Comments on: In which I hate on vapid Christmas songs caterwauling for some inchoate “Peace”

By: lee

lee — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:55:34 +0000

Ed Ames’s “Oh, Holy Night!” It is THE best.

By: pst314

pst314 — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 22:46:23 +0000

A pithy rejoinder to pacifist wishful thinking:
“You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you.”

By: Kevin_B

Kevin_B — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:30:27 +0000

I don’t really have a favorite Christmas Carol; I haven’t ever paid much attention to Christmas Carols. But I do not object too, nor dislike Christmas Carols. I don’t mind hearing them or hearing about them at all. Neither do I mind any other display of Christmas, religious or otherwise. In fact the last few years I have come to kind of like a lot of the Christmas stuff. I must say I really like the lights.

I’m not a religious person and I am not a Christian, but Christmas doesn’t bother me, not even the religious aspects of it or possible religious presentations. I have no issue with Christianity or Christmas in general. I recognize the large contribution of Christianity to the heritage and origins of my culture (even if I’m not entirely sure on the exact place of that heritage), and would see Christmas and its religious aspects as presentations thereof. May I remark that even Pat Condell, an (in)famous internet atheist who makes scathing comments about Islam, and has also attacked Christianity on multiple occassions, has come out in support of Christmas last year.

No, I do not understand and have little respect for those who whine about Christmas. Suck it up, bunch of crybabies. We shouldn’t abandon this. Sadly, of course, some are particular to do just that. In Brussels, the capital of my country Belgium, the city council and the major (who is what I like to call a caviar socialist) decided to not have the traditional christmas tree – a very large decorated spruce tree on the town’s central square – this year, but to instead have a kind of avant-garde metal construction with lights. Some are speculating they did this because they don’t want to offend Brussel’s extremely large Muslim population (about 30%) with the Christmas tree. I wouldn’t be surprised if it were and this disgusts me.

As for the peace thing… well, I had to think of the old adage “Si vis pace, para bellum” – If you want peace, prepare for war. And we better prepare for war, as one is coming for us, whether we want to or not. And Islam is the culprit. Be not mistaken: the mad ideology of Islam is intent on waging warfare on a global scale. We better be prepared and we better be bolt, instead of being appeasing pussies. We must be prepared to go to great lengths to counter the onslaught of barbaric Islam. Or, as I like to put it, ‘Meccam delendam esse’. If it proves necessary, we must destroy even Mecca. These barbarians only understand brute force and violence, and it is what they ought to get.

Israel understands this better than any other country, because they are surrounded by enemy nations full of barbaric warriors willing capable of just about anything. Israel dares to at times use force and violence. Israel has to. Would the Muslim nations hate Israel any less if Israel were to lay down its weapons? No. The Muslim nations would overrun Israel, destroy the country and exterminate the Jews in the blink of an eye. Israel seems to have some understanding of this. The West better had gained some more understanding of the nature of Islam and the struggle against it. But of course, Western countries likely will not.

By: lee

lee — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:42:03 +0000

Oh, Holy Night is one of my favorites, too. I was always fond of Robert Goulet’s version, as well as his version of “Oh come Emmanuel.”

BTW, where I used to work (in Marin), every year I did the flyer for the employee “Winter Party.” (Of course, it was not a Christmas Party, but it couldn’t even be a HOLIDAY party.) I was not allowed to use any of the following images:

Santa
Sleigh
Reindeer*
Red and Green
Christmas Trees
Evergreen Roping
Christmas lights
Angels
Accumulated Snow**

Okay, I understand the no nativity scene rule. But what did/could I use? Candles were okay–they could be Christmas, they could be St. Lucy’s, they could also be Channukah, Kwanzaa and Diwali. It was the Kwanzaa and Diwali association that may candle images acceptable. I did one lovely poster using the night sky from the winter solstice. I also managed to get away with BLUE Christmas lights that were so artistic filtered-out in Photoshop that they were interesting looking blue blobs.

* I managed to argue the use of a “black-tailed deer” one year. Since reindeer are NOT native to California, and black-tailed deer are, why could I not use a native species on our winter party flyer? We had enough hanging around in mid-December? I actually used a picture of a white-tailed deer, but no one there knew the difference.

** Accumulated snow was not acceptable because we didn’t have accumulated snow there. I know, I know, I have walked through pretty heavy blankets of snow on Mt. Tam, and Burdell can get its share. But because we did get snow occasionally, I could use images of SNOW FLAKES.

I tried to argue that when I was in Israel, I saw Jews using christmas balls and christmas lights to decorate sukkahs, and Moslems using christmas balls and christmass lights to decorate during Ramadan or for some other Eid. No go. It still said “Christmas” to our little Miss Sensitve.

Of course, we couldn’t use CHRISTMAS music, though we got away with sneaking some of the out and out secular songs into the rotation: I saw Mommny Kissing Santa, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Jingle Bell Rock, etc. I included a lovely bossa nova “Svivon, Sov, Sov, Sov” for Channukah. I also found a nice version of “Il est ne” (because little Miss Sensitve and the PC Police had not heard it before, and didn’t really understand French.)

BTW, I am Jewish. I always figured that the people who “get offended” by expressions of Christmas are too weak in their own beliefs. If they were strong in their own beliefs, they could weather the visual assault of red and green and sleights and roping and… These are also the people who usually are “charmed” but OTHER religion’s holidays, and will bend over backward for just about any other religion but Christianity and Judaism. It just annoys me: Why do people HAVE to rain other other people’s parade? I love the festiveness, the joy, and the happiness that people infuse Christmas with. Why would I want that to stop just because it is not part of my religious beliefs?

By: shirleyelizabeth

shirleyelizabeth — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 05:12:07 +0000

A lovely version of O Come, Emmanuel by ThePianoGuys:
http://youtu.be/iO7ySn-Swwc

Though it is instrumental, I can still hear the lyrics.
I also recommend spending the rest of the evening with their youtube playlist going. Beautiful music.

By: Peace and Christmas Songs « rickysplace

Peace and Christmas Songs « rickysplace — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 03:22:32 +0000

[...] I said just the other day how much that song bugs me, and low and behold guess what Bookworm Room was writing about today? That’s right – here is what they wrote: I adore traditional Christmas music, whether [...]

By: Charles Martel

Charles Martel — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 03:00:59 +0000

Old Buckeye and Book, I’m in the choir, too: “O Holy Night” is my favorite Christmas hymn. OB, thanks for the link to the Ford-McRae rendition. Pure goodness.

Somebody in the comments under the song asked how did we get from such manly voices to Justin Bieber? Not to diss Justin—he’s OK—but it’s a good question.

Now, gotta go and listen to BrianE and Ron19′s recommendations.

By: Ron19

Ron19 — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 02:03:16 +0000

Also, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE The young woman who started it was on the phone to her sister, so she could hear it. And, a Random Act of Cultur: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wp_RHnQ-jgU

By: BrianE

BrianE — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 01:19:56 +0000

The Hallelujah Chorus is one of my favorite Christmas pieces. If you’ve ever been in a choir performing it, the feeling is incredible. I think this will be sung all year round in Heaven.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3TUWU_yg4s
Another favorite, “Mary, Did You Know”, asks Mary the question– did she have any idea that her son, Jesus, would be the Savior of man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eueVMrIupQ

I don’t think there is any event in history that has resulted in the sheer volume of music as the birth of Jesus.
So much of it truly inspired.

By: Libby

Libby — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 23:11:44 +0000

I love Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Angels We Have Heard on High, probably because they’re fun songs to sing with abandon, especially when the organ & church choir are joining in (but I’ve belted them out in the car, while decorating the tree, etc.).