Can You Complete These Christmas Carols?

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By: J. Reinoehl

6 Min Quiz

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About This Quiz

Although a “carol” can be associated with any holiday, no other holidays inspire themed music the way Christmas does. Christmas carols are so much a part of the holiday that one tradition involves going door-to-door and singing them. Do you know the lyrics to these popular traditional and modern carols? Find out by taking this quiz.

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to ___________."

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold Him born the King of Angels!” –“O Come All Ye Faithful” by John Francis Wade

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“There must have been some magic in that old _____________"

"There must have been some magic in that old silk hat they found. For when they placed it on his head, he began to dance around.” –“Frosty the Snowman” by Walter “Jack” Rollins and Steve Nelson

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“Gone away is the bluebird. Here to stay is ______________"

Richard B. Smith was recovering from another bout of tuberculosis when he wrote the words to “Winter Wonderland.” He shared them with his friend Felix Bernard who set the poem to music one year before Smith passed away from the disease.

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"Come, they told me (pa-rum pum pum pum). Our newborn King ____________________"

“The Little Drummer Boy” is also called “The Carol of the Drum.” It was written in 1941 by Katherine Kennicott Davis and first sung by the Von Trapp Family Singers (of "The Sound of Music" fame).

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“I'll be home for Christmas. You can count on me. Please have ______________ and presents on the tree.”

Bing Crosby performed “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” to honor soldiers who were stationed overseas in 1943. Sam “Buck” Ram wrote a song by the same name, but it did not have any resemblance to the song sung by Crosby (aside from part of the name), which was written by Walter Kent and James Gannon.

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"The first Noel, the angels did say, was ________________"

“The First Noel” is a traditional hymn that was published for the first time in 1823. The song was given additional lyrics and a new arrangement by the end of the 19th century.

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“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style. In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas. Children laughing ______________"

“City sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style. In the air, there's a feeling of Christmas. Children laughing, people passing meeting smile after smile, and on every street corner you hear: silver bells.” –“Silver Bells” by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans

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"Dashing _________________ in a one-horse open sleigh o’er the hills we go, laughing all the way."

“Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh o’er the hills we go, laughing all the way. Bells on bobtailed rings, making spirits bright.” –“Jingle Bells” by James Lord Pierpont

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“Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on your troubles will be ____________________"

Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane wrote “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” It was first sung by Judy Garland in the film, "Meet Me in St. Louis," and later recorded by Frank Sinatra.

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“Deck the halls with boughs of holly, _____________"

“Deck the halls with boughs of holly, Fa la la la la, la la la la. ‘Tis the season to be jolly… Don we now our gay apparel… Troll the ancient Yuletide carol…” – “Deck the Halls” by Thomas Oliphant

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“Silent night, holy night, all is calm. All is ______________"

Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics to “Silent Night” in 1816, and Franz Xaver Gruber composed the music for it two years later.

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“Hark! the herald angels sing. Glory ________________"

“Hark! the herald angels sing. Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled.” –“Hark! the Herald Angels Sing” by Charles Wesley

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“Joy to the World! The Lord is come! Let earth __________________.”

“Joy to the World! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room, and Heaven and nature sing.” –“Joy to the World” by Isaac Watts

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“Away in a manger, _________________ the little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head."

John T. McFarland wrote the third verse of “Away in a Manger,” but Lutheran emigrants brought the rest of the song to America.

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"God rest ye ________________, gentlemen..."

There was an Internet rumor that “merry” meant “mighty” when the song was first written in the 16th century. Not only has the word “merry” never meant “mighty,” but also the first publication of the song in 1760 calls it “new.” This would place its writing in the 18th century. The “ye” for “you” is a modern addition.

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“What a bright time. It's the right time to rock the night away. Jingle bell time is a swell time to go ______________."

"What a bright time. It's the right time to rock the night away. Jingle bell time is a swell time to go riding in a one-horse sleigh.” –“Jingle Bell Rock” by Joe Beal and Jim Boothe

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"Fall on your knees. O hear ______________"

“O Holy Night” was the second piece of music to be broadcast to the public on radio December 24, 1906. The first song was “Ombra mai fu (Largo)” by George Frideric Handel.

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“It came upon the midnight clear that glorious song of old from angels bending near the earth __________________"

“It came upon the midnight clear that glorious song of old from angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold.” –“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” by Edmund Sears

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“Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel and ransom captive _____________”

"Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!” – “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” translated 1851 by John Mason Neale

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“I'm dreaming of a white Christmas—just like the ones I used to know, where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear ______________"

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmas—just like the ones I used to know, where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow.” –“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby

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"Said the night wind to the little lamb _______________"

“Do You Hear What I Hear?” was written as a prayer for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It’s writer, Noel Regney, was a Frenchman drafted by the Nazi army in World War II. He soon deserted and joined the French resistance fighters.

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“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again with _______________ aglow."

“It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go. Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again with candy canes and silver lanes aglow. ” –“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Meredith Wilson

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" I heard the bells on Christmas day; their old familiar carols play, and mild and sweet their songs repeat of ___________”

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem on which “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was based at a low point in his life. His daughter and the newspaper related that a match fell and caught Longfellow's wife’s dress on fire, and Wadsworth was burned while trying to put out the flames but he was unsuccessful at saving his wife.

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“What child is this who laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels ______________”

“What child is this who laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?” –“What Child Is This?” by William Chatterton Dix.

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"Down the lonely manger the humble Christ was born, and God sent salvation ____________"

John Wesley Work, Jr., (1871—1925) grew up in Nashville and collected spirituals by traveling from plantation to plantation. He first published “Go Tell It on the Mountain” in 1907.

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“Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing, ring-ting-tingle-ing, too. Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you. Outside the snow is falling, and friends are calling, _______________________"

Leroy Anderson composed “Sleigh Ride” in the summer while at his mother-in-law’s summer cottage and it was first played by the Boston Pops Orchestra February 10, 1948. Mitchell Parish did not add the lyrics until several years after the song’s release.

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"I want a ______________________ for Christmas."

Gayla Peevy had recorded a few songs before Mitch Miller of Columbia Records gave the hippopotamus song to her. After the song became a hit, a hippopotamus was given to Peevy who promptly donated it to a local zoo. She had one more song that charted at #84 but it was performed under the stage name “Jamie Horton” in 1959.

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"_______________ that your baby boy will one day walk on water?”

Mark Lowry is a Christian comedian who primarily specializes in parodies of popular songs. He wrote “Mary Did You Know?” while he was writing a Christmas program for Jerry Falwell in 1984. He didn’t use it at the time, but he hung on to it until 1991 when he asked Buddy Greene to write the music.

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" Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing ____________"

“Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strains.” –“Angels We Have Heard on High” by James Chadwick

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"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep ________________________"

"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by. Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting Light; the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee to-night.” –“O Little Town of Bethlehem” by Phillips Brooks, composed by Lewis Redner

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“Your boughs are green in summer’s clime __________”

“Your boughs so green in summer’s clime and through the snows of wintertime. O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, how steadfast are thy branches.” –“O Christmas Tree”

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"Think of all the fun I’ve missed. Think of all the ____________________"

Eartha Kitt (singer of Santa Baby) was at the height of her career when she was invited to the White House for a luncheon with President Johnson and his wife. She questioned the President’s position on Vietnam in front of reporters and found herself blacklisted and placed on an FBI list. She ended up touring solely in Europe to earn a living.

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"Good King Wenceslas looked out on ________________"

“Good King Wenceslas looked out on the feast of Stephen when the snow lay round about—deep and crisp and even. Brightly shone the moon that night though the frost was cruel when a poor man came in sight gath'ring winter fuel.” –“Good King Wenceslas” by J. M. Neale

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"Hark how the bells, sweet silver bells, all seem to say, ____________"

“The Carol of the Bells” was initially a song about a swallow heralding the coming of spring. A Ukrainian choir director commissioned Myloka Leontovych to create a Christmas song using a traditional folk melody and “The Carol of the Bells” was the result.

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"O-oh, star of wonder, star of ______________"

“O-oh, star of wonder, star of might, star with royal beauty bright, westward leading, still proceeding, guide us to thy perfect light.” – “We Three Kings of Orient Are” by John Henry Hopkins, Jr.

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