Sad songs say TOO MUCH!

When you think “Christmas,” what comes to mind? Santa Claus? Presents? Shopping? Christmas trees? Decorations? Being stuck sitting next to Awful Uncle Howard with the disgusting table manners? We’re all different and the holidays evoke different feelings and meanings for each of us. For me, Christmas is about family, sharing a Christmas Eve meal, exchanging gifts, enjoying the decorations (although, not so much putting them up as reveling in the resulting splendor!), watching the excitement on my daughters’ faces on Christmas morning as (hopefully!) their wishes come true… ALL of it. I’m a big kid about the holidays. They aren’t complete without watching every animated Christmas special I can find on our satellite channels and I will sit through Charlie Brown, The Grinch, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman one right after the other, if given the opportunity. I am probably in a select group of “adults” my age who remember Burgermeister Meisterburger or the fact that Hermey didn’t want to be an elf – he wanted to be a dentist. The tears poured down my face and I cried right along with Karen when Frosty melted in that horrible, awful, greenhouse, courtesy of that horrible, awful Professor Hinkle. At least Hocus was cute. But, to circle the wagons back around to my point – I am a big sentimental pile of goo about all things Christmas. One of the things that makes my holidays complete is music. I often start listening to my Christmas CDs and cassettes somewhere in early November, as they really do help build my spirits for all the work that is Christmas. I don’t like to shop at the best of times, so stores crammed with panicked shoppers, stressed-out parents and grumpy retail staff is my own special brand of hell. Just last Saturday I was in Wal-Mart (all seven of those words are so very WRONG at this time of year) and I actually heard two women (I will NOT call them ladies) fighting over something… it might have been a shopping cart… and one GRACIOUSLY told the other, at the top of her lungs, to “F*** OFF!!” – several times. I’ll spare you the offense of reading it… my ears were offended enough for all of us and I’m not usually bothered by “colorful” language. But JEEZ! It’s supposed to be a season of caring, isn’t it? Even just a LITTLE? Again with the wagons! Back to the music. Many folks I know are annoyed, beyond all sense or reason, by Christmas music. Not me (well, ok, truth be told I don’t dig the “muzak” versions… that’s often where I draw the line). I even prefer the “childish” versions of certain tunes. The ones geared to kids and sung with gusto and glee by every young person I’ve ever known (me and my sister included!). Then, I absolutely LOVE some of the more classical ones… Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s The Christmas Canon is a favorite now because I walked up the aisle to Pachelbel’s “Canon in D,” quite possibly one of my most cherished pieces of music EVER. A lovely young woman I used to work with side by side remarked, when I told her the story, “You walked up the aisle to a Christmas song????” She must have heard “Taco Bell” when I said “Pachelbel” so I did explain that it was classical music first. So, with all the joy I derive from the beautiful melodies of the season, I fail, with every fiber of my being, to understand WHY ARE THERE SO MANY SAD CHRISTMAS SONGS?!?!?!?! UGHHHHHHHHHH!! When my mom was ill, I was inadvertently introduced to a “happy” little ditty called “The Christmas Shoes.” With all due respect to Bob Carlisle, have you HEARD this song? I babbled like a brook (well, if oceans could “babble,” that would be closer to what I was doing) when I listened to the words. Not to infringe on Mr. Carlisle’s copyright – and mostly because I just can’t stand any more than this – here’s just a snippet: “Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time You see she's been sick for quite a while And I know these shoes would make her smile And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight” AHHHHHHHHH… even those words have my eyes filled with tears!! Basically, the child doesn’t have enough pennies for the shoes and the “singer” gives him what he needs. The whole point is that you are supposed to be reminded of “what Christmas is all about.” Uh huh. I sure didn’t need the reminder. Then there’s the one about the cat and the mouse. I don’t even remember the name but I remember the premise: in the cold of Christmas Eve, the cat lies on the mouse to protect him and keep him warm… and ultimately freezes to death himself. When Santa comes, he tells the mouse that the cat has died and that he will take him away with him. HO HO HO! Ain’t that delightful?! More like BOO HOO HOO, if you ask me. Not even a week ago, I had the “holiday” station on the satellite and there was a song called “The Little Boy that Santa Claus Forgot” by Nat King Cole. I struggled through the beginning…. “He's the little boy that Santa Clause forgot, And goodness knows, he didn't want a lot. He sent a note to Santa For some soldiers and a drum, It broke his little heart When he found Santa hadn't come” and waited for the happy ending. Thing is… THERE WAS NONE. Seems the little “laddie hasn’t got a daddy” and he gets nothing… ACK!!! I can’t take it anymore!! Why do we need SAD Christmas songs? I KNOW there is a multitude of people for whom the holidays bring no joy. They may be missing their loved ones… they may have no money to put gifts under a tree… they may be ill… or depressed… or even just grinchy. But does someone have to SING about it?! I’ve had my share of sad Christmases… we all have. But music should lift us up. It should be a celebration. It should pull our “sentimental natures” up from the depths of where we hide them, so much of the time, and allow them to come forth and be felt. We need to feel. Yes, emotions include sadness and it’s ok to feel that too. I miss my parents with every beat of my heart at the holidays (and pretty much every other day too) but that doesn’t REQUIRE musical representation! My parents LOVED Christmas. They instilled that love of the holiday in me and in my sister. We may have changed the way we celebrate, to make the holes less omnipresent, but we still celebrate. So, this holiday season, sad songs be damned! I wish, for each and every one of you, a REASON to celebrate. It may not be obvious. It may, in fact, be very hard to find. But, I truly believe, if you allow yourself feel even a sprinkling of holiday magic, you will find it. Let it carry you. ((((( Merry Christmas! )))))