Christmas Archives - Page 16 of 17

Christmas 2011

The Bells of Christmas may be my favorite recording of a Christmas song ever.

Merry Christmas! It’s a Sunday morning and I’ll be going to church, but our choir is not singing; we sang on Christmas Eve, but not Christmas Day, which is fine by me. Besides, Santa is probably tired from putting presents under the tree.

Somebody I once met was born on Christmas Day 1924, and that’s the late Rod Serling. My blogger buddy Gordon has been trying to institute his and Humphrey Bogart’s birthdays (b. 1899) as alternative holidays for “those who may be atheists, agnostics, or just plain tired of the usual thing.” Don’t know how that’s working out.

Speaking of Serling, I reviewed his bio back in October, and I was thrilled to find that the book’s author, Joel Engel, commented on my post! Check it out.

And as for that OTHER holiday today, here’s The Bells of Christmas and Joy to the World, both sung by Julie Andrews. The former may be my favorite recording of a Christmas song ever; the latter recording pops as though it’s from that original Firestone tire LP that I owned as a kid, and in fact still own.

Want/Give for Christmas? QUESTIONS

What do you want for Christmas? What are you giving?

I’ve gotten pretty narrow with my Christmas want list, year after year. I always want a new Hess truck and a World Almanac. Every two or three years, a Leonard Maltin Movie Guide. And then I put a bunch of CDs on the Amazon list from which people select one or two; I’ve just added a couple of albums by Florence + the Machine, so it’s not ALL 20th Century artists.

As for what I’m giving, except for the wife and daughter, I’m usually utilizing the gift card.

What do you want for Christmas? What are you giving?
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Christmas Eve in San Diego
The Tick Loves Santa!
What Shooting Parrots hates about Christmas; see my comment for related disdain.

Holiday Blues QUESTION

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack.

There seems to be this myth – and most every thinking person knows it is – that the holidays are wonderful, joy-filled days for nearly everyone. Au contraire: they can be quite tough for some people. As About.com put it, “It’s okay, however, to admit that [family] get-togethers aren’t always a fancy-free walk down Candy Cane Lane.” Even those who generally love the season can feel worn down by too much shopping/cooking/traveling to do.

A few years ago, my church had a service about a week before Christmas for those struggling with the holidays. It wasn’t greatly attended; a LOT of that was the weather. But I also wonder if one did want to self-identify as one of THOSE people who find the time frame to be a bit of a drag.

I still remember Christmas Eve in 1990. I was at a choir party when we heard that our tenor section leader, Sandy Cohen, had had a heart attack. Soon thereafter, we got word that he had died. And THEN we had to go sing at the 10:30 p.m. service; talk about tough.

So does Advent/Christmas bring you down a little, and if so, how do you combat it? For me, it’s eggnog and amaretto.
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To Xmas and beyond

What Christmas Means to Me – Stevie Wonder, possibly my favorite pop song Christmas tune.

Christmas Meme

singing seasonal music

SamauraiFrog did this last year, based on this daily meme.

Favorite Tradition: Playing music. Usually start about the solstice and run to Epiphany, when nobody’s doing it. It goes well with my contrarian nature.
Favorite Elf: Don’t have one.
Santa or Mrs. Claus: about even.
Favorite Reindeer: Rudolph. I mean those other reindeer were mean. THEN they want to suck up to Rudy when he saves Christmas. Bah, humbug!
Favorite Holiday Snack: eggnog and Amaretto
Favorite Decoration: somewhere down the several moves, I’ve lost my favorites, which were these wooden, red hearts.
Favorite Christmas Movie: almost any version of A Christmas Carol. I loved the Mr. Magoo version as a child.
Favorite Christmas Song: Coventry Carol. Especially this version by Alison Moyet.
Favorite Christmas TV Special: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Favorite Thing To Wear: warm socks
Favorite Christmas Book: it’s a book of carols from Time/Life or Readers Digest
Favorite Gift You Ever Got: the first Hess truck I got, which was a fire truck.
Favorite Gift You Ever Gave: a reversible outfit I bought for my then six-y.o. niece (she’s turning 21); her mother loved it, and she had a picture taken in it. It fit her for almost three years.
Favorite Candy: candy cane
Favorite Christmas Website: probably SamuraiFrog’s

Favorite Tradition You Used To Do: go to church at 10:30 pm, and leave church at midnight. It almost always was snowing lightly.
Favorite Part of Christmas Eve: helping Santa
Favorite Part of Christmas Day: handing out the presents.
How Early Do You Get Up on December 25th: whenever the daughter wakes up
How Late Do You Stay Up on December 24th: about 11 p.m.
Favorite Christmas Picture: It’s probably one of the Daughter at age 3 or 4, which I’m too disorganized to find.
Anticipation or the Day: The day. The anticipation always comes with stress.
Advent Calendar You’re Doing: Bible reading
Favorite Christmas Thing You’re Doing/Done In School: singing seasonal music.
What Did You Get? well, I made a list. I want about the same thing, either every year (World Almanac, Hess truck, some music from my Amazon list), or every few years (Leonard Maltin movie guide).
What Did You Give? My sisters haven’t hinted NEARLY enough, but they’re far away. My wife and daughter are close enough to hint broadly, and I like that.
What Did You Feed Santa: cookies and milk.
What Did You Feed The Reindeer: nothing, but they do get water.
Do You Believe In Santa?: Of course!
Are You Sad? Now and then. Fearing the wreath of Khan.

‘Twas the weeks before Christmas, when all through the house,
I smelled a hint of the fire Europe was trying to douse.
It seemed to get bigger with each passing day,
From my investment portfolio, please, please stay away.
[12 verses, with embedded links!]
Favorite Part of the Season? Singing and listening to music.
Lower graphic from Stephen Wildish via HERE.

Approximating the Christmas Spirit

This is the first Christmas since my mother died. Purchasing something she wanted had always tough in recent years, as she said she wanted for nothing. Last year, I hit on a bathrobe she apparently really liked, plus her word puzzles she used to keep her mind sharp. I so wish I still had the aggravation of buying for her.

This is one of those “breakfast blog” posts, so dubbed by my friend Dan, the kind you read over oatmeal. Or something.

A few years back, there was this graphic that featured Stephen Colbert and a board with eight lines of text. I had used it a few times around 2007, but I couldn’t get it to work correctly a few weeks ago. Too bad; I had worked out my first message:
THERE IS NO
“WAR ON CHRISTMAS”.
“HAPPY HOLIDAYS”
JUST NOTES
KWANZAA, HANUKKAH,
NEW YEARS EVE
ET AL.
CHILL OUT, OK?

(But listen to Charles Ingalls doing his Linus van Pelt imitation.)

And besides, Christmastime, by the church calendar, doesn’t start until Christmas day, running to Epiphany, in early January.

We are currently in Advent. A party held right now would be an Advent party, if you want to get all technical/fussy about it. (Science tricks to impress/distract your family during said holiday gatherings.)

Every year recently, there has been a Medieval Faire in Albany in late October. I always look forward to it, in no small part, because that’s where/when I start my Christmas shopping in earnest. I know people who have finished their shopping before the summer solstice (Northern Hemisphere) is over. Actually, in the past, I had found presents earlier, then promptly hid them – from myself, only to rediscover them in February. A couple of months of hiding I can keep track of. And for the decade or so when the Faire was on hiatus, I’d really struggle, especially re: the wife’s gift.

This is the first Christmas since my mother died. Purchasing something she wanted had always been tough in recent years, as she said she wanted for nothing. Last year, I hit on a bathrobe she apparently really liked, plus her word puzzles she used to keep her mind sharp. I so wish I still had the aggravation of buying for her.

Oh yeah, here’s the John Lennon seasonal song.

Check out Scott’s Comic Book Cover Advent Calendar, not just this year’s but over the previous seven seasons!