Blogging Some Christmas Cheer

I couldn't let the Season go by without blogging about it! Just real quick... some lists. (Of course.)

TRADITIONS:
-Our magnificent Christmas tree (decorated Black Friday)
-The Glass Pickle
-Reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" with fill-in-the-blanks
-Spreading magical reindeer food on the lawn


CHRISTMAS MOVIES:
-It's A Wonderful Life
-Beauty and the Beast (not technically Christmas, but I always end up watching it this time of year)
-The Nightmare Before Christmas
-The Note
-Toy Story (Well, it's Christmas at the end)


CHRISTMAS SPECIALS:
-How the Grinch Stole Christmas NOT the Jim Carrey one. The good one. ("I wouldn't touch you with a 39 and a half foot poooooollllleeee!!!)
-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ( "I want to be a.... a dentist!)
-Santa Claus is Coming to Town ("Burgermeister Meisterburger!")
-Frosty the Snowman ("HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!")
-Rudolph's Shiny New Year (even though I'm the only person on the planet who actually likes this one)
-And of course, the end-all be-all of holiday specials, A Charlie Brown Christmas. ("That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!")

GOOD CHRISTMAS SONGS:
-Christmas Don't Be Late- Alvin and the Chipmunks (If you don't like this song... something's wrong with you. "I still want a hooooola hoop!")
-The 12 Days of Christmas- Straight No Chaser
-Anything Michael Buble sings (He was born for Christmas music.)
-Anything Bing Crosby (He IS Christmas music.)
-Wonderful Christmas Time - Wings and Paul McCartney (because Paul is the best Beatle)
-Same Auld Lang Syne- Dan Fogelberg (it's so SAD!)
-The Christmas Shoes- Newsboys (see above)
-I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Jackson 5. Would you believe I just figured out the point of this song like last year? Yeah. And I love the Jackson 5.
-I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas-- I don't know who sings it. But did you know that the whole point of the song was to raise money for the Detroit Zoo to get a hippo? Aaaah, it makes sense now, huh! They got the hippo.


BAD CHRISTMAS SONGS:
-Last Christmas- Wham. Enough said. Yuck.
-The country version of I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus... no. Just no.
-Dominick the Donkey-- what? My brother's obsessed with it though. It's funny but gets REALLY annoying.


WHY IS THIS A CHRISTMAS SONG...?
-My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music... when did this become a Christmas song? What, we just mention snow and suddenly it's Christmas?
-Celebrate Me Home by Kenny Loggins. See above.
-Sleigh Ride (any version)-- not only does it not mention Christmas, but they go to a BIRTHDAY party!! It's just a winter song. Sigh.



Anyways... I love Christmas. I love the strange power it has over the world, to make it just a little kinder, a little warmer. People smile more, they care more, they laugh more, they love more. What else but Christmas could stop a World War in its tracks, even for a couple of days? (Look up "Christmas truces"... it's really cool.) This world will never be heaven-- it will never come close-- but I think it gets just a little bit closer at Christmastime.

Now if you're a humbug, you're going to say that's a cliche. Nothing really changes at Christmas. People are still preoccupied with gifts and money and greed. But I think you're wrong. There's an inescapable warmth that fills me up at Christmas time and makes me feel like the world is as it should be. Maybe I'm a naive optimist, but I believe in Christmas magic-- not magic in the conventional sense of the word, but magic in the change in the hearts of the world for a season.

From my webpage to yours, Merry Christmas! I hope you and your family have a wonderful season, filled with all the joy there could possibly be. :)

<3