Tracing my love of the holiday and its music to my roots
I originally had planned to compose a quick list of what are, in my opinion, the top 10 Christmas songs of all time. A simple enough task, right? I mean, among my friends and family, I am known as the go-to for all things Christmas. So I turned on the Spotify playlist I’ve spent a lot of time curating over the last few years in order to prepare my list.
I started off with the fun and zippy “Feliz Navidad,” the song that stretches to the limits of what can be remembered from that foreign language requirement at Pellissippi. I counted 18 words in the entire song, and only five of them are in Spanish. I then moved on to Wham!’s “Last Christmas,” the song that takes me back simultaneously to the days of elementary school when I could be found sneaking in a little VH1 and to my early 20s when I spent entirely too much time at Kurt’s. These two songs, though I love them so, didn’t feel quite Christmasy enough. I listened to Alabama’s “Christmas in Dixie” and Amy Grant’s “Tennessee Christmas,” which are more the ticket. Both are in my top five, as they give that cozy, homey feeling, and that made me start to think about just WHY I love Christmas so much.
If you ask my husband about my love of this most wonderful time of the year, he most surely (and at the very least) will discuss the mountain of gifts I purchase every holiday season. But the gifts are only a symbol of the familial spirit they remind me of. The biggest and greatest gift I have ever received is the wealth of glorious memories assembled from the most joyful of childhoods, and that joy was never more present than at Christmastime – and the recollection of the music shared with my loved ones gleams like the shiniest of bows.
I come from a very large extended family on both sides, and music was an ever-present aspect of our Christmas celebrations. There were just so many folks with whom I got to share love, connection and fellowship. One song that sticks out is The Judds’ version of “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem,” which reminds me of when I’d sing it with my mom while riding in the car around this time of year. She and I often used to get in front of the church and sing, but this song in particular makes me think of how in so many ways I was just a little version of her.
Another song that made regular appearances both on those car rides and in any random room of my maternal grandmother’s home is “Children Go Where I Send Thee.” I still can see in my mind’s eye my cousins David and Bud, my uncle Jerry and my aunts Sue and Patsy all sitting around in a circle late on Christmas Eve, smoking cigarettes and singing tune after tune. All of them have been gone for years, but I can still see them and hear their voices so clearly.
On Christmas Eve, I got to visit both grandparents’ houses, each featuring a gaggle of cousins my own age. At some point in the evening, we would hop over to my dad’s parents’ home to eat, play, see Santa, open presents and, of course, sing. There are many performers on that side of the family, as well, with my Uncle Bruce having been either part of a gospel quartet or a choir director – or both – for my whole life.
We’d sing “Away in a Manger,” naturally, but we’d also sing silly things like “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” trying to outdo each other in who could deliver the most obnoxious callback phrase in between the stanzas. I now understand that part of the reason the adults kept us singing was in order to distract us while “Santa” was getting dressed. To keep up the ruse, the older folks would have us sing songs such as “Frosty the Snowman,” “Up on the Housetop” and “Jingle Bells” … and sometimes the alternate version of the latter.
Though I may not be nearly as spry as I was 30 years ago, I still can feel as an adult the same kind of excitement I felt as a child just by being around everyone at Christmas. Back then, even though I didn’t know that my experience wasn’t universal, I did understand that it was special and important. Those memories are especially precious and dear this year, as we’re facing the prospect of not being able to celebrate together in person.
But you know what? I’m going to belt out all of these old favorites so loudly that they’ll be able to hear them in deep in the hollers of Morgan County coming all the way from South Knoxville. Who knows, I may even make some new memories with some fresh tunes. And on that positive note, I wish you all the happiest of holiday seasons, and I hope you have yourselves a merry little Christmas!
