Step inside a shopping centre in Catalonia or walk around a Christmas market in the Ruhr valley right now and you’ll find it impossible to escape Brenda Lee rockin’ around the Christmas tree, or Wham! saving themselves from tears. Yet countries in continental Europe also have their own ubiquitous Christmas classics, many deserving of a wider audience. So here’s a festive hitlist, from earnest to tongue-in-cheek, from sophisticated to schmaltzy, from trad to prog rock.
