Christmas Songs

Today my sweet grandmother would have turned 97 years old. Thinking of this anniversary of her birth and all my wonderful memories of her has led me to thinking of other happy, positive things. Due to the mysterious alchemy of brain chemistry, my memories turned to thoughts of my favorite childhood Christmas songs.

The absolute top favorite Christmas record (yes record, not cassette or 8 track, but real, live records) was the Chipmunk Christmas album. I was given this when I was five, and it was instant love. I played that thing incessantly on my parent's turntable. I firmly believe my love affair with Simon (so nerdy and such cute glasses!) and this album directly led to me receiving my own small turntable when I was six. Then I played that album almost daily through January, singing along. My parents hung on to that record for a long time. By the time I was in high school, my parents had overcome their aversion to the album (or they enjoyed watching my roll my eyes to the album I had once loved) and insisted it wasn't Christmas without playing it at least once. I miss our old turntable for that album (and my Sound of Music album) more than anything.

Another favorite Christmas record from this time was an Elvis Christmas album I believe I inherited from my parents. I would play "Blue Christmas" for seemingly hours on end, lost in the music. I think I put myself into some sort of zen, Elvisy trance, sitting on the floor, staring at the spinning turntable and becoming on with the album.

I was also a hug fan of Anne Murray as a kid. I am not quite sure how that happened. The first concert I ever saw was Anne Murray (how I wish I could say it was something cool like Vanilla Ice or Aerosmith). I had the Anne Murray Christmas cassette (I had graduated to a cassette player by then). I loved "Christmas in Killarney" and played that song repeatedly. I would play it, sing along, then rewind, spending 10 minutes trying to get to the exact beginning of the song, and then begin the process all over again. I still even know some of the words ("The holly green/the ivy green/the prettiest green you've ever seen/It's Christmas in Killarney and all of the folks at home...It's nice to know you can kiss you beau while standing beneath the mistletoe/I handing you no blarney...").

And so, as we enter this last week before Christmas, I am going to try to track these songs down so I can play them for my kids. There is nothing like singing at the top of your lungs to your favorite songs in front of your kids. The best part is that I will be adding new memories to my fond remembrances of these songs.