It’s been twenty years since Josh Groban brought “Believe” alive as the closing number to the hit Christmas film “The Polar Express”.

Written by Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri, the song won a Grammy in the category Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or other Visual Media in 2006.

One reason why it’s one of my favorites is because it is a very moving song, sung by one of the greatest voices of our time. I never tire of hearing it during the holiday season.

We now come to our second Beatle Christmas song with 1979’s “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney. This song was McCartney’s first solo single since 1971. Members of Wings did not appear on the recording but appear in the video.

Why I like it: although critics have called it a mediocre work by McCartney, it is a song done by a Beatle and it’s cheerful with lots of bells and background singers chanting “ding-dong, ding-dong”.

Although the original is well-done, in 2013 Straight No Chaser recorded a version with McCartney which outshines the original.

While missing his family at Christmas in 1970, Puerto Rican singer and songwriter Jose Feliciano wrote “Feliz Navidad”, a heartfelt but simple song.

The song only has nineteen words in it and it was recorded in ten minutes at RCA Studios on Sunset Blvd. In 2010 it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. According to Wikipedia it is one of the most downloaded and aired Christmas songs in the United States and Canada. As of November 25, 2016, total sales of the digital track stand at 808,000 downloads according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it eighth on the list of all-time best-selling Christmas/holiday digital singles in SoundScan history. It was also recognized by ASCAP as one of the top 25 most played and recorded Christmas songs around the world.

I like it because it’s a feel-good song with a catchy beat and it just makes you feel like singing at the top of your lungs. Although there have been many versions, Feliciano’s is by far the best.

I think the majority of people can agree that this song, an old English Christmas carol with lyrics dating back to the late 18^th century, is more a nuisance song than an enjoyable song. Still, especially for children, it’s always fun to sing. Especially if it’s done in a novelty style such as “The Twelve Pains of Christmas” by Bob Rivers or the version by Bob & Doug McKenzie.

But my favorite version of this irritating tune is the one sung by John Denver and the Muppets. The group performed it together as the opening for their 1979 special John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. It’s also the first song that appears on their Christmas album. It always brings back fond memories of my childhood and I’m so glad I’ve passed my love of the Muppets on to my daughter, who has greatly embraced them and enjoys this Christmas album as well.

It’s always fun to hear Miss Piggy chime in with “five…go-lden…rings!” and eventually the rest of the gang joins in with “ba-dum-dum-dum”, completely throwing Piggy off guard.

To me Christmas is synonymous with this song and it just wouldn’t be the holiday season without it.

Written in 1951 by Meredith Wilson, it was originally called “It’s Beginning to Look Like Christmas”. Although it was a hit for Perry Como, my favorite rendition is the one by Johnny Mathis.

Why is this one of my favorite Christmas songs? The lyrics are so picturesque: “there’s a tree in the Grand Hotel, one in the park as well, the sturdy kind that doesn’t mind the snow…” and “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Soon the bells will start, And the thing that’ll make ’em ring is the carol that you sing, Right within your heart”.

Mathis didn’t record his version until 1986 and his version became even more popular when featured in the movie “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York”