The Songs of the Season - #10

I've had my head buried in the sand for a while now. I started a new job a month ago and since my return from Dustistan, I have had 3 out of town weekend trips already and to top it off, the Christmas season is upon us. Chances are I wouldn't be coming up for air until about ohh July next year, if I'm lucky that is.

Despite all this running about, I am taking the time to write about something that's near and dear to my heart. Ever since I was a little girl, I've always had an affinity for Christmas Carols. In the beginning, it was a way to earn Christmas money. Imagine a group of 5 or 6 young girls prancing about the neighborhood at dusk, knocking from door to door, caroling. By the end of the 2 week stint, because we usually start around the 10th of December, we've garnered enough money that I've funded my allowance for the first 2 weeks of the brand new year. Not a mean feat I might add.

Only later in life did I come to realize the true meaning behind the carols I loved to sing. These carols and the more modern Christmas songs have come to symbolize God's love for mankind by giving us His only Son and the different traditions that makes Christmas a time of peace and joy and love.

So without further ado, between today and Christmas Eve, I am unveiling my top ten favorite Christmas Carols. But first, a few honorable mentions:

The Funniest, Most Irreverent Christmas Song:
Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer. Funny, check, Irreverent, most definitely, to be taken seriously, definitely not, unless you want a padded room all to yourself.

The Most Overplayed Christmas Song on non-Satellite, non-HD Radio:
The Christmas Song. This song about chestnuts and jackfrost and yuletide carols evoke great images until you hear it practically every hour on the hour on every radio station during Christmas. Then you just kinda want to sing "It's A Small World" to get the music out of your head.

The Best Christmas Speech:
A Charlie Brown Christmas. It starts with Linus Van Pelt asking for a spotlight and it usually ends with a lump in my throat. Need I say more? Hooray for Charles Schultz!

and last but not least,

The Best Oratorio about our Lord and Savior:
Handel's Messiah. If you've never heard it, go buy a CD. It's worth the price to hear the entire life of our Lord and Savior underscored with, IMO, one of the grandest and most heartfelt musical scores of all time.

And these are just for starters. The official list starts with:

Number 10 on my list is a song written in 1943 and first recorded by Bing Crosby. I'll Be Home For Christmas touched a nerve with both the civilians and soldiers here in America and abroad deep in enemy territory in the midst of World War II. Together with another Bing Crosby hit "White Christmas", these homegrown Christmas tunes became the most requested songs at Christmas USO shows in the Pacific and European arenas.

Today, with the war in Iraq, this song holds the same poignant longing for both our fighting men and women and their families if not more so. This song is a tribute to the spirit, determination and camaraderie of our soldiers, their families and their community.

To our men and women on the front lines, May God keep you safe and give you peace and joy during this Christmas season. Know that you are in our hearts and in our midst even though at times it's only in our dreams. In the name of His most precious Son -