This week’s Think Write Thursday topic is to write about my favorite holiday tradition – what I love about it, how it started, and why it’s important to me.
So, here is my favorite holiday tradition that absolutely makes my Christmas brighter:
Christmas music – hundreds of hours of it. And, an eclectic mix of it that is heavy on English Carols, but includes Aaron Neville, James Taylor, Vince Guaraldi, and lots of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Those are the sounds of Christmas to me – but the best part of all were my mom’s Firestone Christmas Albums. And, singing along – so much singing along – loudly and with much joy! The Julie Andrews albums were my favorite. I came from a musical family, and every Christmas it feels good to be immersed in musical memories.
This pairs with the tradition above and involves more singing! But this singing is in church choir on Christmas Eve. To lift my voice in joyful song – there is nothing better in all the world. I have sung in choir since high school and cannot imagine Christmas without it.
But, what about you? Do you have any Holiday Traditions?
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I love that your favorite tradition involves not only listening but participating by singing along and singing in the choir. For me, Christmas music is almost always Handel’s Messiah. I haven’t started listening yet but in the next week or so I’ll be singing along to “All We, Like Sheep”.
The Firestone albums!!! Oh, I so loved those as a child. In fact, I think my sister and wore them out — listening over and over and over. (And just those words bring back the covers . . . each year, a new color — but always that big red bow!) I love Christmas music, too.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without the music. I have many albums on shuffle that I play in the kitchen 🙂
I can’t imagine Christmas without music! I have always sung in church choir at Midnight Mass and it is my favorite part of Christmas. Enjoy!
Christmas music brings one right into the moment and memories of the day. We were never without music our home. Just yesterday my friend and I were talking about Alvin and the Chipmunks and the fun we had as children listening to it. Talk about timeless. 🙂
We’ve always enjoyed an eclectic mix of music at the holidays, too! I think it’s the one time of year when no one judges… haha.
I love Christmas music. I am a fan of an eclectic variety of tunes. There’s always Frank and Bing, but then there are the Beach Boys-Little St. Nick, the Chipmunks-Christmas Song, Alabama-Christmas in Dixie, Bruce Springsteen-Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Elvis-Blue Christmas, and probably my favorite Christmas song ever, Jimmy Buffet-Mele Kalikimaka.
Music is important to my family’s Christmas traditions, too!
I love that you sing in your church choir (still!) – Christmas music is surely one of the most joyful sounds. My mom had a stack of Christmas albums, including Johnny Mathis (the one with him holding the skis on the cover) and Bing Crosby (with his head in the wreath). We’d put the whole pile on the stereo and listen to them pretty much on repeat for weeks. Johnny’s Winter Wonderland and Bing’s White Christmas are still two of my favorites.
We had those Firestone albums, too! My mom also played Mahalia Jackson and the Ray Conniff Singers – do you remember them? So many happy memories, I’m sure that’s why I love Christmas music so much.
We had the Firestone albums too. 🙂 I’m not a huge fan of Christmas music but I do like a week or so of it and am planning on wrapping tonight and playing some. I’m very envious that you get to sing in the choir! They would throw me right over the balcony!
Music! The brain’s emotional response is unmistakable…I concur 100% that it is a beloved tradition of Christmas…and life.
Cheers~
Christmas music really sets the “tone” for the holidays! We have a local station that plays all kinds of holiday music from Thanksgiving until Christmas Day-always a nice selection