Christmas music

I know I talked about  "Christmas Music" that isn't really Christmas Music ( I forgot to mention "My Favorite things" from the Sound of Music, love the song, just not about Christmas)

I have been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, by listening to music that evokes the religious aspect of the holiday.   I caught the tail end of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" last night, where Linus reads from Luke to remind Charlie Brown what Christmas is REALLY about; not presents and Santa or parties, but love.  If you follow the Christian faith, Jesus birth was an act of God's great love for us.  At Christmas, we should remember that and try to send that love out into the world, shouldn't we?  Maybe try to remember to "keep Christmas in your heart all year long" as some hokey Hallmark movie told us to do.  But it's true.  At Christmas, we try to be nicer to one another.  I look at this as a time of reflection and to say "thank you" to people who have been with me throughout the year.  The tradition of obligatory gifts smacks me as wrong.  My gifts, albeit baked things mostly these days, are gifts from my heart.  I hope people enjoy them.

But as usual, I digress from my main thought which is, what songs are resonating with me this year.  I heard a song called "The Answer" yesterday on Pandora.  So beautiful, I need to look up the artist and get her music.  Not a Christmas song either, but one about faith and love.

I have been singing "The First Noel" and "What Child Is This" in the car.  I need to find my Holiday Harmony cd from my favorite band in the world, America.  They have a beautiful rendition of  "The First Noel"  Some of the songs on the cd  irritate me, but that one and "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" does it for me.  I have said it before and it bears repeating that it is NOT Christmas in my house until Nat King Cole sings  "The Christmas Song" aka "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire".  Chris made me stop what I was doing last night and just sit quietly and hold his hand while the song played.  He saw that I needed to slow down a bit.  I am too busy these days and need the quiet moments, no matter how brief. I think I need to do less and in the coming months will be looking at just how to do that!