 Jimmy Eat World 's " 12 / 23 / 95 " , described by The Austin Chronicle 's Christopher Gray as " serious emo " and The New York Times ' Kelefa Sanneh as a " gentle ballad of apology " , previously appeared on the band 's 1999 album Clarity . The song title and date refer to Little Christmas Eve , the traditional day in which Norwegians decorate Christmas trees . Jack Johnson incorporates a " upbeat street @-@ corner " shuffle into his version of " Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer " ( Johnny Marks , Robert L. May ) , just over two minutes in length . The traditional song " God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen " is performed as a duet by the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan . Following is a string of original songs , including " Bizarre Christmas Incident " by Ben Folds , " What a Year for a New Year " by Dan Wilson ) and Neil Finn 's " Sweet Secret Peace " . " Winter Wonderland , " " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas " and " Bizarre Christmas Incident " were recorded previously for fans but had not been released commercially . The closing track , " Snow " ( Archibald Lampman , Loreena McKennitt ) was performed by McKennitt and has been described as a " haunting , orchestral new @-@ age hymn that could fit nicely into a midnight Mass . " 
