. "O come, O come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
   
   " – 3:59
3. "We're Goin' to the Country!" – 2:19 *
4. "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming
   Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
   "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" , most commonly translated to English as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" or "A Spotless Rose", is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin.-History:...
   
   " – 3:25
5. "It's Christmas! Let's Be Glad!" – 1:58 *
6. "Holy Holy, etc.
   Holy, Holy, Holy
   Holy, Holy, Holy is a Christian hymn written by Reginald Heber . Its lyrics speak specifically on the Trinity, having been written for use on Trinity Sunday. John Bacchus Dykes composed the tune Nicaea for this hymn in 1861. It references the Sanctus, which is often called the "Holy holy holy" in...
   
   " – 0:39 (instrumental)
7. "Amazing Grace
   Amazing Grace
   "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn with words written by the English poet and clergyman John Newton , published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God,...
   
   " – 4:00

Hark!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. II

Recorded December 2002

1. "Angels We Have Heard on High
   Angels We Have Heard on High
   "Angels We Have Heard on High" is a Christmas carol. The song commemorates the story of the birth of Jesus Christ found in the Gospel of Luke, in which shepherds outside Bethlehem encounter a multitude of angels singing and praising the newborn child....
   
   " – 0:47 (instrumental)
2. "Put the Lights on the Tree" – 1:50 *
3. "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
   Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
   Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing is a Christian hymn written by the 18th century pastor and hymnist Robert Robinson. Robert Robinson penned the words at age 22 in the year 1757. The words of the hymn are in the public domain....
   
   " – 4:45
4. "I Saw Three Ships
   I Saw Three Ships
   "I Saw Three Ships " is a traditional and popular Christmas carol from England. A variant of its parent tune "Greensleeves", the earliest printed version of "I Saw Three Ships" is from the 17th century, possibly Derbyshire, and was also published by William B. Sandys in 1833...
   
   " – 2:36
5. "Only at Christmas Time" – 2:18 *
6. "Once in David's Royal City
   Once In Royal David's City
   Once In Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys' hymnbook Hymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music...
   
   " – 3:45
7. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" – 0:49 (instrumental)
8. "What Child Is This Anyway?" – 6:51
9. "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
   Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
   "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle" is a Christmas carol which originated from the Provence region of France in the 16th century. The song is usually notated in 3/8 time....
   
   " – 1:32

Ding! Dong!: Songs for Christmas, Vol. III

Recorded December 2003

1. "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
   
   " – 1:03 (instrumental)
2. "Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!" – 3:50 *
3. "We Three Kings
   We Three Kings
   "We Three Kings", also known as "We Three Kings of Orient Are" or "The Quest of the Magi", is a Christmas carol written by the Reverend John Henry Hopkins, Jr., who wrote both the lyrics and the music. It is suggested to have been written in 1857 but did not appear in print until his Carols, Hymns...
   
   " – 3:05
4. "O Holy Night
   O Holy Night
   "O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
   
   " – 3:34
5. "That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!" – 2:52 *
6. "All the King's Horns" – 2:59 *
7. "Ding! Dong!" – 0:56 (instrumental) *
8. "The Friendly Beasts
   The Friendly Beasts
   "The Friendly Beasts" is a traditional Christmas song about the gifts that a donkey, a cow, a sheep, a camel, and a dove gave to Jesus at the Nativity. The song seems to have originated in 12th-century France, set to the melody of the Latin song Orientis Partibus. The current English words were...
   
   " – 3:41

Joy: Songs for Christmas - Vol. IV

Recorded December 2005

1. "The Little Drummer Boy" – 3:44
2. "Away in a Manger
   Away in a Manger
   "Away in a Manger" is a Christmas carol first published in 1885 in Philadelphia and used widely throughout the English-speaking world. In Britain it is one of the most popular carols, a 1996 Gallup Poll ranking it joint second.-History of the lyrics:...
   
   " – 2:54
3. "Hey Guys! It's Christmas Time!" – 4:41 *
4. "The First Noel
   The First Noël
   The First Nowell is a traditional classical English carol, most likely from the 18th century, although possibly earlier...
   
   " – 0:53 (instrumental)
5. "Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)" – 3:22 *
6. "The Incarnation" – 2:23 *
7. "Joy to the World
   Joy to the World
   "Joy to the World" is a Christian Christmas carol.The words are by English hymn writer Isaac Watts, based on Psalm 98 in the Bible. The song was first published in 1719 in Watts' collection; The Psalms of David: Imitated in the language of the New Testament, and applied to the Christian state and...
   
   " – 4:21

Peace: Songs for Christmas, Vol. V

Recorded June 2006

1. "Once in Royal David's City
   Once In Royal David's City
   Once In Royal David's City is a Christmas carol originally written as poem by Cecil Frances Alexander. The carol was first published in 1848 in Miss Cecil Humphreys' hymnbook Hymns for little Children. A year later, the English organist Henry John Gauntlett discovered the poem and set it to music...
   
   " – 2:01
2. "Get Behind Me, Santa!" – 3:49 *
3. "Jingle Bells
   Jingle Bells
   "Jingle Bells" is one of the best-known and commonly sung winter songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" in the autumn of 1857...
   
    – 0:36" (instrumental)
4. "Christmas in July" – 3:17 *
5. "Lo! How a Rose E'er Blooming
   Es ist ein Ros entsprungen
   "Es ist ein Ros entsprungen" , most commonly translated to English as "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming" or "A Spotless Rose", is a Christmas carol and Marian Hymn of German origin.-History:...
   
   " – 1:46 (instrumental)
6. "Jupiter Winter" – 3:51 *
7. "Sister Winter" – 5:05 *
8. "O come, O come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel
   O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
   
   " – 1:06 (instrumental)
9. "Star of Wonder" – 7:08 *
10. "Holy, Holy, Holy
    Holy, Holy, Holy
    Holy, Holy, Holy is a Christian hymn written by Reginald Heber . Its lyrics speak specifically on the Trinity, having been written for use on Trinity Sunday. John Bacchus Dykes composed the tune Nicaea for this hymn in 1861. It references the Sanctus, which is often called the "Holy holy holy" in...
    
    " – 3:50
11. "The Winter Solstice" – 3:23 *

* denotes original songs by Sufjan Stevens © 2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Sales chart history

Year	Chart	Peak position	Sales
2006	Billboard 2006	122	30,251

External links

• Songs For Christmas at Asthmatic Kitty Records