As a brief preview for tomorrow and following, I will deposit here the first of my analyses of Christmas songs. In this case, it is a list of songs that really should not be considered Christmas songs, since they are not explicitly addressing Christmas itself.
1. "My Favorite Things." This favorite from The Sound of Music hardly even mentions anything from winter. "Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" and "sleighbells." I suppose you could also stretch "brown paper packages tied up with strings" as Christmas gifts, but that is super boring wrapping paper if you ask me.
2. "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Another kind of cute, kind of disturbing song in which a man tries to get into his date's pants by getting her drunk using his superior debate skills.
3. "Jingle Bells." Probably the best-known Christmas song of children really has no mention of the holiday in its lyrics. It's simply a sleighing song. In its innocent form (or if you like a twist, try James Taylor's take), it's perfectly harmless, but it's not a Christmas song.
4. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" again, cute, snowy lyrics, a little romance, but no actual Christmas is alluded to, much less mentioned.
5. "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm." I actually really like this song, but sadly, no mention of Christmas. It's really just a jazzy winter love song.
6. "Amazing Grace." Another of my favorite songs, but again, it's a great hymn but not a Christmas one.
7. "The Lord's Prayer." See #6.
8. "Hallelujah Chorus" from the Messiah. I just performed this for my church choir, but I realize that it was written as the grand finale for the whole work, which ends with Easter, so it really belongs at Easter. I am not sure how singing it at Christmas got started, although I realize it is now a widespread tradition.
9. "Winter Wonderland." Another non-Christmas but very wintery love song.
10. "Frosty the Snowman." Unless you use the Frosty quote from the movie, "I'll be back on Christmas Day!" instead of "I'll be back again someday!", it makes no mention of what is celebrated annually on December 25.
So, there's a taste of what I am bringing you over the next days. I think I'll probably start with my least-favorite lists (religious and non-religious) along with rationales and hopefully video examples of each, and then on Christmas I will post my very favorite songs/renditions for your enjoyment.
10 comments:
But most of those not-specifically-Christmassy carols are seasonal references. Since commemoration of the Winter Solstice pre-dates any Christian commemoration date for Christ's birth (necessarily), in my opinion they fit right in.
I mean, if you're going to nick other features of pagan and year's end festivities (Yule logs, "decking the halls" with evergreens, lit-up trees, mistletoe, wassail, the list just goes on and on), you might as well pick up on the perfectly good and servicable music at the same time, no?
cicely
Cicely: You've got a good point, they definitely are topical seasonal references, and they mostly blend well with explicitly-Christmas songs. I guess I just quibble with calling them "Christmas" songs when they are not about Christmas. I don't mind (with the exception of #1) them being played with the Christmas songs, I guess it's just a matter of semantics for me.
I have always thought the very same thing about My Favorite Things!! I adore the song, but never fully understood why it was considered Christmas-y. Love the list!
Maybe My Favorite Things slides in under the heading of "count your blessings"? Sorta in the same genre as It's a Wonderful Life?
cicely
I've been thinking about this some more. (Sorry.)
The thing is....
This season is not the same Season for everyone. There's the Christmas Season (Christian religious perspective), the Christmas Season (secularised perspective, composed largely of the Ghosts of Religious/Cultural Observances Past), the Yule, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa Seasons, and assorted overlap (and no doubt some I've just altogether missed); hence, the "Happy Holidays" generalised all-purpose greeting. It's everyone's Season, and not Christianity's alone. I don't think it's reasonable to expect the Seasonal Music to be restricted to Christian (religiously-observant) alone, which seems to be the expectation of many, or even with the addition of Secular Christmas. What about everyone else's seasonal observances? If you follow me.
cicely
Cicely: I fear you are over-thinking my assertions. I am only saying that things seem to be lumped in the category of "Christmas" music that are not really about Christmas. Personally, although I am a Christian and celebrate the Christian tradition of Christmas as well as some of the secularized traditions, I have absolutely no problem with others' observances of all of the other holidays that fall in this time of year. I am all for Hanukkah, Yule, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Eid, and anything else that is escaping me right now. Unfortunately my cultural knowledge is somewhat lacking in the non-Christian December holiday department, so I guess people will have to look elsewhere for in-depth analysis of those traditions; I am going to restrict myself to those that I know something about. I hope that addresses your concerns!
Well, overthinking things is my specialty! :D
I think (ha!) you accidentally touched off my knee-jerk reaction to the whole artificially-hyped "War on Christmas" thing. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays....whatever! Have an Enjoyable Festivity, or an enjoyable non-festivity, but don't insist everyone has to have your (and I mean that generically, of all the little Culture Warriors out there, and not of you, Minerva) Festivity, or none at all.
Short version---I don't think "my way or the highway" is applicable to, or in the spirit of, the season.
*dismounting soapbox*
cicely
Here's a question (one perhaps you had already planned to discuss in your future posts)... The Twelve Days of Christmas is based on what? I mean for Christians, Christmas is one day and Jewish people have 8, and forgive me for not knowing about other Holidays around this time of year, but I always wondered where they came up with 12. Wow, putting a lot more thought into "Christmas" music than I ever have before. If we're doing a list of best Holiday music, I nominate "The Chaunukah Song" by Adam Sandler :D
Alicia, according to our Very Good Friend Wikipedia, "The Twelve Days of Christmas are the festive days beginning on Christmas Day (December 25). This period is also known as Christmastide. The Twelfth Day of Christmas is January 5 - the day before the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6." More interesting stuff on the subject at the article, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas
cicely
Hmmm. For some reason, the s at the end of that address didn't copy.
cicely
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