Play Audiobook Sample
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.04) - 273 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
Behind the Christmas songs we love to sing lie fascinating stories that will enrich your holiday celebration. Taking you inside the nativity of over thirty favorite songs and carols, Ace Collins introduces you to people you’ve never met, stories you’ve never heard, and meanings you’d never have imagined. The next time you and your family sing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," you’ll have a new understanding of its message and popular roots. You’ll discover how "Angels from the Realms of Glory," with its sublime lyrics and profound theology, helped usher in a quiet revolution in worship. You’ll learn the strange history of the haunting and powerful "O Holy Night," including the song’s surprising place in the history of modern communications. And you’ll step inside the life of Mark Lowry and find out how he came to pen the words to the contemporary classic "Mary, Did You Know?"Still other songs such as "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" trace back to mysterious origins--to ninth-century monks, nameless clergy, and unknown commoners of ages past. Joining hands with such modern favorites as "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Song," they are part of the legacy of inspiration, faith, tears, love, and spiritual joy that is Christmas. From the rollicking appeal of "Jingle Bells" to the tranquil beauty of "Silent Night," the great songs of Christmas contain messages of peace, hope, and truth. Each in its own way expresses a facet of God’s heart and celebrates the birth of his greatest gift to the world--Jesus, the most wonderful Christmas Song of all.
Download and start listening now!
"I really enjoyed learning about the Christmas carols covered here. A lot of the reviews say some of the information is false, I did not cross check anything though. If you are looking for some general knowledge and have not read anything else on the history of carols this is a good place to start."
— Jen (4 out of 5 stars)
Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas Listener Reviews
-
" Would make a good gift for those that love Christmas music. "
— Christine, 2/17/2014 -
" What I enjoyed most about this book was that it got me interested in researching the background of some of my favorite Christmas songs. What I did not enjoy was that it was so clearly written with..."schmaltz" (for lack of a better word). I'm sure some of what's in this volume is true, but it's easy to pick up on the rose-colored tint the writer is putting on every story. The stories are heart-warming (like Hallmark movies) but not always real. "
— Andrew, 1/24/2014 -
" 3 1/2 stars, interesting stuff. "
— Lisa, 1/22/2014 -
" A good book to get to know the writers of Christmas songs. "
— Jenny, 1/19/2014 -
" I think I'll incorporate this into a yearly tradition. Not cover to cover, but as a reference to remember the history behind the most beloved Christmas songs. Also as a side note, I had no idea just how old some of our Christmas songs are. "
— Joseph, 1/9/2014 -
" It was pretty cool to read the stories behind some of the christmas carols. My favorite in this was the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I had no idea! "
— Lori, 1/8/2014 -
" This was a gift from my daughter, Sarah,about Christmas 2004, and I like to read this every year. "
— Rhonda, 1/1/2014 -
" Love this book. So many of my favorite hymns are in it so I learned a lot. "
— Nancy, 12/30/2013 -
" There is a good deal of interesting history behind Christmas songs. "
— Tom, 11/5/2013 -
" I love Christmas time and the songs. It was interesting and fun to read where the songs came from. "
— Emily, 11/4/2013 -
" Absolutely loving this family read as we travel in the car. Beautiful. Highly recommend. "
— Janiece, 2/8/2013 -
" interesting and informative. Full of facts that you will never need to know in your everyday life. "
— Caleb, 12/12/2012 -
" I really enjoyed learning more about the origin of 31 Christmas Carols. My favorite was God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen :) "
— Kristine, 11/20/2012 -
" Interesting look at the background to some well-known Christmas songs and carols. Unfortunately, the author does not provide his sources so a reader cannot fact-check. "
— Ron, 4/19/2012 -
" I really enjoyed finding out the history behind some of my favorate hymns. I think the story behind 'Good King Wisenclass' was my favorate. "
— Elizabeth, 1/5/2012 -
" Found this while I was preparing for our ward Christmas Sac. Program. Some of the stories are quite interesting, but there are a lot of snorers too. Over all it was a nice read. I do wish he had a bibliography, because I remember some of the stories differently and I'd like to see his sources. "
— Lavinia, 12/14/2011 -
" Very informative read. It was great to learn the stories of how these widely loved songs came to be. "
— Gemini, 7/13/2011 -
" Very interesting!!! I will listen to my Christmas music with a different ear from now on. I especially liked the story of the 12 Days of Christmas! "
— Velda, 5/18/2011 -
" It was OK. A lot of the stories were neat to learn, but overall it wasn't as interesting as I thought it'd be. "
— Eric, 4/27/2011 -
" I enjoyed this book when I read it, but I've since learned that much of its research was inaccurate. "
— Brandi, 4/1/2011 -
" Interesting look at the background to some well-known Christmas songs and carols. Unfortunately, the author does not provide his sources so a reader cannot fact-check. "
— Ron, 1/13/2011 -
" It was OK. A lot of the stories were neat to learn, but overall it wasn't as interesting as I thought it'd be. "
— Eric, 1/2/2011 -
" Interesting facts about well-known Christmas carols. Each chapter can be read independantly, so it was easy to pick up and put down during the Christmas season. "
— Laurie, 12/31/2010 -
" Very interesting, the sources of our favorite songs. "
— Jeralyn, 12/29/2010 -
" Would make a good gift for those that love Christmas music. "
— Christine, 12/29/2010 -
" One of the more in-depth of the popular books on the stories of how our Christmas songs came to be. As a bonus, this book is a pleasant object, with heavyweight textured paper, wintery imaages at the tops of chapters, and the whole of it in ice-blue ink. Includes lyrics. "
— Elizabeth, 12/27/2010 -
" It was pretty cool to read the stories behind some of the christmas carols. My favorite in this was the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I had no idea! "
— Lori, 12/18/2010 -
" A good book to get to know the writers of Christmas songs. "
— Jenny, 12/13/2010 -
" I love Christmas time and the songs. It was interesting and fun to read where the songs came from. "
— Emily, 12/13/2010
About Ace Collins
Ace Collins is the writer of more than sixty books, including several bestsellers: Stories behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas, Stories behind the Great Traditions of Christmas, The Cathedrals, and Lassie: A Dog’s Life. Based in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, he continues to publish several new titles each year, including a series of novels, the first of which is Farraday Road. Ace has appeared on scores of television shows, including CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, and Entertainment Tonight.
About Marc Cashman
Marc Cashman, Earphones Award–winning narrator, was named one of the “Best Voices of the Year” by AudioFile magazine. His voice can be heard on radio, television, film, and video games. He also instructs voice actors through his classes, The Cashman Cache of Voice-Acting Techniques, in Los Angeles.