Ever since I was a child, I have loved the mystery and awe of Christmas. One of my favorite Christmas hymns invokes the image of Mary as a rose tree, and Jesus as the blossom she bears—not a mighty king, but a tender rose, which fills the air with an otherworldly fragrance and shatters with radiant glory the darkness and cold of winter. May you have a joyful, peaceful Christmas. We hope that this recording fills you with the spirit of the season. For our previous historical CDs, we have always tried to go to the original source and record a song in the most authentic version possible. But what does “authentic” mean when it comes to Christmas carols? These carols have been sung in so many versions over so many years, the exercise seems pointless. People don’t necessarily want to hear “Joy to the World!” with its original lackluster tune. They want to hear the more modern melody they know and love. Similarly, lyrics have evolved over the years. But again, which version to choose? Do you care that “mankind” can be construed as leaving out women and children? I don’t. When it comes to the imagery of poetry, “people” just falls flat. And so we went with what we liked—which largely meant the versions I grew up with as a child. We have listed the original sources here, but we have not tried to recreate these carols as they would originally have been heard. For a change, our goal is not to provide a history lesson—even an enjoyable one—but to share the joy of the season.