FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG

WELL....

A few days ago, mw middle daughter Becky "tagged" me. She did that once before, and I thought my, err, unusual reaction to it had cured her of evr doing it again.
Guess not. Hmmmmm..

Anyways, this time it was really a pretty easy request. At least you'd think so.
She asked us to name our favorite Christmas song.
Now, how hard can that be??

Well..I've given it a lot of thought. probably way too much thought, actually! And, I have to answer on a few different levels.

When I was a kid, about twelve or so, I was a member of a Choir that sung at midnight mass each year. It was a surreal experience for a kid that age, being up so late, in a dark surrounded church, dressed in a red cassock and white surplus, a stiff tight starched collar...
We'd wait for what seemed like hours to go on, strangely hushed by the strange magic of the moment.
As we entered the church to sing, the priest would begin to come up the aisle, swinging an incense burner...then the music would start, gigantic organ tones, shivers up my spine..

From those nights, my favorite Christmas song would definitely be "Angels We Have Heard On High" which would always prove impossible for me to sing correctly. I always ran out of air during the "Gloria" part. Always.
Still, that song carried the magic of Christmas, straight to my heart.

Later, many years later, actually, another song would distinguish itself in my mind. For ever, I tried to get my wife, Deb, to join in some kind of christmas activity with the family. Singing activity, that is..
Y'see, Becky and Jess had sung with me for years, in church, and even at the Cazenovia Winter Festival. It was a lot of fun for us, and I always hoped Deb would be a part of it. Well, one year, and I can't even begin to tell you how, I talked her into singing on stage with me. We were to open up the show that year, and together we sang "Winter Wonderland". The crowd loved her, and that song earned a special place in my heart from then on.

"Ave Maria" has a deep beauty that never fails to move me.

Finally, on a most basic note, the song "Silent Night", being the prayer that it truly is, always makes me feel closer to God.

So, Bean, there you have it. I know I gave you a lot more than you asked for, but, that's what you get for tagging your old dad again.

Bet you won't do that again!!

YOU GET THE POINT!!