I listen to Christmas songs from Thanksgiving onward (to my husband’s great dismay) and I love all of them with the exception of the Chipmunk song, which, in my opinion, is akin to dragging one’s fingernails down a chalkboard. But my favorite by far is O Holy Night.
I love that hymn whether it’s sung by Whitney, Clay, Celine, former Phantom of the Opera Michael Crawford, and especially by Josh Gorban, that I attempt to hit all the high notes every time I hear it. I usually fail, but that doesn't stop me.
As I'm wrapping gifts or baking cookies, these two lines are the ones that speak right to my heart:
There is something so beautiful in the phrase that any burdens become suddenly lightened and all problems seem fixable. Scarlett O’Hara knew that tomorrow was another day that each dawn is replete with hope. Tomorrow, book sales will skyrocket, my son will eat green vegetables, and my husband will volunteer to fold AND put away the laundry (hey, a girl can dream). Maybe when our new and glorious dawn breaks, we'll all feel a little less rushed and a little less weary.
What is your favorite song during the holiday season?
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11 comments:
I see your Chipmunk song and I raise you Dominick the Donkey. I love all the others too though!! My favorite secular song is Celebrate Me Home by Kenny Loggins and Silent Night (especially when sung by the congregation of our church during the candlelight Christmas Eve service)and your favorite, O Holy Night, are the Christian Christmas carols I love best. Have a nice morning!
My favorite Christmas song is the "Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's Messiah. It just gives me goose bumps when I hear the full orchestra and the chorus reaching for this song.
Definitly The Messiah. Once a year (when I'm alone in the house) I put the whole CD (or actually, two CDs) on while decorating the tree and sing along at the top of my voice. Great stuff!
My fave right now is the Christmas Canon. Love, love, love it.
My kids love those Chipmunks! LOL.
I'm right with you there, Anonymous, with Dominick the Donkey, which our local station seems to play every hour on the hour.
My favorite is Christmas Bride. I've only ever heard it done by the Ray Coniff Singers. (We had only two Christmas records when I was a kid.) I always dreamed about being a Christmas bride, and then I got engaged on Christmas Eve.
Second favorite, Silver Bells, but definitely NOT every version. I've heard it mangled by some of the best.
I've got two favorites that fill me with the Christmas spirit: Silent Night and Joy to the World. My daughter and I sing them in harmony every Christmas Eve at the candlelight service, just as my mother and I used to do. They seem to make my heart expand tenfold with love.
Away in a Manger and Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer (for some reason that second one always makes me laugh!). I listen to Christmas songs off and on all year, but 24/7 starting Thanksgiving night till the end of December. There are so many versions of so many different songs, it makes it so much fun to see what comes up next! BTW, any one else remember Lynn Anderson's Ding-a-ling the Christmas Bell?
It is The Christmas Song without a doubt. Especially Bing's version. It always brings a tear to my eye and a strong desire to see loved ones. I'm also right there with Lorna and Anonymous about Dominick and Alvin. Happy holidays all.
I love all the Christmas songs, except the Chipmunks. Nails across blackboard is a good description. I've been playing the Christmas CDs everytime I've been baking or making fudge at night or wrapping presents. I remember listening to the Christmas music while wrapping presents since I was a child. But it's the Christmas carols themselves that put me in the mood the fastest. The lyrics are so beautiful and set the mood. O Little Town of Bethlehem. Hark, the Herald Angels Sing. All of them. And this Christmas, I'll be standing with three of my daughters at the Christmas Eve Midnight service. Can't beat that.
I love all the Christmas carols, especially "Angels We Have Heard On High" because of the wonderful harmonies. I also love the words to Longfellow's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day;" it was written near the end of the Civil War, his wife had died and and he had just gotten word that his son was gravely injured in the war. Christmas Eve was a sleepless night of agony, and then in the morning he heard the bells and from there came the words to the song. If you have never paid attention to the words, I'm sure you will find them touching.
I LOVE O Holy Night also. And depending upon the singer, that song can produce tears from me. I don't know what it is.
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