From November 1st to December 26th we tolerate a crescendo of holiday-themed music. It seems that any song with sleigh bells is classified as a Christmas song.

There are great Christmas songs. However, there is also a whole bunch of dreck that fills the time between the good ones. This has led me on an eternal quest for the best songs of the Yuletide season.

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One of my favorite Christmas tunes is "Carol of the Bells." The song was composed in 1904 by Mykola Leontovych and is based on an ancient Ukrainian New Years chant.

I love this piece. It has a simple power that is woven into many layers that build into a beautiful proclamation of Christmas glory. It is a solid and strong song, which means that it's able to be reinterpreted in lots of really cool ways.

This is the version that started my "Bells" journey. This song popped into my mind out of nowhere recently. I'd forgotten that Bone Thugs N Harmony did this song, but as soon as I remembered it I had to hear it.

When I found the Bone version on YouTube, the sacred algorithm suggest that I would like this version. And the darned A.I. was right. How did it know I like Dubstep?.

YouTube sensations Pentatonix does an awesome acapella version of the song.

Next is an instrumental version played on cellos by The Piano Guys.

And of course, The Muppets.

Destiny's Child did a nice acepella version on their 8 Days of Christmas album called Opera Of The Bells .

Finally, here's a video from 2011 where Darth Vader conducts a flash mob rendition of Carol of the Bells to help some university students relax during exam week.

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