If you love this holiday season, then Christmas songs are probably one of the top reasons why this is your favorite time of year.

Most Christmas songs are joyful and some are just silly.

But there is a special group of Christmas songs with great messages about the world’s problems and issues. Some of these songs even offer hope when the world seems to be anything but merry.

Photo by Igor Ovsyannykov on Unsplash

Here is a short list of great Christmas songs that were “woke” before woke became a Twitter hashtag.

(Disclaimer: This is by no means a comprehensive list.)

1. “Someday at Christmas” by Stevie Wonder

The legendary singer/songwriter Stevie Wonder is known for his socially conscious songs.

“Someday at Christmas” is a beautiful song about hoping for peace in the face of war, hatred and other tragedies in a broken world. The song was written during the 1960s, but the lyrics are clearly relevant to the many of the world’s problems in the 21^st century.

Here are some of the song’s lyrics:

“Someday at Christmas there’ll be no tears.
All men are equal and no men have fears.
One shinning moment my heart ran away
From our world today.

Someday all our dreams will come to be,
Someday in a world where men are free.
Maybe not in time for you and me,
But someday at Christmastime.

Someday at Christmas man will not fail.
Hate will be gone love will prevail.
Someday a new world that we can start
With hope in every heart.”

2. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Another great Christmas song featuring another socially aware legendary singer/songwriter, the late John Lennon. Lennon wrote this song with his wife Yoko Ono and the couple recorded the song with the Harlem Community Choir during the early 1970s.

This song also offers hope in a world dealing with hatred, poverty, and other problems. “Happy Xmas” is also a protest song against the Vietnam War.

Here’s a sample of the song’s lyrics:

“And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong.
And so happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red one
Let’s stop all the fight.

A very Merry Christmas
And a happy new year.
Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear.”

3. “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day”

This classic Christmas carol is based on the 1863 poem “Christmas Bells” by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The poet coped with personal grief and stress during this time. Longfellow’s wife, Frances, died two years before he wrote “Christmas Bells.” Longfellow’s oldest son, Charles, joined the Union Army and was injured during an American Civil War battle. Charles recovered, but was unable to continue serving in the Union Army.

Longfellow, who supported the abolitionist movement to end slavery, wrote about his feelings of depression in his own life and for his country in “Christmas Bells.” He ended his poem with a sense of hope that was kept in the poem’s musical version, which is now “I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day.”

Here are the song’s ending lyrics:

“And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on Earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

4. “Elf’s Lament” by Barenaked Ladies (featuring Michael Bublé)

This song takes a fictional look at a North Pole where Santa’s elves are very unhappy with their work environment. The elves consider their options including organizing, taking their complaints to Santa, and a workers’ strike.

Unlike the other songs on this list, “Elf’s Lament” doesn’t try to find a spark of hope in a bad situation. And we never find out if the elves succeeded in getting better working conditions.

But the fable’s lyrics reflect some of the problems faced by many people who live and work south of the North Pole.

Here are some of the song’s lyrics:

“Never in existence has there been such a resistance
To ideas meant to free us
If you could see us, then you’d listen

Toiling through the ages, making toys on garnished wages
There’s no union
We’re only through when we outdo the competition

I make toys, but I’ve got aspirations
Make some noise, use your imagination
Girls and boys, before you wish for what you wish for
There’s a list for who’s been
Naughty or nice, but consider the price to an elf.”

Bonus: A “Woke” Christmas Song That Isn’t

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid

I liked this song while growing up during the 1980s. It was a Christmas song, featuring some of the biggest British and Irish musicians of the day. And it was for charity. What’s not to love, right?

Wrong. Turns out there are some big problems with this song.

Part of this song’s lyrics could be summed up as “Life in Africa really sucks. But, hey, better them than you, right? So, let’s raise a glass for those poor suckers over there.”

Doesn’t sound so charitable now, does it?

The song has been criticized for lyrics with a colonial, western-centric viewpoint combined with condescending, stereotypical descriptions of Africa. One critique of this song is titled, “Do They Know It’s Racist?”

Judge for yourself. Here are some of the lyrics from the original 1984 version.

“And the Christmas bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom.

Well tonight thank God it’s them
Instead of you.

And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time.
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life.
Where nothing ever grows.
No rain or rivers flow.
Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?

Here’s to you,
Raise a glass for everyone.

Here’s to them,
Underneath that burning sun.
Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?”

Yep. That still sounds pretty bad.

Final Holiday Thoughts

It’s been a rough year for a lot of us. Some of us became more politically active this year, as a result.

I hope this list of songs will remind you that it’s good to be fully aware of our problems and still work to bring peace, love and joy to everyone today, next year and beyond.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

What are some of your favorite Christmas songs?  Please share your faves with us in the comments below!