3 Must-Hear Christmas Instrumental Songs

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Each year around this time, we hear holiday song after holiday song. Mariah Carey, Rudolph, the elves, or mommy kissing Santa are the topics of much airtime and radio play. But what about those holiday songs that don’t need a single word to convey their festive feel?

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Sometimes it’s best to just let the fire crackle, enjoy some hot cocoa, and let the music fill the space. That’s why here below, we wanted to share three of the must-listen-to instrumental Christmas songs. Three songs that won’t fill your mind with words—just dulcet tones.

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“Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy”

This twinkle-toed, light-on-its-feet number by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is from the ballet The Nutcracker. It’s immediately recognizable and the work it’s from is perfect for the season in its entirety, truth be told. Classical music is too often slept on or derided. Your soul is often thirsty for it, it craves it. So, dive in here for a refresher.

“Linus And Lucy”

From the beloved soundtrack to the cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas, this work by jazz composer and performer Vince Guaraldi will be played for the rest of time. Named after the brother and sister in the cartoon strip “Peanuts,” this song is one of those numinous tracks your heart always knew of even before you heard it for the first time.

“Carol of the Bells”

This Christmas carol has stood the test of time since its creation in 1914. But there is no musical group throughout that history that has turned this composition into such a head-bobbing jam for all ages, backgrounds, and genre lovers as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In the parlance of young people, it goes hard.

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

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