There's something truly great about the best Christmas music, particularly the Christian ones. O Holy Night, The First Noel, Hark the Herald Angels Sing - all great. They put me in the spirit of Christmas in a way that no amount of decorating - we do little - or gaudy light displays and crowded malls ever could. Duh - you might say, but some people do get a thrill from being amongst the frenzied shoppers. Count me not among them.
Listening sends me back to a time when I would spend hours laying near the tree, the only light the multi-colored glow from the tree itself, and our old collection of Christmas albums playing gently. The rest of the house might be filled with activity - dinner being made, nightly news being watched, but for a while I could remove myself from all the hub-bub and just get lost in the wonder.
Some of it of course was a sort of greed, a harmless child's greed, imagining the best of what could be seen in the Sears or JC Penney catalogs. But much of it transcended the commercialism and achieved what I could describe now as a sort of Zen-like state of perfect harmony. Everything in the world was right, and only the moment mattered. Those songs transports me back to the moment. It's remarkable how vivid my memory is of that room and that tree.
We always had an artificial tree, one that when first assembled would have made Charlie Brown proud. But with enough lights and an assortment of ornaments encompassing the art classes of 6 children, it was transformed into a revelation. It lacked the smell of a real tree, but having never experienced that, I never missed it. And oddly, in a completely unintentional way, my parents and the culture of 'better living through science,' was doing their part for the environment. (what horrible chemicals were released by the tree over its lifetime I may spend years learning the consequences of)
We had all sorts of other holiday brick-a-brack around the house, but without a doubt, the tree was the epicenter of all things Christmas, and the sounds of Merry Christmas Johnny Mathis (released 1958) and an assortment of other Chritmas albums, both with and without lyrics tied it all together.
Wonderful, wonderful and again wonderful.
4 comments:
Interesting--I, too, have many fond memories of Christmastime and a lot of the wonder and excitement surrounding it. I am sad to say that, having commuted for the last 11 years in a city where three of our top radio stations are completely hijacked by Christmas music BEFORE Thanksgiving even comes around has sullied the once-pure association for me, at least while I'm in my car.
Of course, in the comfort & peace of my own home, I can separate myself from that madness and appreciate all that stuff in the way it needs to be. I gotta say, it was a pretty amazing experience to unpack the tree this weekend and put up decorations & lights with Lucy. Amazing. The last couple of days, when there are trees in her books--any trees--she says "Christmas!" Perhaps that's the perfect Christmas spirit.
It warms the heart to hear such wonderful reflections. Good for you guys. Happy Holidays!
Mixdorf, glad to see a new post. Christmas music never played in my house, but I do have vivid memories of church and when we would have the candles in our hands during the playing of Silent Night. What a powerful experience for me, and spiritual connection too. I still listen to all kinds of artists and bands, but the songs that I like the most are the ones about Jesus and not of Santa. Do you have a tree now? Does Primus get a present?
Planning a little "Christmas Cheer" with ol' T-Clog at some local establishment this coming Sat, later in the evening. We'll toast the new Year perhaps, and old aquaintances.
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