December 20

[Christmas Chief]

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet their songs repeat
Of peace on earth good will to men

And the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
Like a choir they're singing (peace on earth)
In my heart I hear them (peace on earth)
Peace on earth, good will to men

And in despair I bowed my head
There is no peace on earth I said
For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men

But the bells are ringing (peace on earth)
Like a choir singing (peace on earth)
Does anybody hear them? (peace on earth)
Peace on earth, good will to men

Then rang the bells more loud and deep
God is not dead, nor does he sleep (peace on earth, peace on earth)
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men

Then ringing singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men

And the bells they're ringing (peace on earth)
Like a choir they're singing (peace on earth)
And with our hearts we'll hear them (peace on earth)
Peace on earth, good will to men

Do you hear the bells they're ringing? (peace on earth)
The life the angels singing (peace on earth)
Open up your heart and hear them (peace on earth)

Peace on earth, good will to men
Peace on earth, peace on earth
Peace on earth, Good will to men

[Marlowe]

I like this one because it sounds ominous and uplifting at the same time.

Ray Bradbury wrote this of the song in Something Wicked This Way Comes: "immensely moving, overwhelming, no matter what day or what month it was sung." (Okay, I stole that last bit from the carol's Wikipedia article.)

[Christmas Chief]

Very interesting! This is one of my favorite songs as well. I first heard it performed by a choir and wasn’t able to find a video approximate for a long time, but the one I linked gets close.