Today is the first day that I will willingly listen to Christmas music. I just feel like December 1st is soon enough and I want to enjoy the music, not dread it. In celebration of Christmas music today I offer up a collection of stories behind some of the Christmas songs we all know and love. The book is Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins. Although published by Zondervan it contains secular as well as religious tunes. It is available as a hardback or for Kindle.
A total of 31 songs are featured, enough to read one a day for the whole month of December if you choose. You could also use the story along with a song that you sing together as a family or teach to your children. I appreciated the text of the songs included in this book, while I still remember the melody the words have dimmed through the years.
One example from the book is the story of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a well known song in the late 40's and early 50's. It is not quite as popular today as it was when it was featured in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis at the end of World War II. Judy Garland, who sang the song in the film, pushed the writers to make a more positive statement in the song because of her experiences singing to G. I.'s. They did the re-write and the song became famous.
Other songs include: Angels We Have Heard On High, Jingle Bells, O Holy Night, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and one of my personal favorites Silver Bells.
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