Tag: Christmas

On the calendar: Ask Roger Anything

naming the weeks

Christmas and Kwanzaa are always right next to each other on the calendar. But this year,  Chanukah (Hanukkah) “starts at nightfall on December 25, 2024, and ends with nightfall on January 2, 2025, beginning on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev, and lasting for eight days.” I happen to love holidays that have movable dates. Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Easter, and even the Monday holidays have different dates.

I spent more time than it was worth trying to answer a question somebody posted on Facebook. We have names for the months of the year and for the days of the week. Why don’t we have names for the weeks? It’s primarily because of the quirky nature of the calendar.

Even if we did name them, what would they be called? November 2nd to 8th could be election week, and November 22nd to 28th could be Thanksgiving week. But that doesn’t work for two good reasons. There are only 13 days between them, and they’re way too specifically American. Starting on the equinoxes or solstices is problematic because they aren’t the same worldwide. 

I’ve concluded that weeks are just not meant to be named, although if you have some ideas, please let me know. It must be a system that applies to multiple countries, cultures, and religions or eschews them.

The ask

Whatever holiday you celebrate, you can provide a present: Ask Roger Anything.  Roger loves this present. This is the time of the year when you let him know what you’re thinking about. You will likely ask him questions that he had not thought of asking himself.

Running a daily blog involves talking to oneself, so having you talk to him is much more enjoyable and far less schizophrenic.

Whatever you ask, I will endeavor to respond in the next several days. I’ll even promise to tell the truth; it may not be the WHOLE truth, but it’ll be pretty close. 

You may leave your questions in this blog’s comments section, on my Facebook page (Roger Owen Green), or on my BlueSky page (roger green.bsky.social); always look for the duck.

 

My favorite Christmas music?

Oíche Chiúin

Keep Christ in ChristmasMy wife suggested I post my favorite Christmas music. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I know what that is. Sure, a song from A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi should be on it. But which one? Linus and Lucy seem so obvious. Maybe I’ll put the whole thing.

Kelly always gives me an eclectic array of music during his Daily Dose of Christmas, including music I’ve never heard. The Nutcracker will be included somewhere.

Listen to Coverville 1515: A Very Coverville Christmas Volume 20.

Here are songs I manage to play every year. I have all of them in some physical form.

A list

Christmas Wrapping – the Waitresses. Except for this song. Even though I own this on a vinyl EP, it slipped from my memory for a while.

What Child Is This – Vanessa Williams. From A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 2 (1992)

The Mistletoe and Me – Issac Hayes. A STAX cut.

Jingle Bells – Fab 4. Because tomorrow never knows.

Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday – William Bell.  It was a minor soul hit on the Stax label in the mid-1960s.

Louisiana Christmas Day – Aaron Neville

Getting Ready for Christmas Day – Paul Simon. Simon is sampling (!) a sermon from 1941, the year he was born.

Christmas Is a Comin’  – Leadbelly. I have this on an LP my father owned.

The Wexford Carol – Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss 

Every Valley Shall Be Exalted – Lizz Lee & Chris Willis & Mike E. from Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration

Christmas All Over Again– Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers from A Very Special Christmas 2 (1992)

Winter Snow -Booker T. & The MG’s. Isaac Hayes wrote this melancholy STAX tune.

White Christmas – The Drifters

Silent Night (Oíche Chiúin) – Enya. It’s one of my favorite versions of this song. 

The Coventry Carol – Alison Moyet

What Christmas Means To Me – Stevie Wonder

The Bells of Christmas– Julie Andrews (at 17 minutes). There are at least three other versions of this song by her on these Firestone albums, but this, by FAR, is the best.

Sing we all with one accord

A king is born, glad angels say

Roger singing
Roger singing, Trinity AME Zion Church, age 6

There’s a song from my childhood – my sister Leslie remembers it too – that I can’t seem to find on YouTube.

I think these are the words:

Now sing we all with one accord

on Christmas Day in the morning

The tidings of our glorious Lord

on Christmas Day in the morning

something something glad tidings bring

oh sing Noel in the morning

A king is born, glad angels say

oh sing Noel in the morning

Sing we all Noel.

The tune: Low means below middle C, the 2 or 3 is the number of beats. The lowercase b is a flat sign. 

low G   C2   G   F2    G   Eb2  D    C2

low Bb  low G2    C     C   D   lowBb   C3 C3

Leslie reminds me that it was done as a round.

No, it’s NOT this: Now We’ll Sing with One Accord

Or this: Now Let Us All with One Accord

Or this: Sing We Now Of Christmas

And definitely not this: I Saw Three Ships

I don’t specifically remember when we sang this. It was probably in high school, although it could have been in junior high. I’m hoping that one of my former Binghamtonian choristers can shed light on this question because it’s driving me freaking nuts. And I don’t mean chestnuts roasting on an open fire.

Meanwhile

I came across a few other tracks:

Gaudete – Steeleye Span. Last year I bought a box set of Steeleye Span 

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence – PICARDY

E’en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come. My choir sings this Paul Manz piece almost every Advent. Unfortunately, I missed that particular Sunday, having seen Rebecca Jade with Dave Koz in New Haven the night before.    

Random Christmas stuff

where contempt backfires

Here’s some random Christmas stuff. The last item isn’t about the holidays per se but perhaps “peace on earth, goodwill to all.”

ITEM: Whist perusing YouTube, I happened to catch one of The Three Tenors singing Oh, Little Town of Bethlehem. When he pronounced the town, he sang Beth-LEE-Hem instead of Beth-leh-hem. It distracted the heck out of me, as it reminded me of a country album I own. Several years ago, I bought many Christmas CDs from a grocery store, usually for $2.99. One was Country Christmas Classics. I’m not sure who it was – it might have been Charlie Pride – but the male singer sang the geographic location the same way, which bothered me more than it probably should.

ITEM: State ornaments: Every year, ordinary Americans make one-of-a-kind ornaments representing every U.S. state, territory, and District of Columbia. These artists give their time and talents to designing and creating ornaments that symbolize their homeland’s history, heritage, and culture. The America Celebrates display, which surrounds the National Christmas Tree, is free and open to visitors throughout December.

ITEM: Unusual Christmas Ornaments Make the Holidays Weird and Wonderful, from a homemade Harry Potter garden gnome to a vintage scary clown ornament.

ITEM: Why Do We Say “Bah, Humbug!”? We know Scrooge’s famous “Bah, humbug!” from “A Christmas Carol,” but the phrase meant something more nuanced than simple grumpiness in Dickens’ time.

ITEMS: Chevrolet’s chopping onions on my blog again and 2024 New Zealand Christmas TV Ads

Tiny ripples of hope

ITEM: From the Dignity Index: “As they do each December, Merriam-Webster recently announced its word of the year. ‘Polarization’ is the selection for 2024, which their dictionary defines as ‘division into two sharply distinct opposites…’  

“It might seem a long way off – but if we can each create a tiny subculture of dignity, millions of subcultures can mount a powerful challenge to the larger culture of contempt.

“In June of 1966, Bobby Kennedy made a trip to South Africa, where the government refused to welcome him, and its ministers refused to meet with him. Yet the Black residents rushed to greet him. At the University of Cape Town, in perhaps his most famous speech, he said:     

“‘It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.’

“Numberless acts of dignity – creating numberless dignity subcultures – also send out tiny ripples of hope, with the same powerful, reinforcing effect – leading, we hope, to a time, not far off, where the tide changes, where contempt backfires, where the culture shifts, and the dictionaries in the United States announce in December that the word of the year, for that year, is ‘Dignity.'”

Yes, this is way more optimistic than I am, but I’m willing to give a good thought. 

Best-Selling Children’s Records (Xmas)

Joel Whitburn Presents Christmas in the Charts, 1920 to 2004 shares this information: “Billboard published a best-selling children’s records chart from June 12th, 1948 through November 12th, 1955. This chart was researched for children’s Christmas records that charted during the holiday season.”

There were a lot of repeated songs, which might have led to the chart’s demise.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Gene Autry (1949), #1. After my father-in-law Richard died in 2020, I went through many of his CDs, a collection I had previously been unaware of. I got a non-holiday Gene Autry.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Jimmy Boyd (1952), #1

Frosty the Snow Man – Gene Autry (1950), #2. With the Cass County Boys and an orchestra conducted by Carl Cotner. This was available as a 78, then a 45.  

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Spike Jones (1953), #4. The little-child vocal is by George Rock, “the heavy-set trumpeter in the Jones band.” 

Thirty-Two Feet, Eight Little Tails – Gene Autry (1951), #5

Susie Snowflake – Rosemary Clooney, #5. The orchestra was conducted by Tony Mottola.

Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Bing Crosby (1950) #6. With Jud Conlon’s Rhythmaires and John Scott Trotter & his Orchestra.

St. Nick

The Night Before Christmas – Milton Cross (1948), #6. The Clement Moore poem was originally released on a 1939 Victor recording. Musical background was performed by the Victor Salon Orchestra and was arranged and conducted by Rosario Bourdon. 

Frosty the Snow Man – Red Foley (1951), #6. With Shirley, Julie, and Jenny Foley, “The Little Foleys.” Producer: Paul Cohen

A Visit From Saint Nicholas (‘Twas the Night Before Christmas) – Fred Waring (1952), #6. This was originally released in 1942.  Waring and his Pennsylvanians, vocal by the Glee Club, Swingarettes, Jack Best, Gordon Goodman and Twin Trios Here’s the familiar Ken Darby arrangement. Waring would re-do it in later years, once more for Decca and then for Capitol. When I was in the high school choir, we performed a lot of Fred Waring song arrangements. 

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