I'm tempted to say it's a toss between "Frere Jacques" and "Adeste Fideles" — but I seem to have had a rather skewed early education so other people's mileage almost certainly varies. :)
Frere Jacques was a year-round, um, round, so it was imprinted more strongly and more regularly on me. I definitely remember singing it with other children in pre-school. On the other hand, I was not expected to memorize Adeste Fideles, since it was seasonal and was written in the hymn book and caroling books. I don't know which I was exposed to first, since Mom definitely sang Frere Jacques to/with me before pre-school, and I definitely heard Adeste Fideles at church and from neighborhood carolers.
Adeste fideles? Never heard of it... I'd say this must be a Christian parochial school thing, except that of course I learned gloria in excelsis deo in public school. Although not until High school. Definitely frere jacques, or perhaps alouette (both of which my 2.5 year old son demands , yes, ad nauseum. Although he also likes the shema and hine rakevet (about a train) and hashafan hakatan, about a sneezing rabbit). But I suspect these don't count in the normal course of non-jewish childhoods.
and I forgot to add earlier, that Idon't think anyone *ever* gave me the translation to Frere Jacques... I figured it out as an adult from my pretty decent romance language background - none of the words are hard enough to miss, except, I think matins, which one might not know ...unless one were randomly attracted to reading medieval literature, or those mysteries set in clerestories in the 1200s or what have you (Father this or sister that...).
I did get to explain to my spouse what the song meant I think a month ago (He's in his 40s)when our son started demanding to have it sung. Aparenlty he'd never had it translated for him either.
Hm. I got both French and English at the same time; it was usually sung as a round, first the French and then the English. Although I didn't find out until later that the French was approximated (roughly "dommay" and "sunny lemma tina", for example).
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I'd say this must be a Christian parochial school thing, except that of course I learned gloria in excelsis deo in public school. Although not until High school. Definitely frere jacques, or perhaps alouette (both of which my 2.5 year old son demands , yes, ad nauseum. Although he also likes the shema and hine rakevet (about a train) and hashafan hakatan, about a sneezing rabbit). But I suspect these don't count in the normal course of non-jewish childhoods.
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Public school, but in a heavily Catholic town — even though my family was pretty much non-religious. It was hard to avoid some things.
oh, yeah...
I did get to explain to my spouse what the song meant I think a month ago (He's in his 40s)when our son started demanding to have it sung. Aparenlty he'd never had it translated for him either.
Re: oh, yeah...