O Holy Night has been named the nation’s favourite Christmas carol for the fifth consecutive year.

It was voted number one in a poll by the radio station Classic FM after it was sung by Rhydian Roberts in the final of the X Factor. Second place went to Silent Night, followed by Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

The words of O Holy Night were written in 1847 by Placide Cappeau, a French wine merchant, to music by Adolphe-Charles Adam, who composed the ballet Giselle.

The carol was first performed at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, 1847, in Roquemaure, France, only days after it had been completed.

It was translated into English by John Sullivan Dwight and has since been performed at Christmas services around the world.

It is said to have been the first piece of music to be broadcast on radio when it was played on Christmas Eve, 1906.

Darren Henley, the managing director of Classic FM, said: “ O Holy Night has a special place in the nation’s heart and sums up the true meaning of Christmas.”

1 O Holy Night

2 Silent Night

3 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

4 In The Bleak Midwinter – Darke

5 O Come, All Ye Faithful

6 Once In Royal David’s City

7 In The Bleak Midwinter – Holst

8 O Come, O Come Emmanuel

9 O Little Town Of Bethlehem

10 Coventry Carol

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