10 New Christmas Songs as Good as the Classics

1. Light of Christmas by TobyMac (feat. Owl City)

Christmas is about Jesus, the Light of the world, and that is exactly what Toby Mac’s, “Light of Christmas” illustrates. It takes us on a magical ride through what Christmas looks like through our current generation, and that of our children. There are some things that are different, now, but the main point of Christmas shines through. 

The song sings of giving someone a gift card for a new winter coat, and highlights the guy with the bucket and the bell who has a story to tell. It sings of figuring out what Christmas is all about: doing good for others, because Jesus gave so much to us. “Smiling bright so that other can see our light” points to the Light we reflect. When we honor the true meaning of Christmas, it lights the way for others. This song is sure to get people up and moving to the beat of the Christmas spirit for generations to come. 

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2. Can You See by Fifth Harmony

From the Soundtrack to the movie Star, Fifth Harmony sings about the famous star that led the members of the nativity scene to the manger where Jesus was born. “A leap of faith on a promise,” the group sings of Mary and Joseph, and the odds they faced to welcome Jesus to the earth. 

The most prevalent message in the song is the brightness of the star being seen by all, and the fact that it shines for all. Jesus came to earth to a simple family and a simple setting, for every single person on earth. That’s a message that is sometimes lost in the Christmas season. Amidst the rush and hustle of commercialism, we forget to stop and look up at Him shining brightly down on us, still. We are all created unique in God’s eyes, but sometimes underestimate ourselves, as well as the miracle that came to us when Jesus was born. Inspiring us to answer the question, “Can you see the star?” this new addition to Christmas classics reminds us Whose we are. 

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3. Glorious by For King & Country

A modern tune to a classic story gives a magnetic feel to the word “glorious.”  King and Country shares the story of the manger scene to a melody as powerful as the message they proclaim in their lyrics. “He is the wonder of the world like we have never seen,” sung to an entrapping arrangement of music sweeps us right into the scene that the shepherds must have beheld that night Jesus was born. 

“He is the chorus to every song that we were born to sing,” describes perfectly what Jesus came to earth to be for us. Our chorus. Our repeating joy. Our glorious king. Christmas is often treated like a delicate story of a peaceful birth, but the King of Kings coming down to earth brought about a thunderous song of angels and the blinding light of a star that lit up His birth. Jesus came into simple surrounding, but His entrance to this earth caused a stir in the atmosphere that this song captures perfectly. 

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4. Messiah by Kari Jobe

Kari Jobe’s song, “Messiah,” tells the nativity story from the vantage point of a group who expected he would come, and others that knew who He was. The shepherds in the field, terrified by the angels who broke through heaven to tell of Jesus’ birth, knew who the baby in the manger was. Although they knew who He was, this song captures the inevitable surreality that must have overwhelmed them as they held a baby who had been foretold for centuries. 

“Our Messiah,” describes the personal sacrifice made by God to lend His Son to earth, to become the eventual sacrifice for mankind. Christmas is an all-encompassing lesson in personal sacrifice, not just for Jesus, but for us as Christians as we walk in His footsteps. Over and over again, God will choose simple people for giant tasks, just like He choose Mary and Joseph to be Jesus’ earthly parents. Shepherds, the lowest class of people at the time, were the first to witness baby Jesus. “Messiah” wraps up what Christmas is all about. 

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5. He Shall Reign Forevermore by Chris Tomlin

Chris Tomlin delivered a new cornerpiece of the Christmas songbook when he released “He Shall Reign Forevermore.” In a powerful chorus repeating the song’s title, it declares that Jesus was born that night … but reigns forever. Jesus came to earth that night in the manger, “the baby boy who made the stars.” Sometimes we forget that Christ’s birth wasn’t the start of HIs existence; He was with the Father as creation was formed, and came to us. 

Though Christ died on the cross, He was resurrected and ascended into heaven. There, He took His seat at the right hand of the Father. Every new day that we have assures us that He is still seated in that same place, for it’s by His authority the earth continues on. Choosing the shepherds in the field, this song reminds us to bring our all, though we may be poor. In riches, in spirit, in health; we can bring all to Him, because He reigns.

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6. The First Christmas by Tenth Avenue North

If you’re looking to laugh your socks off, check out the Christmas yeti as he tells introduces Tenth Avenue North’s latest Christmas Album, “Decade the Halls.” It’s in their mix of holiday hilarity that the song, “The First Christmas,” makes is debut. Made to sound like a song out of the 1950’s, it brings a classic American sound to life in a Christmas carol. 

The fun rendition of the events leading up to Jesus' birth are catchy and fun, reflecting a more lighthearted time in our country’s history. Throughout every decade of their album, the Christmas theme is consistent. Although we may go through a lot of different phases as a country, and far beyond as humans beings in a fallen and crazy world, we have exactly what we need to endure it all. He was born that night in the manger, and will see us through every decade from here on out until He calls us home. 

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7. Come Now Our King by Chris August

Putting us right down into the scene of Bethlehem on the night of Christ’s birth, Chris August sings of everyday life coming to the end of another day in the town. As they do, the angels start to sing of the unordinary happenings that begin to unfold as the nearby people sleep unaware of the world changing in their midst. The melody floats and pulls our eyes closed as we picture the scene moving forward in heaven and on earth. 

A birth long-awaited, the same song of praise is echoed in the chorus of this song. “Glory! In the highest. Come now our King. We’ve been waiting. Come, now our King.” Imagine the excitement contained in the midst of this baby boy, a Savior who choose to save His people who He knew so individually, before He arrived on earth that night in the manger. Imagine the magical embrace, the majestic presence, that all who bent a knee at His crib embraced. The one who was, is, and ever shall be, made His way into the world of sin that would conquer for our freedom.

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8. Joseph's Lullaby by MercyMe

This new-age Christmas classic focuses on the earthly father of Christ, Joseph, and what this journey must have been like for him. To welcome the Son of God into his earthy care as father must have been an all-encompassing feeling of needing to lean on God with his entirety. He and Mary were chosen to raise Jesus, a seemingly impossible prospect, but yet they maintained a peaceful trust in God to provide the way for them. 

A father’s designed role in the family is one of authority and leadership, yet Joseph would undoubtedly look to the baby in the manger for the path to executing those very things. This song begs us to imagine what the weight of the glory must have felt like for Jesus as He broke through to earth, to be held in the arms of Joseph and Mary. A weight He did carry, indeed, all the way to cross to save us all. In that moment in the manger, not knowing what we know now, this song captures a moment of magic between a father and his son on more than one level. Though Jesus is God’s Son, we claim Him as ours. Our Savior. Our Jesus.

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9. What a Glorious Night by Sidewalk Prophets

Beginning with the famous passage of Luke recited by Linus in “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the Sidewalk Prophets capture a voice that modern generations attach to Christmas. “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” Linus concludes after reciting the passage, at which “What a Glorious Night” launches into a sing-song hymn in celebration of Christmas night. 

Amidst a refreshing repetition of some familiar stanzas of classic Christmas carols is an original song that will represent Christmas alongside the classics. The clapping in the background of the chorus sets our feet standing in church on Christmas Eve, worshipping with our church family in celebration of this glorious night every year. “I hear the angels singing,” renders what it feels like to let loose and celebrate together the magnificent birth of the King of Kings. God promises to be with us in worship, and this song exudes that feeling, just you and the radio. That’s Christmas magic!

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10. You're Here by Francesca Battistelli

A sweet song about Jesus’ mother, Mary, Francesca Battistelli belts out this anthem that peeks into her heart in the moment of Christ’s birth. Every mother wonders, when they gaze upon their child, what they will grow up to be. Mary knew, to an extent, exactly what Jesus had come to be: A fulfillment of prophesy.

“I’m staring into the face of my Savior, King and Creator,” captures in perfect gravity exactly what Mary must have felt as she held her sweet baby boy. Though Mary was just as ordinary as anyone else, her calling was extraordinary. Birth rides on a tidal wave of emotion that crests and rolls in with pressing relief as our babies take their first breath and cry. Battistelli plucks away at our hearts as we try to imagine what that could have possibly felt like to hear the Savior of the world utter His very first earthly cry.

The most endearing quality of our great God permeates through the sweet and tender way He choose ordinary people to be drawn miraculously close to Him through the birth of His Son. It’s a tear-jerking reminder that He is still the same. He loves each of us, individually, that immensely. “He could have left us here,” the song reminds. But instead, we celebrate Christmas, and a never-ending closeness with Him for all those who believe, for all time.

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Meg encourages others to seek Him first through her life as a stay-at-home mom, career as a freelance writer, teaching Emotimoms Weekly Bible Study, and leading the kids worship teams at her local church. She resides in a small, Northern lake town with her husband of ten years, two daughters, and their Goldendoodle. Meg writes about everyday life within the love of Christ on her blog, http://sunnyand80.org.