Guest post by Ace Collins. For more Christmas info and discussion from authors Ace Collins, Amy Clipston and others, visit Facebook.com/ReclaimingChristmas.
Christmas songs never really leave us. Like clockwork, they come back annually to set the holiday mood. They are less like old songs and more like familiar friends—just like the folks who sing them. Without holiday hits, entertainers like Bing Crosby and Perry Como may have faded into the past and their hit songs would have been buried in another era. But because of their holiday hits, these performers now come back to us each year with the regularity of Santa himself. Yes, Bing and Perry, as well as so many others—including a group of mischievous rodents, The Chipmunks, and a rocker named Elvis—make our holidays sing.
If you think about it, Christmas songs are like time machines: just hearing a few notes from our favorite holiday tunes can magically transport us to a cherished moment from our past. These carols are powerful musical greeting cards reminding each of us of the joy that is coming this Christmas season, as well as the wonderful love and glad tidings from past holidays as well.
And with each song there is a remarkable story. Did you know it was a Christmas song that introduced the world to modern electronic recording? Did you know that “O Holy Night” was the first song broadcast on the radio and that “Silent Night” once stopped a world war in its tracks? Christmas songs have touched us in more ways than we can imagine and knowing the stories behind them gives their presence even more depth.
 by Ace Collins |
Other Christmas songs have equally amazing stories. For example, a decade before the Civil Rights movement, “The Christmas Song” by Nat King Cole was the first Christmas standard recorded by an African-American. This hit helped pave the way for equal rights. Bing Crosby’s first holiday hit was not “White Christmas” but “O Come All Ye Faithful.” The great crooner used this recording to raise money for a children’s charity, little knowing that the song would build a foundation for his becoming the season’s most listened-to voice. “Little Drummer Boy” combined an ancient legend and the stark realities of poverty in the Great Depression in a simple story of a talent given and received. And though no one knows who wrote “Gloria” (“Angels We Have Heard On High”) the fact that it’s being sung today exactly as it was centuries ago makes to it an unforgettable listening experience.
The anthems and standards of Christmas touch hearts and minds. They speak to us as an old friend, transporting us to days of yore and reminding us about the lasting gifts of friends and family. They have the power to take us to the manger or a ski slope, to remind us of a family gathering or of the trip of a wise man following a star. They are a thread that connects the past, present, and future. Knowing the stories behind each of them means so much more!
-Ace Collins
Do you have a story about your favorite Christmas song? Share your story in a comment on Ace's Facebook note.
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About Ace Collins |
Ace Collins is the writer of more than sixty books, including several bestsellers:
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