Christmas Songs

For the past few weeks, the first grade has been practicing for the holiday sing. JT enjoys singing class (though I fear that his musical abilities reflect his mama's skills, which is to say he should sing only in the shower). His sense of holiday songs is a combination of the different traditions that he is learning about in school, so he is just as likely to sing about Frosty the Snowman as he is to sing "dreidel, dreidel, dreidel." I like that.

My friend S tagged me to come up with a list of my favorite Christmas songs, and it's given me plenty to think of this week. Check out Shelley's list at http://butwait.blogspot.com/2006/12/christmas-carol-tag.html. And mine is right here:

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
I remember first learning this song in the elementary school choir. The pacing was a challenge for a chorus of 10 years olds but I loved the way that singing it made me feel. It was the first grown-up Christmas carol that I ever learned all the words to and I still remember it. I've even been known to sing it out loud when I'm sure that no one is listening. I learned then that it was an English carol from the 1800s.

2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph is the first Christmas song that I learned, complete with all the childish revisions: "you'll go down in history, like Nixon!" (yes, I date myself). I even knew all the names of Santa's reindeer and to recall them today (and rarely a day passes that JT and I don't discuss the reindeer and whether or not they are ready for the coming trip), I sing the first part of this song. JT is singing the song now, complete with all the silly additions, which he finds endlessly amusing. It makes me smile.

3. Deck the Halls
Who doesn't love this song? I like to hear it sung in rounds, because it seems so much more festive that way. Plus the whole song reflects my hopes for the season and the way that I run my home ----- always open for friends to pop by and feel welcome.

4. What Child is This?
I like the sentiment of this song and the wonder of it. To me, it's a reminder of Christmas Eve as a holiday of quiet joy and, dare I say it, hope. While writing this post, I did some reading about the song and it turns out that this is also an English carol, circa the 16th century.

5. Joy to the World
When I was a little girl and this song was sung at church it always seemed to fill the room with joy. It was as if the big moment we were all waiting for had finally arrived.

It's not really a song but the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack from the Peanuts Christmas special is absolutely essential to my holiday celebrations. I play it often and enjoy the quiet of the music. Years of Christmas memories are wrapped up in these songs, and I look forward doing the same for my son.