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"O Christmas Tree" is the English version of the German Christmas carol, "O Tannenbaum." There are multiple variations on the lyrics in both languages; in German the oldest lyrics date to 1550, but the best-known lyrics were written by Ernst Anschütz in 1824. None of the English versions are literal translations of the German.  The words were written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788, but Burns himself revealed at the time of composing it that he had collected the words after listening to the verse of an old man on his travels, claiming that his version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ marked the first time it had been formally written down. However, an earlier ballad by James Watson, named ‘Old Long Syne’, dates as far back as 1711, and use of the title phrase can be found in poems from as early as the 17th century, specifically works by Robert Ayton and Allan Ramsay.

"The Friendly Beasts" is a traditional Christmas song about the gifts that a donkey, cow, sheep, camel and dove give to Jesus  The song seems to have originated in the 12th century set to the melody of the song "Orientis Partibus".   "What Child Is This?" is a Christmas carol with lyrics written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865, subsequently set to the tune of "Greensleeves", a traditional English folk song in 1871. Although written in Great Britain, the carol today is more popular in the United States than its country of origin.

The carol originates from 16th-century England and the earliest known printed edition was published in 1760.  It has been known by different names throughout history, including ‘God Bless You, Merry Gentlemen’ and ‘God Rest Ye, Merry Christians’, and even makes an appearance in Charles Dickens’ novel, A Christmas Carol, early on when Scrooge is terrifying carol singers with his foul temper:

‘Joy to the World’ was written by a man called Isaac Watts, an English Christian minister and writer whose sacred words were inspired by Psalm 98 of the Bible.  Watts published it in his collection of hymns and spiritual songs, The Psalms of David, way back in 1719.  Today, the carol so popular that – as of the late 20th century – it was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is an English Christmas carol that first appeared in 1739 in the collection Hymns and Sacred Poems. The carol, based on Luke 2:14, tells of an angelic chorus singing praises to God.

With the original two-stanza text, AWAY IN A MANGER was first published in James R. Murray's Dainty Songs for Little Lads and Lasses (1887) and initialed “J. R. M.” Murray (b. Andover, MA, 1841; d. Cincinnati, OH, 1905) compiled the songbook and is now thought to be the tune's composer. However, Murray's hymnbook erroneously described this song as: "Luther's Cradle Hymn. Composed by Martin Luther for his children, and still sung by German mothers to their little ones." As a result, the hymn was wrongly attributed to Luther for many years.