Christmas never had a bigger fan than me. I’m very often slightly blue at Christmas because I miss my father or someone I would have liked to spend the holidays with me. But overall, time for those movies, those mulled wines and THOSE SONGS is just great news. Yes, yes, the birth of our Lord, that’s great piece of news, but those songs…! I started Christmas on November 12 this year with my tree and playlist, and kept saying “oh wow, this is my favorite Christmas song” because they’re just all so good. But now, a day after, it’s time to settle this. THESE are the best songs for Christmas:
1.Darlene Love – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
This song is perfect. It works for a blue Christmas and Christmas cheer. The lyrics are sad and relatable, the melody a holiday banter parade. That key change makes me shiver. I can sing my pipes out when doing this one. I’m imagining a 90s New York Christmas movie when hearing this, the woman running towards a man, kissing him in the snow under a mistletoe. In other words: I’m imagining a cheesy 90s Christmas movie that’s only acceptable in the season of love. And Darlene Love’s best song is going to be relevant for all of time. There isn’t a single holiday that we don’t miss someone once we’ve reached a certain age. So, without being sad, I can sing this cheerful song that’s really about missing somebody. Because I do, of course…
2.Christmas Canon
I don’t know what I remember when I hear Christmas Canon but my heart is filled with those early childhood memories that hurt like hell when you just begin being an adult. I had a very rough start into adulthood. At 16, I was left on my own in the States, no longer being able to do what children do: go home and cry to my daddy. A year later, I didn’t even have one. I often missed being a child and was not ready to grow up. Christmas Canon always reminds me of that. It’s a song from children, for children, and Christmas is a time for children; maybe that’s why my heart feels funny when I hear it. It’s easier these days, my heart no longer hurts, because I’m so flipping happy to be grown up. Nevertheless, one day, I think, this feeling will come back. Maybe I’ll miss being in my 20s. I find it highly likely with the life I’m living…
3.Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power of Love
One of my earliest childhood memories is my father giving us a computer for Christmas. We were in the attic, setting up Windows 95. The computer was going to change our lives, we didn’t even know how much yet. On the radio, this song came on, and for the first time in my life, I remember, a song almost made me cry. I didn’t understand a word because I didn’t speak English but the melody was so heartbreaking to me. That was one of my happiest moments of my life, I was so excited about the computer, and all of my family was together. Today, I understand this song, which makes it no less special. I genuinely believe that love is the best thing in the world and that it can “clean the soul”. One of the reasons I never got married is the following line; I want nothing short of this in my life before I’d consider doing that:
“I'll protect you from the hooded claw
Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down
I'll be around with my undying
Death defying love for you
Envy will hurt itself”
4.Oh Holy Night
My favorite of all the traditional songs is definitely Oh Holy Night. Sure, I really don’t care so much when Jesus was born, knowing there’s only a one in 365 chance it really was December 25, but this is what we grow up believing. If I ever have children, I would love for them to live Christmas the way I did when I was a kid although. This song is this early memory of singing along to the English Christmas songs I liked so much, only understanding “Jesus” and “Christmas”. Then, I believed, one day my own kids would be singing this song. And right now, if I have kids, it looks very much like they will.
5.Shakin Stevens – Merry Christmas Everyone
In uni, this was the last song that would come on at the Union before we started our break. The big Friday Christmas Party would play this song at 2.27am, the lights came on right after. And then, we were all hugging and kissing as we parted ways for that year. This memory is so wonderful because it is the essence of Christmas: being together, counting blessings and enjoying each other’s company. Sure, I was also very, very tipsy but that’s not what made the moment. I hope I will never take for granted that I was lucky enough to have those friends that I missed while I was in Germany for two weeks and that I had something to come “home” to – after I had gone home.
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