Thanksgiving is long gone, and Christmas carols have been bringing cheer over the air waves for several weeks now.
Some of you eager beavers started before Thanksgiving. "Fa-la-la-la-la to the nth power" is your war cry. We all know how special you are. Bless your hearts.
However, I can understand why so many want to start the season early.
There's just something about Christmas. While many of us are running around like looney birds trying to buy up all the merchandise, out-decorate the neighbors, plan the perfect holiday party and find that perfect present, we're still somehow moved to be nicer to our fellow man. (News flash: That perfect present doesn't exist, people! Just get them something thoughtful.)
Why we aren't moved to be kinder year round, I don't know. After all, if we believe Jesus is the reason for the season, why aren't we following the Sermon on the Mount a little more closely all year long? OK, OK. Some of us do, but there's no mass, cultural movement to behave this way, except at Christmas. It seems to permeate the air.
It's especially enhanced by the music of the season.
I love Christmas songs as much as the next person.
I like 'em sappy. Cue Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."
I like 'em cheerful. I rock around that Christmas tree along with Brenda Lee every year. And what would a Christmas be without hearing Burl Ives sing "Holly Jolly Christmas?"
I like 'em sassy. Bring on the Brian Setzer Orchestra!
I especially love the religious carols. I have many favorites, including "Mary, Did You Know?"
I even like novelty songs: "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" and "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' for Christmas" are favorites, and I still play my Looney Tunes and Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas albums.
Christmas is so special, most musicians have at least one Christmas album in their repertoires. And no matter how traditional their choices, we always buy them.
How many versions of "O Holy Night" do you own? I'm not even going to try to count mine.
I finally made a rule for myself. The recently purchased album has to contain either new or at least unfamiliar Christmas songs or traditional songs performed in a unique manner. Barbra Streisand over-enunciating every syllable does NOT count. The innovative a capella group Pentatonix does.
I believe that, given the holiday, the songs should reflect a special kind of joy, and most do.
There is one song, however, that I hate, loathe and despise with every fiber in my being-"Christmas Shoes."
It's one thing to tell a genuinely moving story, but this one just seems sadistic in its manipulation. I know the song has its fans. They smile that sappy smile, burble on about how sweet it is, and always end their remarks with "such a sad story. Doesn't it make you want to cry?" And then they beam. They BEAM.
My inner grinch usually tries to claw its way to the fore, but I manage to refrain from punching anyone.
Of course that horrible song makes me want to cry. The song is about a little boy trying to buy some shoes for his mother, who is dying. He's hoping she can wear them before she dies, but if not, he wants her to "look beautiful if mama meets Jesus tonight." The child doesn't have enough money, so the storyteller pays for the shoes. And it supposedly changes his life. His heart grows two sizes, blah, blah, blah.
It spawned a book and two movies. It really did.
As someone who has lost loved ones, I find the song offensive. It doesn't make me feel all warm, religious and Christmas-y. It just reinforces a feeling of loss.
Listening to that song is like reading every single sad book Nicholas Sparks ever wrote (which is to say all of them). In fact, the songwriter and Sparks share a common technique-a great dosing of schmaltz.
There's enough negative news going on in the world today. Why add more sorrow?
Christmas is the perfect time to follow the English carol "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman." It means "God keep or make you joyful."
This is the season of joy, with a message of hope for everyone.
Let's appreciate the "tidings of comfort and joy" and "let nothing you dismay"-especially "Christmas Shoes."