Tag Archives: Song

O Holy Night

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“O Holy Night” (especially when sung by Collin Raye) is my all time favorite Christmas song. This time, I’ll simply post the lyrics. Merry Christmas!

O Holy Night
by Placide Cappeau
O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine , O night divine!
O night divine, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
The Twelfth Day of Christmas

All I Want for Christmas Is You

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Okay, so this is my guilty pleasure Christmas song…Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Don’t tell me you don’t sing and dance along when it comes on in the car, I know you do. One of the great things about this song is you only hear it one month of the year so you don’t get sick of it.
I actually went out this year and bought Mariah Carey’s Christmas CD. I get one new Christmas CD each year, as well as one new decoration. It’s actually a decent CD. Plus, I can play “All I Want for Christmas Is You” whenever I want.
I’ll post my favorite two songs on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. What songs do you think I should have included?
12 Days of Christmas, Day 10

Where Are You, Christmas?

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You may not be familiar with this next song, but it is from the Grinch movie. It’s a super cute song sung by Cindy Lou Who, the main character who interacts with the Grinch. Faith Hill has also sung a version of it, but it is better when a child sings it.

In the movie, Cindy Lou Who sings the song because the marvels of Christmas seem to have changed. Now that she is older and realizes that not everything is rosy, she has a hard time dealing with the superficiality of Christmas.

In the movie it is the spirit of Christmas that is the central theme of the holiday rather than the commercialism and flashing lights. But what is that spirit of Christmas? Dr. Seuss seems to think that it is within man (or Whos in this case) himself. This still comes off as shallow.

The spirit of Christmas is not some moral tale about giving is better than receiving or some idea about man being inherently good. No, the spirit of Christmas is in THE event of Christmas, the coming of the Messiah.

To view the spirit of Christmas as anything less is to cheapen it by sugar-coating it or wrapping it in silver paper. All the glitz is completely hollow without the true meaning.


12 Days of Christmas, Day 8

What Christmas Means to Me

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The next song on my favorite Christmas song list is “What Christmas Means to Me” by Stevie Wonder. I love how upbeat it is and have been known to sing it in the car (but only by myself).
There’s just one thing. Stevie Wonder got it all wrong. Christmas is not about candles, carols, or cards. The true meaning of Christmas has nothing to do with mistetoe (which is only a parasite), lights, holly, or angel hair (man, that stuff hurts).
No. Christmas is about Christ. The whole reason we celebrate this beautiful holiday is because of Him. The mere fact that God humbled Himself by being born a mere man is a miracle. That’s why Christmas is so special, not because of the pretty decorations or the petty rituals.
This is something that I hope to remember over the next week, and I hope you will ponder it as well. Merry Christmas!

12 Days of Christmas, Day 7

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch

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Ah, now THIS is a holiday classic. Who can have Christmas with the Grinch? This song is not only fun, it is full of clever lyrics. That just brightens my day.
Growing up, every Friday after Thanksgiving we would decorate the house for Christmas. This would culminate with decorating the downstairs Christmas tree (the one with all the memories), ordering pizza, and watching a Christmas movie (usually the original Grinch, Rudolph, and/or Frosty). This is one of my favorite memories.
Unfortunately, times have changed and my brother and I no longer help with decorating. (You wouldn’t expect us to actually WORK when we were home for a couple of days, would you?) Things changed even more when my parents moved into a new house.
So to end this touching memory I want to leave you with this:
“You’re a three decker saurkraut and toadstool sandwich…with arsenic sauce.”
Now that’s an insult.

Mary Did You Know

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I have learned that the readers of this blog are as athletically challenged as I. That’s why we sit around and type what we hope are witty and insightful posts and comments, right?
I really like the song “Mary Did You Know” because it links Jesus’s birth to His work, death, and resurrection. So many songs at Christmastime give a simple picture of Jesus’s birth as if He were merely royalty. Worshiping Jesus is definitely warranted, but we also should view His work on our behalf with awe. He deserves all the more praise for willingly forsaking the joys of heaven for the sorrow, frusteration, and weakness of humanity which is wholly undeserving.
By forgetting the awesomeness of the incarnation of Jesus Christ, deity taking on flesh, we are prone to the commercialization of Christmas. Remembering the reason why we celebrate Christmas helps to keep all the hustle and bustle in perspective.

Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy

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Another one of my favorite Christmas songs is the Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker. It’s a great tune, both light and substantive as only classical music can be.
I remember going to see the Nutcracker performed as a child. I loved it. I’ve always enjoyed plays and ballet (singular, because I think this is the only one I’ve been to).
A little known fact is that I actually took ballet class for 2 years in middle school. Yeah, I know that is surprising as I have neither the body type nor the classic femininity and poise associated with the dance. Really, it was just a fun form of exercise to take the place of gymnastics. I’ve never excelled at any sport, or in this case dance, that I tried: soccer, gymnastics, basketball, ballet, or tennis. Though that didn’t stop me from dreaming of representing America in the 1996 or 2000 Olympics!
What is something that you wished you had excelled at when you were a kid? Is there something you had aspirations of being but not the abilities?
12 Days of Christmas, Day 3

Let There Be Peace on Earth

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For 12 days in the month of December, I’m going to give you 12 days of Christmas or in other words my 12 favorite Christmas songs. These will be both secular and Christian. Along with the song title I’ll give you some background on why it is special to me.
The first song I will mention is “Let There Be Peace on Earth” as sung by Vince Gill. This song particularly struck my fancy when I first got his Christmas CD probably 15 years ago. I thought it was cool because his daughter Jenny, who sings on the track, is about my age.
I don’t agree entirely with the lyrics, but I think it makes a good point. If I want there to be peace on earth, I first have to be right with God. I should walk in harmony with my brothers and sisters, but unfortunately not all have chosen to become sons and daughters of the King yet.
I hope you enjoy this little bit for December! Commiting to blog 12 days in a month is not nearly as big as commiting to blog everyday!
12 Days of Christmas, Day 1