Sitecolumn #43

Last Christmas, I heard this song                                                        

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…’’ The chances are high that you read the first sentence in the melodic style of Andy Williams. Christmas songs: most people either love it or hate it. When you enter November you can be certain about one thing: the Christmas songs are back on the radio. But what is actually all the fuzz about these songs? How come that some people turn into the Grinch, while others are listening to these tracks as soon as the summer vacation is over?

For most people it is about the cosy warm feeling that light them up. November also means: the leaves are slowly falling down, the temperature drops and above all, never-ending rain. If autumn is not your favourite season, you need something to look forward to. For decades the same Christmas old-timers are played over and over again. No wonder that it lingers a nostalgic feeling. Whether you like it or not. Maybe it reminds you of that awkward Christmas dinner with your family. The one where you were slightly drunk, while wearing that ugly Christmas sweater you got from your granny.

Can you even imagine a Christmas without Wham! or the extravagant vocals of Mariah Carey? Maybe it is not your cup of tea, but it is part of the Christmas spirit. Unfortunately, there are not many new Christmas songs next to the classics. It would not harm anyone if artists compose contemporary tunes that gets just as popular as the common ones. If that is not happening you can always dig a bit deeper in the holy bucket of Christmas songs. There probably may even be some dusty forgotten songs left. ‘Cause can we not all agree that jingle bells secretly just rock?

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