The Number One Christmas Song - O Holy Night

They poll just about anything these days, and Zogby did a poll of favorite Christmas songs, even including a political breakdown:

Americans prefer signs that it's Christmas starting the day after Thanksgiving, with 59% of adults saying they like to see Christmas lights on homes, store displays, and hear Christmas tunes on the radio the day after Thanksgiving and no sooner (and also no later!), according to a new Zogby poll.

Speaking of Christmas tunes, out of a list of nine choices, we asked Americans to vote for their three favorite holiday songs. O Holy Night was the clear winner with 58% of adults voting for it as their 1st, 2nd, or 3rd favorite holiday song. White Christmas (41%), and The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) (38%) also topped the list. Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (10%) and Adam Sandler's the Hanukkah Song (9%) received the fewest votes.

Here's the overall ranking:
#1 O Holy Night: 58%
#2 WhiteChristmas: 41%
#3 The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire): 38%
#4 It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: 28%
#5 It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: 24%
#6 Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24: 17%
#7 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: 15%
#8 Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer: 10%
#9 Adam Sandler's The Hanukkah Song: 9%

Most Republicans enjoy O Holy Night, with 67% of them voting for it as one of their three favorite holiday songs compared to 56% of independents and 50% of Democrats. More women (62%) than men (53%) prefer this song and considering the strong religious theme, so do adults who attend religious services at least once a week. Seventy-six percent of adults who attend religious services more than once a week say O Holy Night is on their top three list as do 72% of Americans who go to church at least weekly. Only 25% of people who say they never attend religious services picked O Holy Night as one of their three favorite holiday songs. White Christmas leads among those who never attend religious services but only 36% of this group voted for White Christmas as a top three; 16% said either none of the listed songs were their favorite or that they do not listen to or enjoy holiday songs.

For the record, it's my favorite too. And I'm not sure what they were thinking when they included a Hanukkah song in a list of Christmas songs. Most people understand there's a difference.

One year ago tonight my dad sang O Holy Night, starring as the Angel Gabriel in a children's music production at Coast Hills Church in Laguna Niguel. We didn't know that night that this would be his last performance, nor did we know the trauma we'd go through as a family during the next 10 months, but thankfully we got it on video and I'd like to share it with you: