{"id":304,"date":"2007-12-27T01:01:49","date_gmt":"2007-12-27T01:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2007\/12\/favorite-holiday-songs-section-1.html"},"modified":"2007-12-27T01:01:49","modified_gmt":"2007-12-27T01:01:49","slug":"favorite-holiday-songs-section-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2007\/12\/favorite-holiday-songs-section-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Favorite Holiday Songs (Section 1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 3 in the series: More Christmas Carol Surprises<\/em>
\nPermalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nI can still remember the moment many years ago when my youth leader at church said, \u201cYou know, ‘Jingle Bells’ really isn\u2019t a Christmas carol. It\u2019s more of a winter song.\u201d I was stunned. This had never occurred to me before. I quickly went through the lyrics of \u201cJingle Bells\u201d in my head, only to realize for the first time that this fun song really said nothing about Christmas at all. It mentioned neither the secular nor the spiritual aspects of the holiday. For the first time in life, I received a \u201cChristmas carol surprise.\u201d A song I knew and loved turned out to be something different from what I had assumed it to be.
\nI\u2019ve since learned that \u201cJingle Bells\u201d has a few more surprises to offer. It was written in the mid-1800\u2019s by a church organist, James Pierpoint. It was first performed, not in a Christmas service, but in a Thanksgiving program<\/em> at Pierpoint\u2019s church. There\u2019s actually quite a hot debate<\/a> over where Pierpoint actualy wrote \u201cJingle Bells.\u201d People from the city in Georgia where the song was first performed claim he wrote it there. But folk from Medford, Massachusetts, where Pierpoint lived before moving south, claim he wrote his famous jingle in a town tavern.
\nIn my last post I mentioned my rough and ready distinction between religious Christmas carols and secular carols or holiday songs like “Jingle Bells.” Of course many holiday songs mention Christmas, but almost never as a religious holiday. I\u2019m not complaining about this, by the way, just mentioning it. I happen to think that many of the secular Christmas traditions are wonderful (putting up Christmas lights, eating festive food, getting together with friends and family, etc.). Songs that commemorate these traditions can also be delightful, even if they\u2019re not spiritually edifying. (Here I part company with my Reformed and Puritan theological ancestors, who disliked Christmas carols in general, and despised the secular songs as contradictory to the solemnity of the birth of Christ.) (Photo: My wife and son during one of my favorite family traditions, our an annual walk around Balboa Island (Newport Beach) to see the decorated homes. We missed the boat parade this year because we were in Texas. But we’ll still get the lights.) <\/span>
\nIf you\u2019ll grant my distinction between religious carols and holiday songs, then let me ask you: What are your favority holiday songs? Which holiday songs do you love the most? (I addressed religious carols in my last post.)
\nBefore I answer this question for myself, I want to make a prediction about your answer: You will choose several songs written in America between 1932 and 1952.<\/em> In fact, it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if most or all of your choices fall into this category. Now I\u2019m not psychic or anything like that. But I do know that the majority of our most popular holiday songs today were written in that time frame, including \u201cWhite Christmas\u201d (1942), \u201cThe Christmas Song\u201d (\u201cChestnuts roasting\u201d, 1946), and \u201cRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer\u201d (1949).
\nIt strikes me as notable that so few of our favorite holiday songs were written in the last forty years. So far I\u2019ve been able to identify only these: \u201cWe Need a Little Christmas\u201d (Jerry Herman, 1966), \u201cThis Christmas\u201d (Donny Hathaway and Nadine McKinnor, 1968), \u201cFeliz Navidad\u201d (Jos\u00e9 Feliciano, 1970), \u201cHappy Christmas\u201d (John Lennon, 1971),\u201d \u201cWonderful Christmastime\u201d (Paul McCartney, 1979). (Note: As of 2007, “Do They Know It’s Christmas” has been growing in popularity. It was written in 1984 to raise money for Ethiopian famine relief. Check out a Youtube video here<\/a>.) If you have any other suggestions, please let me know<\/a>. Obviously it takes time for songs to become popular, not to mention old favorites. But I don\u2019t see many recent songs on this trajectory. Why not, I wonder?
\nOne could argue that many of the songs from the 1930s-1950s era were promoted through movies, and that would certainly be true. Just take Bing Crosby\u2019s \u201cWhite Christmas,\u201d for example, which was featured in the 1942-film Holiday Inn<\/em>. But there are lots of movies today with Christmas themes. Do they feature new holiday songs on their way to becoming classics? I don\u2019t think so. In fact most of these movies tend to feature the older songs, though they may be re-recorded by younger singers. Take the recent Christmas hit Elf<\/a><\/em>. Its songs are almost all from the 1930s-1950s. (Here’s a strange bit of trivia. The soundtrack for Elf<\/em><\/a> was composed by John Debney, who also composed the soundtrack for The Passion of the Christ<\/em><\/a>. Now there’s some diversity!)
\nWhat explains the tendency of today’s films to use older music? I\u2019m sure nostalgia has something to do with it. When we hear Nat King Cole\u2019s rendition of \u201cThe Christmas Song\u201d we not only enjoy this song as a piece of music but also it generates fond memories of times gone by, at least for many of us. But I don\u2019t think nostalgia solves completely the riddle of no new music. I\u2019m inclined to believe that it\u2019s also about the change in America since the early 60\u2019s. Vietnam, Watergate, the sexual revolution, and so forth had an impact on the soul of America. We lost our romanticism, for better or for worse. We became more realistic, more cynical, more unwilling simply to enjoy smelling \u201cchestnuts roasting on an open fire.\u201d Most of the holiday music from decades past is very romantic. It\u2019s all about happiness, beauty, love, and Christmas magic. Winter isn\u2019t a time when homeless people struggle to find shelter or lonely people fall into deep depression. Rather, the older music celebrates \u201cJack Frost nipping at your nose\u201d as you walk through a \u201cwinter wonderland,\u201d enjoying a \u201cwhite Christmas\u201d while crying out \u201cLet it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!\u201d
\nThanks to ASCAP (The Amercian Society of Composers and Publishers), we don’t have to guess which Christmas songs (not carols) are the most popular. They keep records of things like this. In my next post I’ll put up the most recent results of the ASCAP survey, and note some changes between 2004 and 2007. Meanwhile, you might find it fun to make a list of your own favorite Christians songs and see how many of the top 25 you can come up with on your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 3 in the series: More Christmas Carol Surprises Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series I can still remember the moment many years ago when my youth leader at church said, \u201cYou know, ‘Jingle Bells’ really isn\u2019t a Christmas carol. It\u2019s more of a winter song.\u201d I was stunned. This had never…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas-carols"],"yoast_head":"\nFavorite Holiday Songs (Section 1) - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}