Boxing Day

Well, we made it through another Christmas. We hugged our relatives, opened gifts, sang carols, ate cookies...you know, the whole lot, and it was lovely. Now it is time for the inevitable let down that threatens to steal my joy each year the day after Christmas. This year I will try not to let it get the best of me.

I came across a song this year which expresses my feelings on the day perfectly. Here is Boxing Day by Relient K.

Merry day after Christmas. Here's to the coming spring!

Happy Day After Christmas!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas. I had a beautiful day with my family, and it snowed!

Here's a song for you all for the day after Christmas. I love the message in it.

Christmas Joy!

I feel like I need to give myself a big dose of Christmas joy today. I'm going to start by watching this video a few times.

I Hear the Ringing Of Jingle Bells

It's no secret that I love Christmas music and start listening to it long before most people. Last week, I bought my first new Christmas album for the season: Pink Martini's Joy to the World.

This album came out a couple years ago, but somehow I never ended up buying it. It's fantastic. Very eclectic and diverse. Like other Pink Martini albums, there are many musical styles and multiple languages represented here. White Christmas is sung in Japanese, there's a jaunty song about a happy new year in Chinese, an Italian song, Silent Night sung in German, Arabic, and English, and a couple others in languages that I'm still trying to figure out.

I heartily recommend this album,with the exception of The Little Drummer Boy. (Leslie, I tried to like it but just couldn't). Anyway, I'm completely enchanted by a song sung in Hebrew, called Elohai, N'tzor. It's kind of a strange song for a Christmas album, but it works. Have a listen, and then go buy this album and enjoy it from now until Christmas. :)

My God, guard my speech from evil and my lips from deception
Before those who slander me
I will hold my tongue; I will practice humility
Open my heart to Your Torah, that I may pursue Your Mitzvot
As for all who think evil of me,
Cancel their designs and frustrate their schemes
Act for Your own sake, for the sake of Your power
For the sake of Your Holiness, for the sake of Your Torah
So that Your loved ones may be rescued
Save with your Power, and answer me

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable to You, Adonai, my Rock and Redeemer

~From the closing of the Amidah prayer

The Night Before Christmas

Deck the Halls

This video totally made my morning. Tenth Avenue North and their version of  Deck the Halls.

Christmas Music Part 4: Albums 16-20

16. Bebo Norman ~ Christmas: From the Realms of Glory Bebo Norman entered the Christian music scene a few years ago, and this is his requisite Christmas album. His take on classic Christmas carols, like Joy to the World and O Come, O Come Emmanuel are nice, but where he really shines is on his original songs. Christmas Time Is Here is sung as a duet with Amy Grant and is a happy song ushering in the holiday season. Born to Die and Mary’s Prayer are both about Jesus and what he did for us. Also worth noting is his cover of Jackson Browne’s Rebel Jesus. I think everyone can relate to this song in some way. If you’ve never heard it, look it up.

17. Jars of Clay ~ Christmas Songs I’ve been a fan of Jars of Clay since I was a teenager, so I was excited when they finally came out with a full length Christmas album about three years ago. It’s not a typical Christmas album as it is fairly low key, and not overflowing with the sounds of jingle bells and ho ho hos. But that’s ok. I like it anyway. My favorites are their cover of Wonderful Christmastime, their original song Hibernation Day, and Love Came Down at Christmas.

18. Kristin Chenoweth ~ A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas When Kristin Chenoweth first appeared on the scene, I wasn’t too impressed. Then I saw her in a production of Candide and realized that she really did have a great talent - I just wish she would use her full voice more. On her Christmas album, she sings about half of the songs in her Munchkin voice (maybe she spent too much time on the set of Wicked?), and the other half in her fuller, prettier voice. I love her versions of Do You Hear What I Hear?, What Child is This?, and Home On Christmas Day. She also gets bonus points for singing Christmas Island.

19. Michael W. Smith ~ Christmastime I really enjoy this cd, but I have to be in the right kind of mood when I listen. Even though it is fairly upbeat, something about it makes me really melancholy, and I don’t like to be that way during the holidays. It is beautifully arranged and orchestrated with choirs and special guests and about half way through there is a wonderful duet with Michael and Sandy Patty singing The Christmas Waltz. That song alone is worth the price of the cd. It also features Chris Rice’s Welcome to Our World.

20. John Denver and the Muppets ~ A Christmas Together Finally, no Christmas is complete without a visit from the Muppets and John Denver. You can usually find this one in the five dollar bargain bin at Wal-Mart, and if you don’t have it in your collection, I recommend you go out and buy it NOW. It’s so much fun, with The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Christmas is Coming, and When the River Meets the Sea, and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and well, you get the picture. The whole thing is fun. I've heard that this was originally a T.V. special, but I’ve never seen it. Hopefully, someday I will. Until then, I’m content with just listening to the cd.

So there you have it. Twenty great Christmas cds from my collection and my favorites, at least for this week. I hope you are now inspired to dust off your Christmas music and start listening!

Christmas Music Part 3: Albums 11-15

11. Jimmy Buffett ~ Christmas Island When I heard the song Christmas Island on the radio for the first time, I loved it. It took me a few years to figure out who sang it, and I finally bought the cd a couple of years ago. The whole album has an island feel, which makes sense since it is Jimmy Buffet and is just a fun, upbeat Christmas album. I usually keep it in my car throughout the Christmas season. It’s good driving around town while you're Christmas shopping music.

12. Buddy Greene ~ Christmas…Not Just Any Night Buddy Greene is best known for his harmonica playing, but he has a nice singing voice, too. This album is about half harmonica and half vocal, mostly traditional Christmas music. The whole thing is beautiful. I’ve played it for people before, and actually seen tears at the end of The Christmas Song - it’s pretty poignant. Buddy Green is also known for co-writing Mary Did you Know, and even though it is over done on Christmas albums lately, there is a really nice arrangement here.

13. Aliqua ~ All I Want I got this cd last year, and listened to it A LOT. Aliqua is a group of ten girls who sing choral music, but mix it up a little bit. For instance, they sing Britton’s This Little Babe, but instead of the traditional accompaniment, they arranged it with a kind of flamenco beat and guitar accompaniment. Other standouts are A La Nanita Nana, All Is Calm, Christmas Angel, and The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, sung almost entirely on the syllable “plum.” Check it out.

14. Liberace ~ Christmas Through the Years I got this in a bargain bin at Wal-Mart, probably close to 15 years ago, and I still love it. Love him or hate him, Liberace knew how to do Christmas music. All the music on this album sparkles, kind of like Liberace himself. The music quality isn’t the greatest, it sounds like an old record, but I think that adds to the appeal. Some of it is instrumental, while he sings some of the songs, and even recites ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Classic.

15. Michael Crawford ~ A Christmas Album Michael Crawford is another performer that people either love or hate. Obviously I fall on the love side. On this disc, Michael sings mostly traditional songs in the way only he can. He is backed by beautiful orchestrations and choirs throughout the album, and even sings a duet with Twila Paris. I like all the songs on this cd, but my favorite is the non-Christmas Scarlet Ribbons.

Final five tomorrow!

Christmas Music Part 2: Albums 6-10

6. Guitar Winterlude This is one of the first Christmas cds I start listening to each year. I like to turn it on and listen to it in the early morning, while the world is still dark and quiet. It is just really pretty, ambient, mostly guitar-led Christmas carols. There is a whole Winterlude series that was popular many years ago, and I also have Piano Winterlude and just plain Winterlude. They are all quite lovely, but Guitar Winterlude is my favorite.

7. The Soul of Christmas: A Celtic Music Celebration with Thomas Moore I don’t remember where or why I got this cd. I think I ordered it blindly from a catalog, and I’m glad I did. It came encased in a little blue book that has some pictures, poems, and philosophical writings on Christmas by Thomas Moore. There is also a cd with a man with a really nice Irish brogue readings from the book. But the accompanying music cd is a treasure. It isn’t overly Celtic sounding, as the title would suggest, but calm, quiet carols of Christmas, my favorite being Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. (Does anyone know why this song is only done at Christmas? I like to sing it year round.)

8. Nitty Gritty Dirt Band ~ The Christmas Album I’ve been known to drive people crazy with my incessant playing of this cd around Christmas. In my opinion it's the perfect mix of traditional Christmas songs and new Christmas songs, with just enough of a country feel that you will wish you were in a snug cabin somewhere on a mountain side. It is just an all-around great Christmas album, especially for people from Colorado who truly know that “the closest thing to heaven on this planet anywhere, is a quiet Christmas morning in the Colorado snow.”

9. Anne Sofie Von Otter ~ Home For Christmas Anne Sofie Von Otter is a mezzo-soprano from Sweden. On this disc she sings some classic Christmas songs, but also sings several Swedish carols in her native tongue. It is beautiful music and instrumentation. On most of the songs she is only accompanied by one or two instruments, a guitar and a violin, an accordion, which really allows her voice to come through. Standout tracks include the opening song Kopangen, which she sings in both English and Swedish, Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day, I Wonder as I Wander, and Deck the Hall/Utterns Polska.

10. The Carpenters ~ Christmas Collection (Christmas Portrait & An Old Fashioned Christmas) When I was about seven years old, I was fairly certain that I was going to grow up to be Karen Carpenter. Obviously that didn’t happen, but I still enjoy her music. These Christmas albums cover just about every Christmas song ever written, and they are done in classic Carpenter style with Richard’s sparkly piano playing, tight vocal harmonies, and Karen singing like only she could.

#11-15 tomorrow!

Christmas Music Part 1: Albums 1-5

Ok. So, October is more than halfway over. Are you listening to Christmas music yet?

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE Christmas music. I’m not ashamed to admit that I start listening to a few select Christmas cds July and gradually add more to my music lineup until it is all Christmas music and nothing else.

The other day I was organizing my cds and making sure that my Christmas ones were easily accessible and decided to make a list of my top 10 Christmas albums to share it here. However, I quickly discovered it was impossible to choose only ten, so I expanded it to 20.

In no particular order, here are the first five.

1. Sarah Brightman ~ Winter Symphony I waited my whole life for Sarah Brightman to come out with a Christmas album, and a couple of years ago, she finally did. It wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned, and it actually took me a while before I really loved it, but now I listen to it almost year round. I love the opening song, Arrival, (which I recently discovered is based on an old ABBA tune, who knew?), as well as Ave Maria, a duet with countertenor Fernando Lima, Carpe Diem, a duet with Mario Frangoulis, and the over the top, exploding with Christmas sparkle and spirit, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day. Rounding out the album are a couple of non-Christmas Vince Gill and Neil Diamond covers and the ubiquitous Silent Night and In the Bleak Midwinter.

2. Amy Grant ~ A Christmas Album This album came out in 1983, and I have to say, I don’t really remember Christmas without it. We had it on a record, then a tape, and now I have the cd. It is really the perfect Christmas cd. Tennessee Christmas, Heirlooms, Emmanuel, Sleigh Ride…Ahhh, I love all the songs on this album. For the record, Amy Grant’s two other Christmas albums, while not quite as good as this one, are worth having, too.

3. Mannheim Steamroller ~ A Fresh Aire Christmas Christmas music and Mannheim Steamroller go together hand in hand. I’m pretty sure the number of Christmas albums they have recorded is in the double digits, but this one is my favorite. It came out in 1988. I remember that we had a copy of it on a tape and my mom would turn it on for my sister and me to listen to after we went to bed. I absolutely loved the arrangement of Carol of the Bells when I was small. Now when I listen I am instantly transported to the late 80s and Christmases of my childhood. Good times.

4. Sarah McLachlan ~ Wintersong This one came out about four years ago, and when I bought it, I had no idea I would like it as much as I do. Even though it is over done on Christmas albums lately, I especially like her cover of Happy Xmas (War Is Over). Her take on What Child is This is beautiful, as she uses a new melody. River, The First Noel/Mary Mary, and In the Bleak Mid-Winter are standouts, too.

5. City On A Hill ~ It’s Christmas Time City on a Hill produced a series of several cds a few years ago that were thematic and featured a bunch of popular Christian artists. This is the Christmas one. It is a compilation of traditional Christmas carols and newer, original Christmas songs. The whole album is worth a listen, but I especially like Babe in the Straw by Caedmon’s Call, Bethlehem Town by Jars of Clay, and O Holy Night sung by Michael Tait and Leigh Nash.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!