And the winner is: 'O Holy Night'

Not even yuletide carols are immune to partisan differences, if the results of a new online poll are to be believed.

The international marketing research firm Zogby has released the results of a Christmas carol survey in which participants were asked to vote for their three favorite holiday songs from a list of nine. "O Holy Night" was the clear winner, with 58% of adults voting for it. Zogby said that 67% of Republicans voted for it, compared to 50% of Democrats and 56% of independents.

The online survey included responses from 2,330 adults and was conducted from Nov. 4 to 6. Rounding out the top five holiday songs are: "White Christmas," "The Christmas Song," "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" and "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

According to the poll, 76% of adults who attend religious services more than once a week said "O Holy Night" is on their top three list.  By comparison, only 25% of people who said they never attend religious services included the song as one of their favorites.

"O Holy Night" is actually a French song, dating from the 19th century. 

It was composed in 1847 by Adolphe Adam and was titled "Cantique de Noël." Adam was a classical composer of versatile ability whose ballets included "Giselle" and "Le Corsaire." He also composed operas, including "Si j'étais roi" ("If I was king").

In a recent review of "Giselle" performed by the American Ballet Theatre, a Times reviewer wrote: " 'Giselle' is nearly perfect, even if the ballet’s composer, Adolphe Adam, was no Tchaikovsky."

-- David Ng

Video: Celine Dion sings 'O Holy Night.''