A few weeks ago, I was curious about your most and least favorite Christmas songs/carols, and the results were…let’s say “mixed.”
Your picks for most-loved Christmas songs:
- O Come, O Come Emmanuel (7 votes)
- O Holy Night (6 votes)
- a 5-way tie between I’ll be Home For Christmas, Carol of the Bells, Breath of Heaven, The Christmas Song, and It Came Upon the Midnight Clear (2 votes each)
Your picks for most-hated Christmas songs:
- Springsteen Santa Claus is Coming to Town ” (7 votes)
- Christmas Shoes (5 votes)
- (tie) Grandma, Santa Baby, Feliz, Wonderful Christmastime, Happy Birthday Jesus (3 votes each)
What was surprising about the poll was the crossover songs: songs that charted on both the “Fa La La” and “Bah Humbug” lists:
- Happy Birthday Jesus
- Mary Did you Know?
- Sleigh Ride
- Winter Wonderland
- The Christmas Song
People’s reactions to Christmas music are interesting to me. Some love getting in the spirit of the season. Others (usually those who work in retail and are subjected to piped-in generic holiday music and evil customer behavior) struggle to enjoy Christmas music. And that makes sense to me.
As for me, I grew up in a house that relished Christmas music. From the moment it started on November 1st on the local FM radio station, Christmas music was non-stop until the lights went out on December 25th, and sometimes a few days later. As a reaction to this (and a symptom of the crippling cynicism I was infected with during my college years), I stopped listening to Christmas music unless I was mocking it. I stated for several years that my favorite Christmas carol was “You’re a Mean One, Mister Grinch.” (Though, to be fair, this version is pretty fun.)
Thankfully, I grew out of my college side-eye days, and have begun to enjoy Christmas music again…mostly. There are exceptions. (We’ll get to those tomorrow.) But on the whole, I do enjoy Christmas music, I’m thankful for it, and I say God bless it.
So, on this eve of the blessed day, I say to you, Merry Christmas, readers. Take some time to enjoy some great Christmas music and meditate on the baby in the manger, born to be the Savior on the Cross, who stands now as the Risen Lord and Returning King.
I’ll leave you with a song that is not often played as a Christmas carol, but one that I think keeps our focus on the Person who matters.
God bless you all.
The4thDave Blog 