‘O Holy Night’ voted the nation’s favourite Christmas carol for tenth consecutive year

25 December 2025, 15:00

Aled Jones and Malakai M Bayoh sing ‘O Holy Night’

By Classic FM

@ClassicFM

For a decade complete, ‘O Holy Night’ has been voted the best-loved Christmas carol of all time in our annual poll.

‘O Holy Night’, a carol of French origin that has been recorded by countless singers from Luciano Pavarotti to Mariah Carey, has been voted the greatest Christmas carol of all time for the tenth consecutive year!

The annual vote for The Nation’s Favourite Carol took place over three weeks, and the Top 30 list was revealed on Classic FM on Christmas Day from 1-3pm by Alexander Armstrong.

Composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam, ‘O Holy Night’ is still adored the world over, 170 years on. A tale of humanity’s redemption, the ‘Cantique de Noël’ is a much-loved favourite in our annual countdown, and is thought to have been the first carol played on the radio.

Gustav Holst’s setting of ‘In the Bleak Midwinter’, originally a poem by Christina Rossetti, was voted the nation’s second favourite, with ‘Carol of the Bells’ in third place followed by ‘Silent Night’ and Harold Darke’s setting of Rossetti’s poem.

Elsewhere in our chart, ‘It Came Upon a Midnight Clear’ climbed four places from No.14 to No.10. ‘Angels from the Realms of Glory’ and ‘Ding Dong! Merrily on High’ were two new entries in the chart.

Explore the full Top 30 >

The Nation’s Favourite Carol - Top 30

1. O Holy Night
2. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Gustav Holst version
3. Carol of the Bells
4. Silent Night
5. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
6. In the Bleak Mid-Winter - Harold Darke version
7. O Come All Ye Faithful
8. O Come, O Come Emmanuel
9. Candlelight Carol (Rutter)
10. O Little Town of Bethlehem
11. Once in Royal David’s City
12. Coventry Carol
13. Gaudete
14. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
15. Joy to the World
16. Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
17. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
18. Sussex Carol
19. Away in a Manger
20. Gabriel’s Message
21. The Three Kings
22. The Holly and the Ivy
23. In Dulci Jubilo
24. Shepherd’s Pipe Carol
25. Bethlehem Down
26. Star Carol (Rutter)
27. Good King Wenceslas
28. See Amid the Winter’s Snow
29. Angels from the Realms of Glory
30. Wexford Carol

Explore The Nation’s Favourite Carol Top 30 here.