Christmas is the only season where I expect to have a soundtrack to life.
(Well, I guess my family would probably tell you I'm turning on CD's all throughout the year... as we wash dishes, eat together, clean, read, go to bed, do handwork, drive, rest, cut Dad's hair... anytime, really!)
But at Christmas, silence seems to me to be even more blank. A bit like a movie scene that should have had a hint of background music to help tell the story and engage the emotions.
Christmas carols and songs certainly help to tell the great story of CHRISTmas. To unlock the memories. To rebuild the setting for senses and experiences that have lain dormant since last year. The setting that helps us celebrate Christmas. I think they do all this, and more, in the mysterious way that music works.
No wonder there are 24-hour Christmas music stations. No wonder nearly one third of our CD collection is for Christmas. (Currently playing is one of our Canadian Brass albums.)
No wonder my piano students have always lit up when we pull out the Christmas books in November. No wonder their favorite recitals were sharing Christmas music at nursing homes.
No wonder Christmas caroling is a favorite December activity with church family - no matter how cold the wind blows. No wonder doors would open and neighbors would shiver in the draft as they listened with joy or with tears.
No wonder we take the trouble to dig out records and uncover the phonograph player each year when we set up the Christmas tree. Decorating would just not be the same without listening to Evie sing Come On, Ring Those Bells and Have You Any Room for Jesus?
And, oh! The fun of playing through our whole stack of Christmas records, including the occasional rush to fix a "stuck record."
Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky, shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song, high above the trees
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea
Noël Regney
I love Christmas music! We listen to Evie, too.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to hear of someone else who knows of Evie!
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