How many days until Christmas? 1.
It had to be Silent Night. It's the anthem. It's the song that will always make me cry (secretly of course). This version was surprising to me... it sounds totally differently than the original, but it is still reverent. Only in a Spiritual kind of way. Merry Christmas!
Harry Connick, Jr: Silent Night
If you have enjoyed this selection, post a comment, and I'll send you a burned CD with all 10 songs. (If there is more than one comment (HAHA!) I'll pick someone randomly)
Posted at 09:24 AM on December 24, 2009 | Comments (2)How many days until Christmas? 2.
I was short one song. I already knew what I wanted for tomorrow, but for today I was a bit lost. Thankfully my husband suggested this Vince Guaraldi classic. Everyone in the States is familiar with this version thanks to the Peanuts, but I only heard about it when I moved here. It's the perfect music for wrapping gifts.
Posted at 10:20 PM on December 23, 2009 | Comments (1)How many days until Christmas? 3.
I didn't know this song until I heard it on that Ella Christmas album I mentioned previously. I keep skipping to it a lot, it's so romantic and smooth. I suppose not exactly Christmassy, but I wasn't going to do another musical countdown for New Year's Day, so there.
Posted at 01:08 PM on December 22, 2009How many days until Christmas? 4.
This is another sond made famous by the Elf movie. No disrespect to Zoe Deschanel, but the performers in this version are a tad more classy. Betty Carter's voice is like buttah and Ray Charles is well, Ray Charles.
Posted at 09:56 PM on December 20, 2009How many days until Christmas? 5.
This one is in honor of my youngest child, Nikola. We have a Christmas CD running in the car this month and this one seems to be the song he loves the most. He says "ha ha ha" and makes the funniest head movement with it. It doesn't hurt it's Nat King Cole singing...
Posted at 03:28 PM on December 20, 2009 | Comments (1)How many days until Christmas? 6.
The first time I heard this song was a Harry Belafonte version on a radio program in Austria called "Oldies und Superhits" many, many years ago. I have to admit that program introduced me to a ton of classic hits and although that fact definitely solidfies me in the "strange teenager" category, I am truly grateful for whoever made the selections as well as the ancient technology of the radio/tape combo, which allowed me to create the prehistoric playlists: mix tapes. Anyway, this song is great as it is, but I like the vibe Harry Connick gives it. It's not so often that a Christmas song makes you want to move.
I couldn't find a youtube version, so click here and you can listen to the track: Mary's Little Boy Child - Harry Connick, Jr
I'm sure there's a much smarter way to post music online, but I haven't got the time to figure it out.
Posted at 01:02 PM on December 19, 2009How many days until Christmas? 7.
I don't know if i like "White Christmas that much, but this arrangement and Diana Krall's voice make me forget about that. This is cafe-music at its best. If only I had the life which includes sitting around in cafes. There's still hope I'm thinking.
Posted at 12:48 PM on December 18, 2009How many days until Christmas? 8.
Every Christmas this song will come on TV or radio and my husband will say how he listened to this all his childhood. And then he sings along blissfully. As I write this I realize this is becoming a new tradition for me... "Every year my husband says..." Anyway, I was a very true and faithful Elvis fan in my teens (I know. I was always strange for my age.) so here goes:
Posted at 01:37 PM on December 17, 2009How many days until Christmas? 9.
Oh, Ella. I just can't get over her voice. A few years ago someone gave me this CD for Christmas. I think it was one of my sisters (Thanks, Dora!). I wear it out every year. I had a hard time deciding on the song... I could've picked them all. This one is the perfect sing-along for cookiemaking...
From: Ella wishes you a swinging Christmas
Posted at 11:55 AM on December 16, 2009How many days until Christmas? 10.
I hear this question several times a day. Often from the same person (=Ivan). It's not that he doesn't remember my answer... he just needs to hear it. No one, no one beats Ivan when it comes to excitement about Christmas.
I will try to post one Christmas song from my iTunes and Cd collection a day until then for you (3 - 5 readers) to enjoy. Please feel welcome to criticize my taste!
First up... Stevie Wonder with a song from the Elf movie, which is surprisingly not on the original soundtrack. I love the young Stevie voice though...
Posted at 03:01 PM on December 15, 2009He's coming to town... I guess.
So. Santa. Its complicated. I don't like him, but I don't hate him either. I think he's sort of dumb. I get the story about the nice old man and the chimney and the bag of presents and so on, and within that context I could admit it is sort of cute, but really, when it comes down to it I could do without Santa. I realize the roots of my dislike are religious in nature. Christmas is about Jesus and all that and not about Santa. Besides my childhood was Santa-free. Austria's kids get their gifts from the Christkind, baby Jesus that is. (I will conveniently omit my Croatian history because it did involve a Santa-like creature, imposed by the communist regime to wean people off of Christmas, even though he was irrelevant in my parents' house of course because there it was Jesus all the way, Communism or not. Amen!)
Then there is that whole issue with Santa being some sort of lame derivative of St. Nicholas (go read that page, it's really neat), who was a real person and a bishop (oh that pesky religion again!) and a saint and famous for giving secretly - alright, obviously not THAT secretly, but anyway, point is, I feel he's worth telling a story about to my kids. I guess I could somehow accept Santa as a wordly version of St. Nicholas but then there are all these stories about the elves and Mrs Santa Claus (brrrrr... vile!) and his ridiculous clothes, so nothing bishop-like at all. So Santa isn't a worthy representative of St. Nicholas and without that backstory he ends up being just a mediocre fairy tale and while that doesn't negate the actual Christmas story (you know that religious one) it distracts from it in a very unnecessary way. Basically, Santa can be in the mall and in the movies and the books but at the actual Christmas in my house I don't need him.
Only now I have American children and guess what? They love Santa! "Will Santa come to our house? He will, right?" "The one in the mall is a dressed up man, but the real Santa he lives on the North Pole, right?" "Can we watch Rudolph now? I love Santa!" Luckily for me my husband was never made to believe in Santa, so at least I had an ally there. We had decided early on to simply forgo the whole magical part of the who-brings-the-presents-story and just say that we get gifts for each other because we love each other. (I did however introduce St. Nicholas on Dec 6th and we fill the boots and "pretend" he brings it. I'm keeping it up for now because the kids like it, but I'll tell the truth if they ask. Also, in case I didn't emphasize this enough: St. Nicholas was a real person.) The kids are sort of fine with this, but actually they would really love Santa to bring the presents. It doesn't help that everywhere we go people ask them repeatedly what they want from Santa. Poor kids get this confused look on their face and glance at me with sad and guilty eyes and don't say anything. I nudge them to say what they want for Christmas, but no, usually they just stand there, confused. Of course I look like the bad one! Mean mommy! How could you deprive your kids of Santa and why don't your children know what they want, you probably don't let them play with toys at all! What is wrong with you? No, people don't say it, but I can feel the reproach in that awkward silence while we wait for my kids to say something, anything!
I sat the kids down once and I explained it all, about Jesus and what Christmas is and also about Santa, and how he is a nice story and people pretend he comes, but it's not real, yet we will not spoil anything for the kids who pretend. They listened and there was no objection but when I was done Ivan said: "But the Santa on the North Pole IS real and he will bring me presents!" I know how this happened and I was a good enough mother to not spoil his enthusiasm. I have come so far as to even agree that maybe the presents in the stockings will be from Santa, because the three-year-old will not let go and because he is the sweetest thing and I will not be the one to ruin his Christmas.
This will fall in that category of buying your daughter that hideous glittery polyester sweater because she truly does love it and you want to respect her taste, but it takes all the inner restraint you can muster to hand over the money. When I think of Santa, I think of grown men sweating in silly costumes and creepy dolls moving their butts back and forth to that abomination that is "Holly Jolly Christmas...". I can barely go there even just in my mind. I will let Santa come though and treat him politely as long as the kids enjoy him. But after that... we're through.
Posted at 07:50 PM on December 09, 2009 | Comments (2)