A reader question:
Hello Muffy,
May I ask the readership a question or two please. As we aproach December and the Christmas festivities, what are the readers (a) favourite carol and (b) their favourite Christmas song. For me they would be O Holy Night and Elvis singing Blue Christmas. Also may I ask the readers opinions on Christmas sweaters. My wife is a fan but I'm not (I'm too stuffy)., although I will wear a Christmas tie.
Best wishes
Memories arise from every Last Vespers before Christmas break during boarding schools days. Many young male voices accompanied by faculty and their wives: 'O Come All Ye Faithful', 'It Came Upon A Midnight Clear', 'Joy To The World', 'The First Noel', and the last one - 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'.
ReplyDelete"Good King Wenceslas" / "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" / I love over-the-top holiday garments.
ReplyDelete"Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4prtgHhBR4
ReplyDeleteAlways beautiful. One of my favorite Christmas Songs. (Michael Praetorious (1571 - 1621).
DeleteAnd of all the fine comments below this youtube video, I think the short one - ("Nun, das ist gut, um Ihre Nerven zu beruhigen" - Now, that is good to calm your nerves) sums it up best. Especially suitable, and welcome in the uncalm present.
And moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, I still am amused by "I want a Hippopotamous for Christmas," from a now unrecognizable past America - 1953 - sung by 10-year old Gayla Peevey:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP-TPCs9Fj8
In 1953 I lived in Oklahoma City, was 11, liked younger women so I was enamored with Gayla, and at Christmas time somehow figured out where she lived, bought a box of candy, and conned my mother into driving me to Gayla's house. She was there, accepted the box of candy, didn't invite me into the house, and that was my one and only glimpse of Gayla Peavey. I still cringe every year when I hear "I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas."
DeleteSmall world indeed. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you and your family.
DeleteMy favorite carol is fittinglt "Carol of the Bells" and favorite Christmas song is Leroy Anderson's version of "Sleigh Ride".
ReplyDeleteI love these two!
DeleteSleigh Ride always reminds me of going to hear the Atlanta Symphony with my school.
DeleteThe Pogues: Fairytale of New York ( of course )
ReplyDeleteAh yes, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the Pogues
Delete"Last Christmas" by Wham
ReplyDeleteJulia here. I am not fond of the Christmas "novelty" sweaters, but I do love my red, white, and green cashmere fair isle. I've had it for years.
ReplyDelete"Silent Night"... love the recorded version from the small country church in Austria accompanied by guitar... Not a fan of Christmas sweaters...
ReplyDeleteI Heard the Bells on Christmas Morning, a Longfellow poem put to music. James Taylor's recording of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. For more traditional Christmas music Once in Royal David City and Carol of the Bells.
ReplyDeleteNo Christmas jumpers for us, however they were on full gloriously tacky display on uni kids in Dublin this past week while we were visiting.
I'll second "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" as favorite song. Favorite carol is "Silent Night."
ReplyDeleteNovelty sweaters (and ties) are a no. Although, as another reader suggested, tasteful seasonal garments can be lovely. My (the-thing-before-preppy) grandfather wore a pair of red and grey wool flannel trousers on Christmas mornings. While I would not wear something like that, he pulled it off with taste and style. The Andover Shop carries a scarlet and green repp tie that I have my eye on for this year's festivities.
Advent is my favorite liturgical season, so my playlist of all the Windham Hill A Winter's Solstice collections, most of the old Nature Company samplers, and collections from James Taylor, Dan Fogelberg, Loreena McKennitt, and others are in heavy rotation. "Good King Wenceslas," "In the Bleak Midwinter," "The Holly & the Ivy," "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel," "Carol of the Bells," and many other ancient and traditional carols are my favorites. I have an abundance of sweaters, but no "Christmas" sweaters. My L.L. Bean Norwegian fisherman's sweater and a Pendleton sweater my parents gave me almost 40 years ago are among my Yuletide favorites.
ReplyDeleteFor the first Monday in Advent today, our noon bells rang, "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel." It was a very nice reminder that the season has officially changed while eating my lunch.
DeleteWhile I don't really like novelty clothing of any sort, a guy at our church has a full suit made in Dress Stuart that he always wears on Christmas Eve. To me it's very celebratory without being gauche. It helps that it's well tailored.
That must have been wonderful! I'm unsure of what tartan it is, but I have a Christmassy Pendleton robe and a buffalo plaid shirt. Buffalo plaid has become a popular Christmas theme.
DeleteVery hard to beat those two offered by the poster of the question. Both classics. Wrote a self-pub about 6 of my Southern, Depression era aunts and one chapter was titled “I’ll Have a Blue Christmas Without You,” b/c my mom told me her sister, the subject of that chapter, always cried when she heard that song. Personally, I enjoy “O Come All Ye Faithful” for Spiritual and have really become fond of “All I Want for Christmas” of late. Great question. JDV
ReplyDeleteThere are many lovely traditional carols, but Stille Nacht (Silent Night) sung in German has to be the most beautiful melody (to me). Agreed with the previous "No" on novelty ties/sweaters but some of those made by Dale of Norway work well in a holiday context as do many tartan neckties and bow ties. I'm wearing just such a sweater right now, primarily navy and dark red with cream accents. Enjoy it all winter, but it is most at home in late November and December. Probably a tartan tie of some kind for back to work tomorrow (Monday) morning, December 2nd.
ReplyDeleteKind Regards,
H-U
My favorite carol is "In the Bleak Midwinter," written by the English poet Christina Rossetti.
ReplyDeleteChristmas apparel doesnt appeal to me but I wear my Royal Stewart scarf throughout December.
Carol of the Bells, and Sleigh Ride! Proven winners! Thanks once again!
ReplyDelete^^ We must be related !^^
DeleteI love "Silent Night" but not in German obviously.
ReplyDeleteChristmas sweater is something coming rather from Anglosas culture I guess so no, no sweaters, rather more formal attire (unless we go for ice-skating on a frozen lake...)
But I do hope very much that the sweaters from BOSIE which we bought for our teenage son, will hold 40 years (just like the ones from Keith Baker comment)...
Happy Advent everyone!
Barking Jingle Bells and In the Bleak Midwinter top my list. I detest the maudlin songs so popular in the thirties and forties. I also detest Christmas novelty sweaters. I love Shetlands in most any color, natural silver and natural grey being my favorites.
ReplyDeleteAs the O.P. I've early given the wrong impression about what my wife and I consider a Christmas sweater and a Christmas tie. Neither would be considered "novelty". I'll leave it to the readers imagination as to what they are!
ReplyDeleteI like the Dona Nobis but as for Christmas "songs" I get all I need at the local mall. Holiday dress should be festive -- for men, green or red cords with or without embroidery, or tartan flannels, maybe a Christmas tie, and so forth. No whimsical sweaters.
ReplyDeleteThose listed in the first comment from Vespers at boarding school and songs from the various Oxford and Cambridge College choruses. My favorite holiday sweater is an old green Pendleton reindeer.
ReplyDelete(a) O Holy Night sung by a proper choir. (b) Toss-up between Ella Fitzgerald's cover of Sleigh Ride and Otis Redding's cover of White Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThough not necessarily Christmas themed, I have defaulted the last few years to my cream colored Irish fisherman's sweater.
I have a few sweaters that have the holiday theme to them. They are over 30 yrs old or almost that old. They are Michael Simon and one of them has Nutcrackers on it. I don't understand the "Ugly" Christmas sweater but there are some with taste and those are fine.
ReplyDeleteAn incredibly beautiful Christmas hymn is "A Stable Lamp is Lighted" with words from a poem of Richard Wilbur. First heard it at years ago at a Williams College Christmas service.
ReplyDelete“Joy to the World” sung by a choir as congregants file out of the church on Christmas Eve. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” A tartan/plaid tie with green and red influences is a Christmas gift to myself. I bought it at a rummage sale at the Protestant Center across the street from Luxembourg Gardens last Saturday. I’ll likely wear it a couple of times this month. And I’ll be certain to wear it on the day that marks time.
ReplyDeleteChristmas albums we have on repeat are Vienna Boys Choir, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, Windham Hill, and Loreena McKennitt. Not a fan of ugly sweaters, but partial to tartan and fair isle.
ReplyDeleteI like some of the traditional carols like "Silent Night", "O Holy Night", and "The Holly and the Ivy", as well as the medieval carols in the manner sung by Loreena McKennitt and by Sting. I also like jazzy renditions of the carols, whether vocal or instrumental. The Manhattan Transfer CD has been a favorite for over 30 years. However, the CD that really makes me want to sit in winter silence, stillness, and wonderment is John Rutter's (and the Cambridge Singers) Christmas album. I particularly love ("What Sweeter Music" (https://youtu.be/yckjpO1vvnE?si=JGVwX-xqmAFY9IOV). I tend to play it over a few times as midnight on Christmas Eve approaches.
ReplyDeleteI forgot to add that I am not a fan of ugly Christmas sweaters. My boss used to request that everyone in her department wear them for our Christmas lunches and I yielded to this one Christmas with an embroidered Westie terrier on a navy background (so I actually wasn't the worst offender!), but I do find the whole concept off-putting and corny, specially if repeated every year. Over the last couple of years, I've acceded to the boss' request by wearing my Fair Isle sweaters.
ReplyDeleteA terrible oversight on my part: The Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is an integral part of our Advent and Christmas celebrations. We listen to various recordings and do our best to listen to the live BBC broadcast from King's College, Cambridge. At my urging, our church uses the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols as one of our seasonal services. We usually visit my mother in Rome, Georgia, for Christmas and attend the Christmas Eve services in the parish where I grew up - St. Peter's, Rome (it's always fun to say I grew up attending church at St. Peter's, Rome).
ReplyDelete