Shortly after I tuck a plate of turkey under a blanket of plastic wrap … and before I place a wreath of holly on my front door, I set my Pandora station to “Angela’s Christmas Favorites.”
In fact, Christmas music is first on my mind as soon as I wake up on Thanksgiving morning. I am the type of girl who could listen to The First Noel year-round, but I make myself wait until the evening of Thanksgiving before I turn on the music of the season. I think I follow this rule (who came up with that one anyway?) because of the joy I get from anticipating the ambiance created by the heartwarming melodies.
While boughs of evergreens and peppermint scented candles prepare my home for the holiday season, it is the traditional Christmas music that prepares my heart. It is easier for me to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas when I am enveloped by truth … and there is so much truth and peace and love strewn throughout classics like O Holy Night, Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels Sing (among others).
Are you like me when it comes to Christmas music? Do you turn on seasonal tunes and feel transported to a world of warm and fuzzy? If so … how long do you wait until you break out the Christmas music? And when you do turn it on … what is your favorite song?
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My favorite songs have to be on an old Amy Grant CD I have. I love Christmas Music as long as it’s not just “Jingle Bells” or “White Christmas”. I want some music that tells us about Jesus’ birth.
sorry it posted so many times…Yikes!
I’m totally with you on that one! I had Christmas music playing from Pandora all day yesterday as I was papercrafting. My husband came in the door, listened for a second, then just shook his head and smiled. I could listen to it year round, too!
Too cute! My husband helped me wait until Thanksgiving was over. 🙂
I couldn’t wait for my favorite Christian radio station to start their yearly round the clock Christmas music playing the day after Thanksgiving. I work in a small ice cream shop/bakery. I do the baking. My boss, the owner, lets me play whatever I want on the radio when I’m there, so it’s great to have good Christian music playing. Yesterday was just a little different. It was Christian Christmas music. I think I did double my usually baking, what a wonderful day. 😀
I love that story, Caryn! And Christmas baking … yummmm
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I love Amy Grant’s Christmas CDs. Right now, Jaci Velasquez is singing O Little Town of Bethlehem … beautiful!
Truth be known…I enjoy listening to some songs all year long. I keep the music in the car…and sometimes just turn it on to keep the spirit flowing all year.
That is cute. You go girl!
As a singer with my local Choral Union, we have been rehearsing Christmas music since late October. We are recording a Christmas CD in one week which will be a fun experience! We perform two concerts over the following weekend. A patron last year told me that joy shines from me when I sing. That’s how much I love singing Christmas music!
i bought the new michael buble christmas cd – and have been playing it for a few weeks. i love christmas music all year long. i can’t pick just one favorite song – but i do love silent night, it brings tears to my heart.
The Christmas music starts after Thanksgiving dinner for me – one holiday at a time, but i LOVE Christmas! 🙂
I start playing Christmas music in September usually. I am a crafter and always have many Christmas crafty things to do. It helps me keep in the proper mood to work on my Christmas gifts. I love the music of Christmas. An old song called “Beautiful City” is probably my favorite.
I’m one of those silly people who could listen to the joyous sounds of Christmas music all year, but I do wait until after Thanksgiving. I think my favorite Christmas song of late is “Mary Did You Know”.
I LOVE Christmas music!! Love it! I can’t wait until Thanksgiving, I start listening before. O Holy Night is my favorite. Makes me want to fall to my knees.
This is EXACTLY what I was going to say!
Ohhh yes … O Holy Night is my all time favorite too … my current favorite version of it is by Celine Dion. Chills.
I starting listening to Christmas music on November 15th this year. Some of the staff & member of our church put out a great Christmas album called “Comfort & Joy” and fell in love with the album with the 1st listen. They are called Folk Angel & Friends and they modernize traditional Christmas music. There is even some Slam Poetry in there that tells of the story of Jesus.
I am not normally the girl who listens before Thanksgiving, but this year was an exception. Listening to their album just makes me think of Jesus!
That is awesome, Kristen.
I’m loving HOW MANY KINGS?
http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2010/12/how-many-kings.html
and WHERE’S THE LINE TO SEE JESUS?
http://creeksideministries.blogspot.com/2010/12/wheres-line-to-see-jesus.html
I’m listening to Pandora at home and in the counseling office, and CDs in the car!
The music starts right after or a tad before Halloween. That’s because our daughter is learning both piano and violin and has time to learn before recitals mid-December. I love it, the music of Christmas layered over the ambiguity of Halloween/Reformation day.
Decorating in a big way waits for after Thanksgiving though. I usually try to keep preparations for Christmas non visual so we can enjoy fall colors a bit first (where I live you have to look to find trees and ivy changing colors, but they are there). We are baking our last pumpkin this weekend and bringing the Christmas boxes in from the garage.
Oh it is so sweet to hear a child practice playing Christmas music.
Christmas music does lift my spirits and help me to focus on the reason for the season.
Blessings,
Janis
Usually I am not that early with Christmas decorations. After all we still celebrate St Nicolas this weekend, it’s where your Santa comes from actually. But I couldn’t help myself when I went to the store with mom today. We started looking for Christmas decorations, it’s really frowned upon when getting into it before our national holiday. But the wreath is on my front door, light in front of the window but I will wait to put Rudolph outside, I’ll give m that. I was so looking forward to this today that out of nowhere I started singing Christmas songs. So far they aren’t in the stores yet : ) Told you, I am early but loving it!!
Are you in Germany?
If I had my way, I’d listen to Christmas music all year long – I LOVE it! But, my kids won’t let me…. now that we’ve got some in college, we have to do the tree when they’re home for Thanksgiving, so I get away with starting my music the day after Turkey Day. Selah’s Christmas CD is one of the best I own.
Selah’s Christmas CD is my favorite also
My kids are still young enough to like it whenever, but I am sure they will be rolling their eyes at me in a few years. I love Selah’s Christmas music.
I live in Beijing right now, where the holiday season is less evident than in the States; as such, listening to Christmas music is going to be the primary way I enter into the Christmas spirit this year. I usually wait until the first Sunday of Advent to start listening, but I listen to ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ all year long. It’s my favorite Christmas hymn and always feels appropriate, no matter what time of year.
That is beautiful, Amanda. Are you in Beijing for work or ministry?
I start playing Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. Like a lot of you it is one holiday at a time for me.
My favorite song is “Little Drummer Boy”. That song speaks of using your talents to make/give a gift. Giving of yourself not just buying something from Wal-Mart.
I love Christmas music also & have certain songs on my ipod I listen to all year, try to hold off until after Thanksgiving for all other Christmas listening. Joy to World is my favorite especially the versions of Chris Tomlin & Casting Crowns
I will have to check out those versions.
Great post! Cannot turn on Christmas music until the day before Thanksgiving, and it helps get me in the spirit for Thanksgiving and all the crazy Black Friday shopping. I think any Christmas music prior to that is just crazy – despite that I love it all and the message of Christ’s birth year round. I love the joy and hustle/bustle around the holidays, and the music helps get you more into the spirit. When I’m decorating the house for the season, I HAVE to play Christmas music or it just falls flat, ya know?
My favorite song is Joy to the World and In the First Light. Love. 🙂
I love Christmas music! I also love the Thanksgiving holiday, so I don’t let myself pull out the music until the day after Thanksgiving at the earliest. I love the old traditional carols, and I’ve already got my Pandora stations set up. 🙂 This year, I’m also planning to move through Advent by posting various carols on my blog each evening. My favorites are probably “Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus”, “O Come,O Come Emmanuel” and “Joy to the World.”
Usually, starting in October, I am counting down the days to Christmas and am anxiously awaiting to listen to Christmas music right after Thanksgiving. I used to listen to Christmas music whenever our local radio station would start their Christmas station in mid-October. This year, I’ve decided to deliberately slow down and be in the present this Christmas. I too, like you, want to be enveloped in the truth and focus on the real reason for Christmas. I don’t know what is different about this year. maybe the fact that I just returned from a missions trip to Africa, moved to a new home, and was out-of-town for Thanksgiving all in one month, that my soul is being forced to slow down and take things one day at a time. I’ve found a lot more meaning in Christmas for me this year and I’m making it my goal to focus on that.