What are your holiday traditions and favorite holiday songs?
On Little Bits of Joy (and holiday music favorites!)
The New York Times recently ran a piece on people’s weird holiday traditions. I am such a fan of this concept; the holidays can bring a lot of stressful elements, and I love to watch people take something that’s stressful and perhaps not super-meaningful and find something that is joyful for them.
I think my culturally-Christian-but-agnostic-adjacent blend and general skepticism of Koolaid-drinking (figuratively, not literally, though it’s not my drink of choice) have led to not fully embracing a lot of “traditional” things, but also an uncertainty of what to do otherwise. We get a real tree because I love how pine smells. I have a few boxes of winter and Christmas-ish decorations that I feel very attached to. Twinkle lights and candles are some of my favorite things. But I don’t have much to offer in the world of creative traditions.
After a mishap of our Chinese food order (a tradition itself borrowed from a number of my Jewish friends) being cancelled as we pulled into the parking lot to pick it up, we eat Indian food. This was 2020, and while I was compassionate and tried to be measured and reasonable about our order being cancelled, I was pretty sad about eating leftovers on a major holiday. Assuming most things would probably not be open, we got ready to drive home but, on a whim, pulled into an Indian restaurant that we’d been meaning to try. They were open, warm, welcoming, and happy to take our order from a safe distance. So we’ve been their Christmas patrons ever since, and say, “there’s the restaurant that saved Christmas!” every time we drive past.
I do love listening to seasonal music, Christmas music specifically, even though I buy into the music much more than the holiday itself. I particularly like more modern takes on the classics that I like the best (“Deck the Halls,” this particular version of “Good King Wenceslas,” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”) and songs that are less popular, like “Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella” (especially this version) and “The Cherry Tree Carol” (the Peter, Paul, and Mary version will always be my favorite).
I have sentimental ties to the whole Peter, Paul, and Mary PBS concert, actually, as well as to the Moody Blues holiday album, anything by Celtic Woman (particularly “Christmas Pipes,” which I’ve never heard anywhere else without seeking it out), Enya’s “And Winter Came” (particularly “White is in the Winter Night”), and Bob Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart,” which made me fall in love with “O Come All Ye Faithful” and taught me the Latin.
I also love newer, lesser-known, folksy versions. Graham Kendall’s single “Merry and Bright” falls in this category, as do “Ribbons and Bows” by Kacey Musgraves and Jewel’s “It’s Christmas Time.” Mary Chapin Carpenter’s “Come Darkness, Come Light” is my most-played album many years, and “The Longest Night of the Year” is the song I want to hear every morning from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. There’s something that resonates particularly deeply about the festive/cozy/bright combination, and the familiarity without ubiquity in this category is what brings me both comfort and joy in a cultural season that I have an otherwise somewhat uneasy relationship with. I find some of the quieter parts of the Christmas story more resonant as my yoga practice has become more central for me (odd for a practice with roots in Hinduism and Buddhism). But, then again: seeking light in the darkness. Wisdom and power being far apart from one another. Refugees seeking shelter. Providing care for those who need it. Healing power of animals and nature. Long journeys toward truth. Maybe the distance is closer than it may appear. Stories are deeply powerful; it’s how they’re used that gets dicey.
On that note, another thing I listen to at least once a December is the musical “Beautiful Star: An Appalachian Nativity” by Laurelyn Dossett. I remember watching this performance when I worked in North Carolina and being astonished (which was short-sighted, I can see now) at the way our audiences looked different for this production than they did for all the others. I love this telling of the Christmas story, and I’m a big Laurelyn fan. If you’re in NC, you’ve got a chance to see it this year! If not, I highly recommend clicking on that SoundCloud link and, if you can’t listen to all of it, cue up “Stable Shed,” “Hush Child and Sleep,” “Rise Up Shepherd,” and “Be Not Afraid.”
As a bonus note, I was a bit befuddled by the number of students who asked me to play Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” in the weeks leading up to winter break my first year of teaching. I had a hard time reconciling this request with the NBA Youngboy and Post Malone and Billie Eilish that they usually talked about. I thought it was a weird one-off. Nope. It’s every year. A child in a Santa suit has sung the whole song, start to finish. Mariah Carey forever with my middle schoolers. It’s my only worthwhile motivational tool in December.*
You can find a bunch of my favorite holiday songs HERE.
I’m curious to hear about your favorite traditions (traditional or less so). I’d also LOVE to hear strong opinions about holiday music, including:
When is it acceptable to start playing it?
What flavor do you like? (Traditional? Upbeat? Quiet? Celtic?)
What songs are your absolute favorite? Which ones do you avoid?
Whether your holidays are feeling balanced or not, I’d love to see you later this month! There are several options on the remaining Sundays of 2024.
*For the record: I know it’s problematic to play Christmas music in spaces representing a variety of traditions. I do give my students candy canes (Christmas-y, yes, but also gelatin-free for my Muslim students), but I don’t call it “Christmas break.” I stick to mostly winter tracks, avoid the “O Holy Night” group of songs (I would never play the Beautiful Star tracks for my students unless we were studying Appalachian music). I offer options, and make space for anonymous feedback and for students to create their own class playlists. It’s this one particular song that seems to resonate with SO MANY students - including those who are not Christian - I do not understand it, but not listening to them poses host of problems. No perfect answer.