The Best Part of Christmas
Christmas time is notorious for bringing families together in holiday cheer. Traditional Christian families in America engage in festivities such as movie nights, gift giving, and decorating. However, the holiday carols playing in the background of the festivity are often overlooked. Once Thanksgiving is over, holiday tunes storm the radio to set the jubilant mood for the season. The greatest aspect of Christmas boils down to the genres of music played during this time: traditional carols, pop originals and renditions, and foreign carols.
Despite the fact that Christmas-themed music has been around since the fourth century, most of what Americans consider “traditional” Christmas carols are around 200 years old. An exception to this concept is the song “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”. In modern times, it is frequently played in church services and on the radio; however, its standard lyrics originated in the 1650s during the eleven year block when Protestants fled from England to America with their carols after Oliver Cromwell of England banned Christmas music in order to keep Christmas day solemn. “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is also a popular traditional carol that defies the time period from which Americans begin to consider Christmas carols “traditional”. The first version of the song was published in 1739, 79 years prior to “Silent Night” (1818) which jump-started the trend for creating Christmas music. Composer Joseph Mohr was told his church’s organ would not be fixed in time for December 25th, so he wrote three stanzas of his piece, “Silent Night”, that could be sung with a guitar accompaniment. Today, the song is among one of the most popular traditional Christmas carols and is sung in over 180 languages.
During The Great Depression, technology improved and there was a holiday music boom from which iconic secular songs such as “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” emerged. Prior to this, however, “Jingle bells” was one of the first secular Christmas songs which emerged in 1857. “Jingle Bells” is considered a traditional Christmas carol; however, in the 1980s, the pop/rock theme of the decade blended with those traditional songs to create modern songs such as “Jingle Bell Rock” in 1985. During World War II, American troops longed for prosperity and hope in times of turmoil. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, scoring a top ten hit, rose at this time to inspire many soldiers to stay positive. It is written from a soldier’s perspective to his/her family and includes symbols like presents and mistletoe which are leading symbols in modern Christmas celebrations. Soon after the war, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” surfaced and served as the romantic breakthrough in the Christmas genre of music with multitudes of new romantic carols following to the present time. This genre of Pop Christmas carols has become more and more popular as opposed to traditional carols because of the absence of religious concepts. They are continually renditioned by modern artists such as Michael Bublé and Mariah Carey to continue their popularity.
The styles of Christmas music previously mentioned tend to be the most talked about because the words are simplistic enough for any American to comprehend. Because of this, the other major genre of Christmas jingles tends to be forgotten: the foreign carols. Hundreds of countries have their own Christmas anthems written in their home language reflecting their cultures and ideals. The song “Personent Hodie” dates back to the 17th century and is written in Latin; however, the melody is a German tune that dates back to 1360. The lyrics detail the nativity of Christ’s birth and the Christian gospel message of how he came to save humanity. “Feliz Navidad” originated in 1970 and is composed of Spanish lyrics intertwined with an English verse so American stations would play it. This has become one of the most popular foreign carols because of the handful of modern American artists and groups who have covered it such as Michael Buble, Celine Dion, and the Glee cast. Although Feliz Navidad’s composer, Jose Feliciano, is blind, his song inspires the listener to sing joyfully of Christmas “from the bottom of [their] heart”. Although Hawaii is part of the United States, the Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka” consists of primarily English lyrics along with the Hawaiian-dialect translation of “Merry Christmas” and reflects the ideal that kindness and genuinity should be demonstrated during this time of year. The carol speaks of hope for a bright and joyful Christmas and mentions that “Mele kalikimaka” (Merry Christmas) is the proper way to send a warm Christmas greeting in the Hawaiian culture.
Many would argue that the best part of Christmas is the family traditions or the gift giving, but this season would not be nearly as enjoyable without its music. Christmas music has motivated people throughout history to keep fighting and to stay hopeful, it brought romantic appeal to the season, it altered the concept of a strictly religious holiday to a secular celebration that anyone can partake in, and it created cultural ideals for the holiday season all around the world. Music embodies Christmas as a whole; Christmas is not something tangible. It can not be touched or explicitly seen. Christmas is an atmosphere. In literature, an atmosphere is described as the feeling, emotion, or mood set by the writer. In this case, songwriters like Jose Feliciano or Joseph Mohr set the mood and allow listeners to feel the emotion of Christmastime. The role of Christmas music is to set a tone that pertains exclusively to the euphoric and elated mood of the festive holiday. This is exactly what makes music the most essential part of a Christmas celebration. One can have as many presents, decorations and tangible items he/she wants, but that is not what matters. What matters is the most effective way to bring about a joyous atmosphere: Christmas music.
Christmas music bridges a gap between dozens of different genres and proves enjoyable for any music taste. Although Christmas music branches from traditional to pop to foreign, every carol reflects the ideals of enjoying a happy Christmas season. Like the holiday itself, Christmas music is not exclusionary. It provides songs for every possible moment of the holiday celebration. This proves to be true through the multiple centuries and cultures Christmas music has spread to. Every Christian-based culture has their own way of celebrating Christmas including different traditions, foods and occasions. Despite their differences they all have one thing in common: music.