All Things St. Jacques, NL

Once we get the sugars of Halloween out of our system many of us turn our attention to Christmas for our next fix. Oh, and it’s sugary alright. Depending on how you view Christmas it’s a time for some of the most saccharine moments, nostalgic images, traditions, rituals, religious observances, giving and receiving, an occasional Scrooge, card exchanges, gatherings of family and friends and reminiscing of Christmases past. We are never very deep into November when the first seasonal songs hit the radio airwaves, not to mention the advertising or stores stocked with decorations and toys. Though some complain that it starts too early, others have been waiting for months to get started. There are those who will say, ‘By the time Christmas gets here, it’s over.’ Others prolong it well into the New Year. Whether it is the three days of December 24-26, the traditional 12 days or the entire month of December, all share a common thread – music.

Why is it that most of the songs we hear on the radio, add to our playlists, or sing together at this time of year are standards from earlier years. It’s not uncommon to hear a 1940’s version of White Christmas, juxtaposed with a 60’s version of Little Drummer Boy or an 80’s rendition of Silent Night.  Many of the current mixes and remixes, though they may carry contemporary rhythms, are new treatments of songs we’ve heard many times before. That’s not to say there haven’t been any new Christmas songs in recent years, for there have been many. Some have caught our attention while many more linger on the periphery.

It feels a little trite to say that Christmas is not like it was, for that’s absolutely true. People change, customs evolve, institutions come and go, rituals fall out of practice, new attractions displace old ones and sales efforts by manufacturers of Christmas paraphernalia are updated to keep their products fresh. I have several decades of Christmases to remember. None of them were the same. Time marches to a louder and more persistent beat than that of the Little Drummer Boy and people whom, as children, we thought would be with us forever, make their involuntary exits. Presence is valued at Christmas thus absences are vividly noticed. Yet, we go on and Christmas is adjusted to a new reality each time.

Our favourite Christmas songs and those we attribute to others also change. I really don’t know what my mother’s favourite song was. However, I have heard several such as An Old Christmas Card, Silent Night, Winter Wonderland and Silver Bells put forward as her favourite. Whichever song it was, and in which year it was recorded, matters little for we never seem to let them go. As a child I was fascinated by Western films, especially those with singing cowboys such as Gene Autry. My ears perk up every year when I hear Up On the Rooftop. It takes me back. And that is the secret of success for most Christmas Songs.

They take us back to earlier times, evoke memories, cause us to recall special events, stimulate warm feelings and remind us of people we love. That’s why it is so challenging for recording artists to establish new favourites. The competition is quite stiff and the familiar is ingrained in our emotions. People will bemoan the fact that there don’t seem to be very many new Christmas songs. The next time you hear that, check out their music collection whether it be LP’s, CD’s, or streaming lists. You won’t be surprised at what you’ll find.

Country singer Jim Reeves has been dead for 60 years, yet when we hear him say “I don’t know why I get to feeling sentimental about this time every year,” most of us can identify with the observation. It’s part nostalgia, a little bit of longing for the past and the childhoods we have constructed for ourselves. Here at home in Newfoundland we have elevated a song by Bud Davidge to ‘classic status’ so much so that it can be heard at almost any time of year when families get together. “Any Mummers Allowed In,” is frequently used to open the floodgates of Christmas music on local radio stations. Children and adults of all ages can sing along, sway and smile, even if they’ve never seen a mummer or experienced mummering at any point in their lives. It’s more than a local favourite. For those who have experienced it, the opening line, ‘Hark, what’s the noise outside the porch door,” evokes a past steeped in faces of yesterday, of simpler times, of entertainment that came from within communities devoid of mainstream media influences. Davidge has written many other comparable and better Christmas songs but this one has struck a chord in the lives of many.

It is the song, yet it isn’t the song. It’s what the song evokes. Like the “Mummers Song,” when it reaches back and brings something forward in our memory we latch on to it. Others, like this year’s new Christmas songs may take twenty years to become fondly remembered and played in rotation. When you hear the first few piano notes of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” how can you not smile.  The power of song to bring alive the Christmas feeling is unrivaled. This year as you listen to your favourites give some thought to why they are your favourites. What do they bring to mind? Why? Have a conversation with a friend about the impact those songs have on you and the Christmas Spirit. Most of all, sing! Sing to the top of your voice in the shower. Attend a musical performance. Join in a sing-a-long at a neighbour’s house.  Sing your favourites and squeeze every bit of joy out of them that you can.