Silent Night

On this Christmas day, in the aftermath of the hustle and bustle, a wish of peace for you and those you love.

From Mahalia's heart and soul to yours, a live performance of "Silent Night."

A Weird Al Christmas Tune

Day 19 of 20 Days of Christmas

A lot of elderly folks pass away during the holidays, and this year Kim Jong-il joined their ranks. How better to commemorate this occasion than to play the classic Weird Al Christmas nod to the USA's fear of getting nuked during The Cold War in which North Korea so happily participated? Yes, a bit of dark humor coming your way from the man himself: "Christmas at Ground Zero" (recorded in 1986, this song does NOT refer to 9/11).

P.S. I really love all the scenes of school children practicing ducking/covering during bomb drills. This is so not how it looks when my students do drills..."But how would shards of glass get in my eyes?" "Wouldn't that be better than in my spine?" "Why do we have to be quiet?" "What if you're in the bathroom?" "How come we always do these?" ...

Last Christmas

Day 18 of 20 Days of Christmas

I can't say why exactly, but I know it's Christmas time when I hear George Michael crooning

Last Christmas I gave you my heart,

but the very next day you gave it away, 

this year, to save me from tears, 

I'll give it to someone special.

It's a little depressing...a rub-it-in-your-face, I'm-so-over-you Christmas song? And yet, George does what he does so well, takes a song that could be a throw-away and makes it dancy, fun, and sweet.

George, glad you're on the mend!

8 Days of Hanukkah!

I love this holiday season when so many groups of people celebrate their faith at the same time. To my friends who celebrate the holiday of lights, I dedicate this blog entry. Happy Hanukkah!

So most folks my age are very familiar with the classic Adam Sandler Hanukkah songs, but I thought I'd try to find some more contemporary (but equally fun) tunes.

First, a little Hanukkah education with Elmo for those of us who need it (and I don't exclude myself from this category).

This first song (by the Maccabeats) is "Candlelight," and uses the tune of "Dynamite."

The next number, "Hanukkah Fairy" (Morgan Murphy ft. Aimee Mann) is irreverent and enjoyable. If you are anti-swearing, you should skip this one.

Finally, a little love and joy from Matisyahu, celebrating the Jewish faith.

Christmas in My Soul

                                  Day 17 of 20 Days of Christmas                           

It's not unusual at this time of year to see "Jesus is the reason for the season" or "put Christ back in Christmas" slogans around. I can't help-- even as someone who considers Jesus to be God-- but cringe. It feels like many who utter such things are in fact taking the opportunity to finger point at folks who don't subscribe to a particular religion or attend a church all year round, to tell them they've got it all wrong.

When I think of the story of the birth of Jesus, the perpetual outsider, I think of him being born in a feeding trough because no one had the decency to take in a supremely pregnant woman! Here was a young out-of-towner who obviously hadn't given birth before; she was gonna need help, and there weren't women surrounding her to get her through the process. I am sure Mary was filled with fear and disbelief that no one was willing to reach out to her. Joseph was probably stricken with guilt and shame that he couldn't do better for his wife. Here were two people who could have really used some compassion and assistance. 

If Jesus is the reason for the season, and we want to put Christ back in Christmas, shouldn't it be less about signs and sayings, and more about action? Shouldn't it be less about judgment and more about extending kindness to others? Shouldn't it be about looking around us, around our world, to see the consequences of how we live our lives?

Below, two songs submitted for your consideration. The first is "Christmas in My Soul" by Laura Nyro. The second is "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" by John & Yoko, and it includes the original, heart-wrenching video.

 

Christmas Record Covers

Day 8 of 20 Days of Christmas

My routine posting for 20 days of Christmas was thrown off track on day 8 by my inability (after several hours and many attempts) to get all of my LP cover pictures to save in blogger. How obnoxious! At that point my self-preservation kicked in because I had to get through the school week, and I stopped trying to post. I will now post (because I am giving up on this entry) the two LP covers I managed to get saved to this entry. At least it saved my very favorite cover...

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For today's entry, a smattering of Christmas record covers; the covers range from silly, to touching, to strange, to sweet.

The first singer to make me cry.

And the best for last...