Joy to the World tells the stories behind some of the most wonderful and best-loved songs of the season that express the spiritual sentiments of Christmas. While many other Christmas songs celebrate home and family, romance, and winter weather, the songs whose stories are told here express the underlying reality of the Christmas season between Advent and Epiphany -- the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

The songs in Joy to the World are among the most enduring and permanent of the season's musical traditions. They have stood the test of time and express the many moods and emotions that evoke the spiritual significance of Christmas. Reflecting many eras and different cultures, Joy to the World reveals their origins, the reasons why they were written, and why they are so beloved. The book is organized into six sections of Christmas songs and carols from the Americas, England and Ireland, France and Spain, Germany and Austria, and Greece and Rome, and classical Christmas music.