Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Modern Lady Christmas Playlist
3 Playsin 15 hours
Do you hear what we hear? Could it be one of your favourite Christmas carols playing in the background at the grocery store, or over the radio as you drive around running last minute errands? The Christmas season brings with it a whole range of emotions - from the wistful and blue, to the hopeful and jolly - and chances are, whatever your mood is these days leading up to Christmas, there's a classic carol to match it. Inspired by the responses on one of Lindsay's recent Instagram posts, we've put together our own playlist of some of our favourite carols, chosen because their messages are timely and inspiring, and because their origin stories are so rich and fascinating. So take us along with you as you're putting the final touches on your Christmas preparations, and we'll provide the stories, the tunes, and, hopefully, the good cheer! Merry Christmas, dear friends, and may God bless you all this season! ~Michelle and Lindsay
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Episode Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
sleigh bells ring are you listening hark
00:00:08
Speaker
i wrote this late last night and i thought i was so it's funny hu and my first line is it's the most wonderful time of the year we're just quoting all the songs oh yeah
00:00:33
Speaker
Welcome back to the Modern Lady Podcast. You're listening to episode 159. Hi, I'm Michelle. And I'm Lindsay. And today we are diving deep into our favorite Christmas songs.
00:00:45
Speaker
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, yes, but it's also beginning to sound a lot like Christmas. literally everywhere you go. the doctor's office, the grocery store, the car when the radio is turned on.
00:00:59
Speaker
But how many of us know the backstories of these familiar carols or stop to consider the deeper meaning of them that we can take back into our own homes? Music has a powerful way of uniting us to the season and to one another and of reminding us of our worth and our purpose here in our homes and the world.
00:01:17
Speaker
So let's take a minute amidst the bustle and tune in. But first, the best way that you can support The Modern Lady is by subscribing to our podcast on whatever app you use to listen to podcasts and by sharing us with your friends.
Listener Engagement and Gratitude
00:01:30
Speaker
We also appreciate it when our listeners take a few minutes and write a review of the podcast on whatever app you're using.
00:01:37
Speaker
We read each and every one and pick one to give a shout out to. This week's shout out goes to a dear longtime listener friend who sent us a message on Instagram and said, quote, Lindsay, your sharing in the recent episode about wealth touched me deeply.
00:01:54
Speaker
As a person who has been a bedside nurse for 25 years, your opening words hit so true. While nurses work so hard at being compassionate and supportive and caring, burnout is so real.
00:02:06
Speaker
I really feel nursing is part of my caregiver vocation, my calling from God. The whole episode made me think about how to value the gifts have been given, how to value the seasons of life, and how we live our gifts that we have been given.
00:02:21
Speaker
The recent changes in health care have hit me hard, but what a gift, albeit an intense one, being a caregiver is. Thank you both for the gift of the podcast."
00:02:32
Speaker
Well, thank you so much, dear friend, for your kind message. And again, a huge shout out to you and to all of you who work in the health care industry. Your kindness and your care for others is so inspirational, and we are so fortunate to consider you friend.
Victorian Tableware – A Cultural Insight
00:02:50
Speaker
And if you would like to leave us a comment or message us about today's episode, the best way to get in touch with us is on Instagram at the modern lady podcast. But be sure to stay tuned to the end of the episode for other ways to connect because we would love to hear from you.
00:03:09
Speaker
But before we get into today's chat, Lindsay has our modern lady of the week. Maybe it's your first year hosting Christmas dinner, or maybe it's your 20th like me, and you're looking at your dinnerware and serving ware and wondering if there's anything you are missing. And guess what? According to your Victorian ancestors, you are missing some very unique pieces that would make some great additions to a modern day dining table.
00:03:35
Speaker
Have you ever heard of a celery vase? In the early 19th century, celery was being cultivated in Victorian England and it was a luxury vegetable at the time. So of course the rich had to have it and display it as a sign of wealth.
00:03:49
Speaker
Celery vases were tall, clear glass vases that had a sturdy and ornamented foot at the base and often a scalloped or decorative top edge. While many had etching or molded glass designs, the clear glass was meant to showcase the delicate green stalks of this new and exciting vegetable.
00:04:09
Speaker
Are you a fan of grapes? I don't think we give our grapes the respect they deserve unless we have a tiny pair of grape scissors on the table in order to cut grapes away from the vine. There are also miniature grape knives that look like their larger versions used during harvesting.
00:04:25
Speaker
I also came across long glass bottles that laid on their sides into which you could place the stem of a bunch of grapes into water and preserve them a bit longer before refrigeration was available.
00:04:37
Speaker
This led me down another rabbit hole, and I discovered brandied grapes, and now I need to try these. I found this recipe on the Rediscover Modern Homesteading webpage, and Julie Legg, the author, had run out of ways to save their bountiful grape harvest and decided to preserve them in a jar with brandy and sugar, and was delighted with the final product that she said is delightful, warmed up and spooned over vanilla ice cream, or folded into chocolate cake, or served with sharp cheese and crackers.
00:05:06
Speaker
Do you have silver-plated asparagus tongs? They have a flat, gripping surface, so the delicate stalks wouldn't break. Have you remembered to set out your tiny mustard pots shaped like a tiny cauldron with a tinged lid and even tinier spoon?
00:05:20
Speaker
What about marrow extraction tools or sardine forks shaped like fish skeletons? Too niche? Okay, I get it.
Emotional Impact of Christmas Songs
00:05:28
Speaker
one victorian tableware tool that i do think sounds extremely useful is a crumb scraper or table rake these were curved instruments that sometimes had bristles but sometimes were straight edged and they came with a very ornamented little crumb tray that you could scrape the crumbs off the tablecloth into this is definitely much more elegant than gathering up the tablecloth and shaking it outside in minus 12 degree weather like i was taught
00:05:53
Speaker
If this is all too much for you, I implore you to consider just adding knife rests to your kitchen table. You can find them in any whimsical shape or design that your heart desires.
00:06:03
Speaker
But you can't go wrong with vintage crystal knife rests. And I see them all the time at antique stores. And they are still quite affordable and would definitely elevate the dining experience of all who are seated at your table this holiday season. And elevate the knives, I'm assuming. Literally. Yeah.
00:06:23
Speaker
Oh my gosh. The Victorian table sounds so fun. And I'm sitting here listening to you describe all the fun activities that you can do while you're supposed to be eating. And I'm just thinking how boring my table is with my fork.
00:06:38
Speaker
yeah ah Oh, and maybe a second fork. We're like, that's your dessert fork. Fancy. Let's not get too crazy. But yeah, like it's just, it just sometimes when we do these historical tips, I just think they must have lived such interesting lives. Like everything was so involved. yeah And I don't know if we just like kind of gloss over everything.
00:07:03
Speaker
So many things, but it's just it's fascinating that culture was just so involved um back in the day. And tell me if you see celery vases popping up everywhere, because I've seen multiple places on my social. It's my algorithm. um And then right after I wrote my notes and typed this out, I saw them pop up again. And I was like, oh, man. And are are these coming back? Like, so be on the lookout specifically for celery vases, which is what inspired this this tip of the weekend. Okay. Well, I will let you know. i do have a tall glass vase. And I was checking the box as you were listing the characteristics of a celery vase. I'm like, oh, my gosh. I think I have one. And then, but I don't. It's just a vase. So... I will keep an eye out for a celery vase.
Hope and Wartime Context in Christmas Music
00:07:54
Speaker
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? Hark, the herald angels sing, do you hear what I hear? All that's right, friends, tis the season for jolly tunes and Christmas carols abounding.
00:08:09
Speaker
But what if our hearts don't necessarily feel all merry and bright? What? What if we're carrying a little bit more than a holly jolly Christmas can eradicate?
00:08:19
Speaker
Well, perhaps some of the encouragement and comfort we're craving this season is already filtering through our homes and Christmas playlists. Right, Lindsay? Yeah, it is the most wonderful time of the year, or at least that's what Andy Williams reminds us over and over again from November on.
00:08:38
Speaker
This episode really sprung from an Instagram post I did, right? um And I was asking everybody to really take a moment and really reflect on what they're feeling in that moment, you know, this Christmas season. And i wasn't expecting the overwhelming response coming from mostly moms who are feeling, surprise, surprise, very stressed, stretched to the max financially, emotionally, and physically,
00:09:03
Speaker
And some are feeling numb due to the weight of, quote, magic making for everyone else while struggling with feeling invisible. And Michelle, you saw those responses that I shared. and it called to mind Judy Garland singing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, right? And Meet Me in St. Louis.
00:09:19
Speaker
And that inspired us to do this little deep dive into some Christmas songs that we love and to find out their history and to, like, talk about the deeper meaning in those songs. Because we might just gloss over it because we hear them so often.
00:09:33
Speaker
Yeah, I loved this idea of digging deeper into Christmas carols. And we've talked about doing this before in the past because we just like the history of things. yeah and But when we were seeing some of those responses from your prompt on Instagram, and i thought about Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas… The one thing that ah I thought about about Christmas carols in general was there are some that make you tear up.
00:10:02
Speaker
Right. And you're only half listening. Yeah. But sometimes, you know, to stop and think about, like, why is this hitting me? you know, right where, right in the feels as it were. And so i was like, well, if this, you know, have yourself a merry little Christmas, we'll talk about that in a little while, but um maybe there's more to more Christmas carols than just their interesting backstories, which we'll also talk about, but it just all seemed to coincide really nicely with how a lot of us are feeling. And then ah we have them available regularly. all the time, like you said, from November on. and maybe they just have a little bit of a gift to offer us this season that we forgot was there.
00:10:47
Speaker
Absolutely. And I had not even, i love that song. And i had not even thought about until you and I were having our phone chat about the deeper meaning of it. And so I do think that this is really important. And I also want to address the moms who responded that said that they were feeling really joyful this year, right? There's a lot of our listeners who are excited for their first Christmas with their new baby or first Christmas in a new home, or they're excited to host family for the first time. I do think we're often bogged down with the messaging that moms are miserable during Christmas and especially...
00:11:20
Speaker
That movie on Amazon Prime that just came out, Oh, What Fun, starring Michelle Pfeiffer, it just really contributes to that narrative. So I want to make sure we're reflecting the thoughts and voices of all of our listeners and what you and I are feeling this year, you know, because it does change every year. And then I thought, okay, surely there's a middle ground. Right.
00:11:39
Speaker
I would say contentedly snuggled down into the middle ground of this. Like we have had a roller coaster of a year, which everybody will know, right? If you listen to our last episode um and a stressful far fall and winter. And so I guess on paper, I have every reason to feel frantic, frenzied and frazzled, which is a little shout out to our 2020 Christmas episode. Still here. Yes. Still. Yeah. Yeah. But I'm feeling like this deep-rooted sense of joy and peace in the midst of utter exhaustion and chaos. And I don't know if that comes from two decades of experience and perspective. um And I'm keenly aware now of how quickly life is moving. And I'm not guaranteed a Christmas with all six of my kids. Maybe even next year my life could look totally different. And so I'm very proud and happy to be that magic maker. And I feel like I've learned how to strike that balance. Yeah. And in and enjoying Christmas and why i think it I'm already feeling the nostalgia, right, with having older kids. So we'll talk about that a little bit later, too. But that being said, you and I each selected three songs that we wanted to do a deep dive on. And I'm guessing you're going to agree with me here that it's I don't really want to use the word favorites because, man, was it hard to choose three, right? Yeah, yeah, it was. And I picked three. yeah and then i And then I kept seeing new ones that I was like, oh, now I kind of wish I chose that one. Yeah. For the sake of time, we limited ourselves to three. Yeah. And it was like, i some hymns are different than Christmas. i Well, actually, I didn't even look into the word Christmas carol. But it's like there's religious ones, there's secular ones. And you and I both, surprise, surprise, settled on ones that are have a bit of a New Year's theme, too, which we weren't expecting. so All of this to say, we settled on three that we thought would make good deep dives. And Michelle, you might as well start with the first one that we've already hinted at
00:13:39
Speaker
Okay, yeah. So my first pick was Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. um This song makes me cry every year. um And it is because of of the movie Meet Me in St. Louis. um The song was originally written. ah The composers and the lyricists are Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine, and they wrote it in 1943 for the movie. So I first watched this movie, I must have been maybe late elementary school, early high school.
00:14:12
Speaker
ah One of our parish priests at the time was an old movie aficionado, and he would lend me a new classic musical almost every Sunday. Or like if we were there at the church for confession or something, he'd like come out afterwards, confessions were done, and he's like, oh good, you're still here. i'm like, it's supposed to be anonymous. um money like and he's like happens' is your happy story yeah singing in the rain three times no
00:14:46
Speaker
um but that's yeah singing in the rain easter parade was one of the ones he lent me and this one meet me in st louis so It's how I first watched these movies. um So the story of the movie itself goes that while filming ah the lead actress, Judy Garland's character, Esther, she's singing to her little sister, Tootie, on Christmas Eve to comfort her. Their father recently gets a new job, got a new job in New York, and he's told the family that they're all going to move and relocate there after Christmas.
00:15:21
Speaker
And it's devastating to the whole family, to all his children, um especially in light of the friendships and the relationships they have to be leaving behind. So the song, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, was meant to be a sweet and comforting scene between Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien, the actress playing Tootie.
00:15:44
Speaker
But the original lyrics, Garland felt, were way too dark. And I have them here. The original ones went like, have yourself a merry little Christmas. It may be your last. Oh, oh. Yeah.
00:15:59
Speaker
Next year, we may all be living in the past. Oh my god. I know, right? Thank goodness the rewrites, yeah. I know. So Garland went to Hugh Martin, the main writer of the song, and she told him, she's like, if I sing this to sweet little Margaret O'Brien, like the audience is going to think I'm a monster. um and apparently it took quite a lot of convincing. Hugh Martin in a later interview said it was his pride. He didn't want to change it But he finally agreed. And when he did, that's how we then got the more famous lyrics um of like, someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow. Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow.
00:16:44
Speaker
And these are my favorite lyrics. i That's the part I get choked up with when I hear them because, and i think this is why i thought of this carol. when we were reading so many of your the responses to your posts, Lindsay, was that sometimes Christmas doesn't feel magical or like yeah maniacally joyful. Like we're expecting. Like a marshmallow world. yes Yes. Yeah. Sometimes the marketing paints that for us. yeah And then we're like, why don't we feel that? And then we forget that like often real life is not the manufactured marketing product we're expecting.
00:17:21
Speaker
The song was also written during World War two And though Martin has said he didn't exactly write it as a wartime ballad, it's not hard to wonder if even culturally, you know, that sentiment didn't rub off on him as he was writing it or that the audiences didn't pick up on that relation too, right? Like some days or until then we'll have to muddle through somehow. And I was like, well, gosh, now it's even sadder. Yeah. Yeah.
00:17:50
Speaker
But ah here's why I ultimately love the melancholy and the sweet sadness of the song is really because it's about hope, right? the song In the song, there's no giving up. There's no admitting defeat. It's like ah it's a keep going song, ah like a put your trust in the future and muddle through.
00:18:11
Speaker
like Things may look different next year. And for us, especially as Christians, you know, if Christmas isn't what we'd hoped it would be, our trust then is to put it in Christ, who, as the song reminds me too, did not come to the world with an earthly, like, shining joy that can be necessarily hung on the highest bough, right? It wasn't sparkly and magical and in that commercialized sense.
00:18:39
Speaker
His, too, was a birth and a life that was hard, right? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
00:18:47
Speaker
somehow yeah ah that is by his grace now ah just an additional note frank sinatra ah um ah included the song as well in his christmas album a jolly christmas right I laughed when I read this because his lyrics are, again, different. Right? Instead of, until then, we have to muddle through somehow, his version is the one that first used, hang a shining star upon the highest bow. Oh, wow.
00:19:17
Speaker
And do you know who he called to change that again? Hugh Martin. Yeah. Hugh's like, I can't do this again. He's like, I can't. You guys, just do what you want. It's on you now. I give it to you. It was apparently Frank Sinatra called him and he's like, I want to use this song in my upcoming album. But man, it's just not really the right fit for an album called A Jolly Christmas. yeah Can we rework that line? And so, yeah yeah, apparently Hugh Martin wrote a few different options and Frank Sinatra picked that one.
00:19:53
Speaker
And that's how we have that hang a shining star on the highest bow it wins in the end. And that one, I think, is probably the most common version of the Christmas Carol we hear today.
00:20:04
Speaker
Wow. And i want to zero in on the word little. i love that the word little is in there. and that is such a great reminder that not every, like you're saying, every Christmas is going to be this grand production, um right? Life is going to throw us many curveballs. And sometimes it is a merry little Christmas with just a handful of people. um And I just love that that idea. We all want a full table full of loved ones, and that's just not always possible. So yeah, I love the word little.
00:20:35
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. i I think the same way as you because even like in our own hearts, right? Yeah. Like it, it the song is so subdued in the movie. And I feel like that is the, that in and of itself is the message too.
00:20:50
Speaker
It's like in your heart. Yes. How can you have a merry little Christmas? Oh, I love it. It's so sweet. I know. And I texted you and I'm like, I think I'm making myself cry. yeah Reflecting on these lyrics. And that's just the beginning.
00:21:04
Speaker
Oh my
Bing Crosby and the Wartime Influence of Carols
00:21:05
Speaker
goodness. Well, I guess I'll jump into, so keeping in the same tone, let's talk about more sad Christmas songs that made me ok cry to And actually, the more we're doing this deep dive, the more I'm realizing like so few of the songs are actually like truly joyful. Like,
00:21:21
Speaker
Christmas is a mixture of emotions. And I think that that's really interesting. So, okay. I have to admit that I'm cheating here, Michelle, and I am actually going to share two songs together, but hear me out. ok First of all, it is nearly impossible to just choose the better song between these two. They're both sung perfectly by Bing Crosby. They're both sadly beautiful and nostalgic right from the moment they were written. Both invoke such a deep sense of longing And I cried writing this as well. And so i it is white Christmas and I'll be home for Christmas.
00:21:57
Speaker
Oh, okay. I'll allow it. You want it? Right. You'll allow it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. So the reason these two songs are so interconnected is that Bing recorded these two hits during World War II. White Christmas was first performed at the Kraft Music Hall. Yes, the food bank Kraft. And it was performed on December 25th, 1941, just weeks after Pearl Harbor had been attacked.
00:22:21
Speaker
And then I'll Be Home for Christmas was recorded on October 1st, 1943, and was an instant hit. Its place in America's hearts was solidified when the U.S. War Department released Bing's December 7th, 1944 performance from the same Kraft Music Hall in which he performed White Christmas three years earlier. Okay, so let's first dive a little deeper into into White Christmas.
00:22:44
Speaker
Yeah.
00:22:49
Speaker
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know
00:23:14
Speaker
Now this song has sold over 50 million copies, making it not only the best-selling Christmas song of all time, but also best-selling single of all time. And I did double-check, this is still current to this day, Why Christmas is the best-selling single of all time.
00:23:30
Speaker
This beloved Christmas song was written by one of the best songwriters of all time, Irving Berlin, who was Russian-born immigrant Jew who didn't even celebrate Christmas.
00:23:42
Speaker
The reason, the dark and sad reason, why White Christmas is so soulful and melancholic is that Berlin and his wife lost their three-week-old son on Christmas Day, 1928. And so every Christmas afterwards, they spent their day visiting his gravesite.
00:23:59
Speaker
And so it only makes sense that Berlin was longing for the Christmases, even though he didn't celebrate them. It's still like what was going on in the world, the Christmases that had passed so long ago, just like the ones we used to know.
00:24:11
Speaker
There is no denying that it is a sad song. So sad, in fact, that Bing Crosby tried many times to cut it out of his USO appearances overseas performing for the troops. He didn't want to make them sadder, but according to Bing, quote, the troops just hollered for it.
00:24:28
Speaker
It was first widely released in the 1942 film Holiday Inn, but it became the iconic song that it is now thanks to the 1954 film named White Christmas in honor of the song.
00:25:04
Speaker
Now, I'll be home for Christmas. The lyrics of this song were originally written as a poem. This is what made me tear up, actually. It was written as a poem by a university student named Buck Ram back in 1922.
00:25:16
Speaker
He wrote the poem for his mom, and he sent it home that he'll be home for Christmas.
00:25:30
Speaker
Now, Buck didn't get any writing credit when it was turned into a song after a chance meeting in a bar in 1941 between Buckram, lyricist Kim Gannon, and composer Walter Kent.
00:25:42
Speaker
Buck did sue them after they took his poem and made it into a song, and he won his court case and finally got songwriting credit and royalties that he rightly deserved.
00:25:54
Speaker
Now, while both White Christmas and I'll Be Home for Christmas spoke directly to the hearts of U.S. servicemen and women and their families left at home, I found this interesting. The BBC banned the song I'll Be Home for Christmas from their broadcasts because they felt that the lyrics might lower the morale of British troops.
00:26:15
Speaker
In 1965, astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell requested that NASA play it from mission control during their Gemini 7 space mission um in December.
00:26:25
Speaker
And then one more little fun fact. um I mentioned lyricist Kim Gannon earlier, and he was a 1924 graduate from the St. Lawrence University. And when he died in 1974, he stipulated in his will that his alma mater would receive 30% of the royalties from his compositions after his wife's death. Now, Norma Gannon passed away in the year 2000, and the university receives a monthly check and will, they said, for about the next three decades, thanks in part to I'll be home for Christmas, which kind of brings it back full circle, knowing that the original lyrics were penned by a homesick university student um to his mom. And this university gets um quite a lot of money that they put into scholarships.
00:27:05
Speaker
So one last note regarding Bing Crosby. The GI magazine said that Crosby accomplished more from military morale than anyone else of that era. So his album is one that I grew up with and I still play the actual vinyl record that my dad bought when I was a baby for my first Christmas in 1980. So As for I'll be home for Christmas, the lyrics would cause a lump in the throat of even the most hard-hearted Grinch, right? Christmas Eve will find me where the love light gleams. I'll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams. I can barely read it right now. Oh my goodness. Oh goodness.
00:27:40
Speaker
For many, Christmas filled with loved ones is impossible. And so visiting in dreams might be the only option, which should remind us to cherish Christmas this year with those who we are celebrating with and whatever home we have, because it might end up being the one that we visit in our dreams one day.
00:27:57
Speaker
Both songs only have a few lines, which surprised me. I kept like scrolling and I'm like, oh no, the song is over. um But that's all they need to completely and like totally create an atmosphere ah everything that people want out of, I would say like a secular Christmas. These aren't religious songs. They're not pretending to be something that they're not. And that's okay. Hymns have their place. These songs pull on our hearts and they pull our hearts to the direction of home, wherever that might be.
The True Spirit of Christmas
00:28:25
Speaker
Mm-hmm.
00:28:27
Speaker
Oh, I'm like full out crying now. so like Oh my gosh, you're right. And I think that like it's all starting to form in my mind as you were talking about how like it points to what we're all longing for. yeah And you're right, like not in a religious sense even. Like that's a whole other level. But at the at the core of it we're all just humans. Yeah. And we all just want the same things, right? And so often those things have to do with... connection and being with our our loved ones. And that's what the nostalgia is. And so I'm just thinking about like all the nostalgia trends even.
00:29:15
Speaker
When it really comes down to it and boil you boil it all down, it comes nostalgia is the memories of things that are attached to people. Yes, yes. right And the feeling that you had with those people in particular. And that's why it gets us every time. that i think just for all of our modern technology and lifestyles and goals and everything. I think it's so sweet to reflect. And something that Christmas does bring up is just we we can't escape just being human and wanting what the heart wants. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. And I think that this is such a reminder that even though I was feeling pretty good this Christmas, this is already just really anchoring my desire to focus on the simple things like we're saying, connection, family, gratitude. And I think that those things we can focus on in the midst of everything else that our listeners might be feeling. And so these songs, are it's like, yeah, I've heard them a thousand times, but having this moment to really sit and reflect on the, on the feeling, on the lyrics, on the history, but on, yeah, what it stirs within you, this like deep rooted ancestral sense of like,
00:30:35
Speaker
coziness and homecoming and connection. um That is what we all long for and what we all deserve. And that can be fostered regardless of external circumstances of what's going on. and I think that that's a takeaway message. Yes. Right from these songs. And I've said this before in the podcast, but I think it's worth mentioning again. This nostalgia trend, having kids who are older, there i'm having i get to experience already secondhand nostalgia, which is something no one had even told me about. Because I'm seeing what they share that they're nostalgic about from their childhood. And let me remind our listeners, if you don't have kids my kids' ages yet...
00:31:12
Speaker
the the The reels that they share about like take me back to Christmas 2007 is like the most basic trees right there. Images taken from people's digital cameras of like ah trees that are kind of sloppy, family all sitting around card tables, the snow outside on the branches with Christmas lights. Yeah.
00:31:34
Speaker
The wrapping paper all over the floor. it is not curated the perfect Christmas that we have felt that we're compelled to create only in the last 15 years. That what my children are already longing for in all these kids are like little gingerbread men that have been sloppily iced by a three-year-old. So it's like we need to stop.
00:31:55
Speaker
burning ourselves out to create something that our kids aren't actually even longing for. And so I think that that's such a good reminder for me every year is seeing what, yeah, my kids and what other kids, their ages are sharing that they're missing. And it is so much more simple than we think. It goes right back to this core message of connection, of tradition, of the old broken ornaments that they don't want you to throw out.
Origins and Significance of 'O Holy Night'
00:32:18
Speaker
um And that, yeah, again, this, what everyone's actually longing for is not dependent on your economic status right now or how fancy you can make things. It's truly this this idea of tradition and connection.
00:32:31
Speaker
a So Michelle, what is your next song? Okay, well, I am going to go religious now. Yes, yes.
00:32:46
Speaker
My next favorite, oh my goodness, probably all-time favorite Christmas song is oh Holy Night. Yes. Right? And i i love it. I think for similar reason to most people, it's that one line, right? Which I'll get to in it in a little bit. But I had to go back and learn the history of this song. Oh my goodness, this song has seen some things but since its origins. Yeah.
00:33:15
Speaker
It's not what you would expect. So ah the story goes that it started with a parish priest from a French town in 1843. And he asked a local wine merchant who also, I guess...
00:33:31
Speaker
doubled as the town poet. That's my dream job. yeah um To compose a poem to be read at that year's Christmas mass.
00:33:43
Speaker
ah And it was fun to read the speculations as to why it was this wine merchant. His name was Placide Capot. Why he was asked to do such a thing because he was reportedly not religious at all.
00:33:56
Speaker
um So some accounts say that, you know, um after being asked by the priest to do this, Capo just opened his Bible to the Gospel of Luke and he tried to write, he tried to imagine what his emotions would be if he was living through what he was reading.
00:34:14
Speaker
yeah so he's basically doing Lectio Divina. didn't even know, right? Yeah. And the result was a poem that he wrote called Minuit Chrétiens, or Midnight Christians in English. And it became the original source text of the Christmas carol we now know today as a Holy Night.
00:34:34
Speaker
Now, if four years later, Capo's friend, Adolphe Adam, he wrote the music to accompany the poem. And the song was called Cantique de Noël.
00:34:47
Speaker
Now, Adam is also an interesting fellow in his own right. He was already an accomplished composer. He's mostly known for composing operas and ballets. And his most famous work, besides the music for o Holy Night, is that he wrote the opera Giselle.
00:35:06
Speaker
And also, religiously, he was also a Jewish man. Interesting. Yes. And so this beautiful song about Christ's birth was written by a non-religious man and composed by a Jewish man. Yeah. So interesting. Yes, I know. And many believe that it was for those reasons, like who wrote the song and composed it. It was because of that, that the song was actually also banned for many years in French churches.
00:35:36
Speaker
Capo was also started being very politically involved in socialism later in his life. And the the churches in the town village in towns and villages didn't want to have that association. yeah um the The problem was that the French people already loved the song, and so even though they no longer sang it at mass, um they continued to sing it privately in their own Christmas celebrations, and that's how the song remained in the public's recollection that way.
00:36:06
Speaker
Wow. yeah but But there's more. Oh, so wait. Oh, my gosh. Oh, gosh. This song. i wasn't kidding. it it The carol experienced a renewal of interest actually in the late 1800s after it made its way to North America.
00:36:22
Speaker
So here's a cool Canadian connection. it was in 1858 that musician Ernest Gagnon introduced the Cantique de Noel in Canada. And it became a staple of Catholic masses here um at Christmas time.
00:36:37
Speaker
And then it was the work of an American Unitarian minister, John Sullivan Dwight, who really brought it to popularity, especially in the States. um Besides his ministry, Dwight was also known for his music critiques. And he came across the Cantique de Noel while he was on the hunt for a new song to critique. And he's the one that translated the song from French into English and then released it in America in 1855.
00:37:07
Speaker
It is, it's really interesting because when he was reading the words in French, it was said that the French version was very didactic, which means that it was just very like theological, historical. It was like an account of what happened on Christmas. That was the main goal of the song. So when Dwight translated it, he's the one that took a few romantic licenses with it. And so, for example, the original French says, people kneel down, wait for your deliverance.
00:37:39
Speaker
Okay. Yeah. Didactic. Yeah. And Dwight's English translation is the one that changed that to fall on your knees. wow Oh, hear the angel voices. Right? I know. And yet that's still not where the history of a Holy Night ends. I'm sorry. I'm taking you on this long journey. i swear I'll wrap it up and in a little bit. But yeah. The legend says that um it even made its way to wartime as well. On Christmas Eve during the Franco-Prussian War, 1871, French soldier stood bravely above the trenches and he sang the Cantique de Noel. And it prompted the German soldiers to respond with their own Christmas hymns. And the result was a 24-hour ceasefire in honour of Christmas. Wow.
00:38:29
Speaker
And then ah ah finally, oh Holy Night also holds the claim of being the first song ever broadcasted over airwaves. And that was also on a Christmas Eve, but this time in 1906. Another Canadian connection, Canadian engineer and inventor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison. His name was Reginald Fessiden.
00:38:52
Speaker
He made the first AM radio broadcast of a human's voice over airwaves. And the first words he read over the airwaves were those of the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2.
00:39:06
Speaker
And then it said that Fessadin picked up his violin and he played oh Holy Night over for the radio. So like quite the storied history. oh holy night. Right. yeah And that was when I was reading all this.
00:39:22
Speaker
This wasn't my original reason why I chose it. But think one reason why i think we can all love it for this is that you think about all the unusual ways and people through which this song has been passed through.
00:39:34
Speaker
through, you know, in order to still inspire us today. That's exactly how God works, you know, from being written by a non-religious man, composed by a Jewish man, to be sung in people's homes and on battlefields, banned from churches, but then crossing the worlds over literal waves and then airwaves. Like the gospel transcends worldly reason and possibility. What a beautiful reminder.
00:40:01
Speaker
And then for me, on a personal note, when I hear oh Holy Night, as we were talking about before, yes, it's that wonderful part of fall on your knees. Oh, hear the angel voices, that crescendo of the song.
00:40:16
Speaker
But I think the reason why it hits us, um it really comes through in the preceding lines. And I always forget those parts when I'm thinking of the song. Because in the verse before you get to that part, it says, Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. And I think that line makes me cry more than the fall on your knees because isn't that this the struggle?
00:40:47
Speaker
And the tragedy that we face in our, like, what is our worth? Why are we here? Who could love us? Long have we lain in our sin, in our error, in our weariness in the world. And it's Christmas. It's the holiest of holy nights that this, like, thrill of hope runs through the world. And, it like, this tiny peak that the world picks up on immediately on Christmas night. It recognizes its Savior.
00:41:17
Speaker
and that he appeared and our souls feel their worth and I'm just oh my goodness guys sometimes at Christmas you know after or underneath all the fun and the festivities and feasting that's still what we're looking for yeah so maybe that's one of the reasons why oh holy night deserves its spot in like top 10 top five Christmas carol canon is because it does have a unique reminder that it was it's your soul like specifically yours individually that pulled our Lord
00:41:55
Speaker
That pulled love itself into the weary world to remind you that your soul is the sought-after treasure of the divine.
Traditions of 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen'
00:42:04
Speaker
And meditating on that does make my soul ache. And it makes my eyes tear up. And it it that is what makes me want to fall on my knees.
00:42:16
Speaker
Oh my goodness, Michelle, that was incredible. like I'm so glad we're doing this. Me too. This is just... I will never look at that song the same way again. And that was absolutely beautiful. And, you know, there's some similar elements actually to the song I chose. um So if I were to choose a religious song, um i have always felt a little partial to God, Rusty, Merry Gentleman.
00:42:42
Speaker
yeah.
00:42:51
Speaker
I love singing it. It's a, I don't know. So I'm like, okay, let's do a little deep dive on this one. So, okay. It is hard to pinpoint exactly when this song first emerged. The lyrics and the melody have morphed over the centuries. And that's right. I said centuries um into the song that we recognize today.
00:43:09
Speaker
I had no idea how old this song was until I started doing the research. So one of the earliest written texts with an older version of the lyrics is from 1650. However, it is believed this song is older than that, perhaps the 1500s.
00:43:24
Speaker
The first line in 1650 is slightly different than what we sing today. it was originally, sit you merry gentlemen. The earliest known printed edition of this carol can be found in the night November 1764 edition of the Monthly Review.
00:43:41
Speaker
In terms of melody, there is a lesser known version known as the Cornish version, but the better known melody was written but for the Forte Piano by Samuel Wesley sometime before 1815.
00:43:54
Speaker
Okay, so let's just recap because it's a lot of dates, but it could have ah ah it could have originated in the 1500s. The early lyrics are from the 1650s. It was originally published in the 1760s, and its current melody was arranged in the early 1800s. And then finally, its current total form was published by Chappelle in 1855. Okay.
00:44:15
Speaker
So what does the phrase God rest you or ye Mary um even mean? This phrase was first recorded in the Oxford English Dictionary in 1534 and was popularized, as was most things but from that period, by William Shakespeare. he used it in As You Like It and in Romeo and Juliet. It means, may God grant you peace and happiness.
00:44:37
Speaker
The verb rest was a very typical verb of that period, and it meant to keep, to cause, to continue, to remain. Charles Dickens updated this line when he used the hymn in A Christmas Carol by replacing the word rest with God bless you, merry gentlemen, or God bless ye, merry gentlemen.
00:44:56
Speaker
Now this is all going to get even more super duper grammar nerdy. And my brain couldn't handle why rest had, quote, lost its use as a predictive adjective and why ye is not correct because it is a subjective nominative pronoun only. And you is actually correct because it is a objective accusative pronoun. I kind of know what that means. Okay. Homeschooling. Yep.
00:45:22
Speaker
And i was like, ye olde rabbit holes run deep. Yeah. but but but we'll just gloss over that i'm glad yeah right okay so i skip ahead um yep so god rest you which is the proper grammatical title god rest you merry gentlemen ranks number eight on the list of the most popular christmas songs according to the new york public library Why has it remained so popular over for over 300 years?
00:45:53
Speaker
It is written in a minor key, it is somber and haunting, and when you hear Bing Crosby sing it in a perfectly smooth bass baritone voice, it stays with you. And while I absolutely love the melody, it's the lyrics that we find comfort in every Christmas, even if we aren't conscious of it.
00:46:11
Speaker
So this song is pleading with the listener to rest in the peace of Jesus and the knowledge that on Christmas Day the Savior was born, and that Satan's power is overcome by this baby, this tiny baby that has been born, and that this history-changing message was first proclaimed to shepherds in the fields.
00:46:30
Speaker
The lyrics are catechetical, or didactic, I guess is what you were saying before, in a little way. They teach about the faith, you know, from God, our heavenly father, a blessed angel came.
00:46:40
Speaker
Shepherds were given the message and they went to Bethlehem. An infant lay in a manger with the oxen feeding nearby. His mother Mary kneeling unto the Lord did pray. The whole of the nativity story is summed up in these lyrics and the tidings, the news is shared with comfort and joy.
00:46:58
Speaker
o comfort and joy. Oh, tidings of comfort and joy. The last stanza reads, now to the Lord sing praises all you within this place and with true love and brotherhood each each other now embrace.
00:47:11
Speaker
And my goodness, this is the message of Christmas and the wish that we should have for each and every person. May God grant you peace and happiness, a message for the ages, right? And good news shared with comfort and joy.
00:47:23
Speaker
Now, again, comfort and joy. These are my two personal favorite words of Christmas. It is the basis for all of the work I do for my family as a homemaker. My whole homemaking goal is summed up in comfort and joy. Both are so achievable when broken down into their most basic meanings because neither thing is entirely dependent on money gifts, extravagances, comfort and joy. Aren't also reliant on like transient moods. They're deeply rooted and unshakable when cultivated in a home that knows that every year will be different, but that the moments of comfort and joy can be found even in the darkest corners of our hearts.
Cultural Influence of 'Auld Lang Syne'
00:48:03
Speaker
Oh, my goodness. I love that. i You see, i didn't think that deeply into God rest ye merry gentlemen. But as you're talking about like the tidings of comfort and joy, that's what we're all looking for. That's what's given to us by God yeah um over Christmas. But that we're called to rest in it.
00:48:24
Speaker
Yes. rest I know. the tidings of comfort and joy i'm like oh once again what god asks of us yeah and what the world or we ask of ourselves so much of the time can be two to very different things so i love that that carol serves as a reminder of you know really it And it is instructive, like what you're saying. but maybe we need that.
00:48:50
Speaker
We need every year to be instructed once again in what is true. Yes, absolutely. And what is your final song? Okay, so this is where we um skip through that one week in between Christmas and New Year where I love... Someone said it once online and that forever, this is how I described this week.
00:49:12
Speaker
um It's the week where I'm full of cheese and I don't know what day it is. My favorite week of the whole year. um We're going to skip through that week and go to New Year's. And so for my final holiday song, it is Auld Lang Auld Lang Syne.
00:49:42
Speaker
And all of these Christmas carols are just blowing my mind with their pasts and their incredible origins. um And so I guess this last pick, it it is more of a New Year's carol, but I've loved it ever since I first watched my very favorite Christmas movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life. Mm-hmm. You can't tell me that you don't get choked up a little in the last scene. and the bells are The bell is ringing on the Christmas tree and George is holding Zuzu and all the neighbors and the family and the Bailey family in their old drafty house.
00:50:17
Speaker
And Auld Lang Syne is being sung by everyone in the room. It just packs such a punch. um But the song goes back way back to the late 1700s. It was written by Scottish poet Robert Burns or Rabbi Burns. What? I didn't know this was a Robbie Burns. It's a Robbie Burns original. Well, actually not original. get to that in a sec. um Yeah. Robbie Burns, the pub down the street reminds me every January 25th, but that's his name. Yeah.
00:50:52
Speaker
Now, Burns actually claims that he wrote the poem. It it was a poem originally too, Old Lang Syne, from fragments of a story he remembered um from an old man that he met on his travels.
00:51:06
Speaker
So he just remembered little parts of stories that this old man told him, and he put together this Old Lang Syne. Wow. The tune... it was just put to um a sort of traditional Scottish folk tune.
00:51:21
Speaker
They have like a bank of these folk songs. um But what was neat about it is that the structure of the song has been borrowed since by composers, even like Haydn and in Beethoven, by Beethoven.
00:51:37
Speaker
ah Beethoven composed this whole collection 1814 called Scottish Folk Songs. What? Yeah. And one of them is Auld Lang Syne. Wow. I know what I'm listening to today. know. I'm super excited. I know. i only listened to the one Scottish folk song from Beethoven, so I can't speak to the other 11, but it was a Beethoven a wow thing. Wow.
00:52:02
Speaker
And so the tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne at midnight on New Year's Eve originated with the Scottish celebration of Hogmanie, which is their New Year's festival in Scotland traditionally.
00:52:15
Speaker
But stay with me here as we fast forward a little bit up to the around the 1920s, because I have yet another Canadian connection to this tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne at New Year's.
00:52:29
Speaker
So some of you may have heard the name Guy Lombardo. Yes! Yes. And his Royal Canadians. That was his band, right?
00:52:40
Speaker
um They're a musical band made up originally of three brothers. who grew up not far from where we live, Lindsay in Ontario. And so Guy and his brothers, um they actually grew up more near London, Ontario, which at the time was settled by quite a lot of Scottish as well as Italian um settlers. And so they originally heard Auld Lang Syne then ah from their Scottish neighbors when they would celebrate Hogminny and New Year's. And ah when the the band became quite well known in the States for their music, they ended up creating the North American attachment to the song at New Year's. And this is how.
00:53:22
Speaker
um So in 1929...
00:53:25
Speaker
Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians were so popular that they were being vied for by two competing radio stations to play at New Year's parties. And Lombardo solved this problem by signing off of his CBS broadcast just before midnight and signing on to his NBC broadcast right after midnight. Mm-hmm. And to bridge that gap of a few minutes in between, he just used the Scottish New Year song he remembered from his childhood, Auld Lang Syne. And so ever since then, Lombardo played every New Year's Eve from 1929 to even became known as Mr. New Year's Eve.
00:54:05
Speaker
he even became known as mr new year's eve Wow. um Before Dick Clark. Yes. Yes. And Variety magazine called him. um They said he's the only Canadian to ever create an American tradition. so Wow. You're welcome, everyone from us up here in Canada.
00:54:24
Speaker
Yeah, we helped out with Old Holy Night. We helped out with Old Lang Syne. Just spreading the Christmas cheer up here And so all of this leaves me with just one last question.
00:54:36
Speaker
Looking at the lyrics, what does Old Lang Syne Yes, yes. yeah And basically, it can be translated several ways into phrases like old long ago or the good old days. And it's a song about two friends reuniting after time spent apart and reminiscing about these good old days over a couple of drinks.
00:54:57
Speaker
And funnily enough, after a couple of verses reading through them, I found the lyrics more and more difficult to understand, which implied to me that many cups of kindness yeah had been shared the longer you sing this song. ah yeah so But it's that sweet remembering a friendship that lies at the heart of this song. And i think the reason why...
00:55:23
Speaker
This remains one of my favorite songs this time of year is because to me, it's the song that plays or that is sung at the tail end of the festivities. Yeah. It's the song that everyone sings with a smile on their face and their arms around their neighbor's shoulders or their cups raised in the air, like in a cheers to the night, to their friends and family And it it just reminds me that even in amidst all the hubbub of the holidays, what it really boils down to ah going right back to those first songs that we shared in this episode, we're made for one another. And that at the heart of it all, we are all for one another. and we truly wish the best for one another. And we're grateful that we're all here.
00:56:11
Speaker
And so the song is a secular celebration of what we all intrinsically know to be true spiritually, that we are all members of the body of Christ. And it's like this ah celebratory, communal, sentimental toast of gratitude to the one who made that made this possible and who loved us first.
Evolution of 'Carol of the Bells'
00:56:35
Speaker
So you take that cup of kindness yet. for all fine I know. Right. I'm so excited for this Christmas season now. And I hope our listeners who are feeling every, you know, so all the stress stuff, I hope this is getting them excited too. Like this is just refocusing all of my energies on just wanting that closeness and connection with me. I'm, I'm so excited.
00:56:58
Speaker
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. so you mentioned, I think you alluded to, you also on a new New Year's angle as well? Yeah. This one is surprisingly it is a very, it's a song we associate with Christmas, but it has a New Year's origin. So I'm going to, we're going to end with The Carol of the Bells.
00:57:17
Speaker
Oh.
00:57:26
Speaker
So I love that one. yeah Right. Okay. So the song has been a longtime favorite of mine because I love how creepy it is. Like I always picture Santa chasing people in a scary movie and with that classic narrator voice being like, he sees you when you're sleeping. He knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good. So be good for goodness sake. It is the creepiest song.
00:57:47
Speaker
And it popped into my head for this episode because I was trying to remember the name of the carol that you covered because I was going to do Oh Holy Night. But I was like, so I was starting to Google Christmas song that and I was going to finish that query with says fall on your knees. But the search brought up... Christmas song that is very intense. And of course I'm like, oh they're talking about Carol of the Bells. And so I'm like, okay, you know what? It's time I actually learn about this song. Cause why does it sound like this? Like it is an intense instrumental song. Okay. So here's the history. So Shedrick, which is spelled S H C H E D R Y K
00:58:25
Speaker
is a Ukrainian New Year's song. And the title translates to Bountiful Evening. But the English title is different. or The English song version is called The Little Swallow, as it tells the story of a swallow that flies into a home singing about the wealth the family is going to get in the spring.
00:58:45
Speaker
If you look up Shedrick, you'd immediately think that it is the Carol of the Bells. it's It sounds exactly the same. Ukrainian composer Mikola Leontovich arranged the song between 1901 and 1919. And it was based on a traditional folk song, which used a musical device called hamiola, if I'm pronouncing that correctly, in the rhythm. So I don't want to, again, get too nerdy here. So I'll try to keep it simple. But the accents within each measure alternate between three quarters time and six eighths time.
00:59:18
Speaker
with the chant based on a four note pattern in the range of a minor third. This this type of singing goes all the way back to prehistoric times in that area.
00:59:30
Speaker
So this song was traditionally sung, the New Year song was traditionally sung by girls going from house to house and were given treats for their singing. And then the dates, the New Year's date has changed throughout Ukrainian history based on the Julian calendar versus the Gregorian. But this was a New Year song.
00:59:46
Speaker
So then Mikola Leontovich was approached and asked to write a song using an old folk melody and for a university choir to perform during a Christmas concert.
00:59:57
Speaker
And that is how this modern day arrangement was created and first performed on December 1916. It was performed acapella. It was sung. It was a mixed voice choir um and it was performed all throughout the country. And it was really, really popular in the Ukraine.
01:00:13
Speaker
And then if it was performed abroad on a tour in order to promote Ukrainian music. Now, this song became a popular Western Christmas song after it was performed at Carnegie Hall in October 1922.
01:00:26
Speaker
American composer Peter Wolowski of NBC Radio published his new lyrics, All About the Bells, which were inspired by how he thought the chorus sounded like the ringing of bells. His new lyrics have nothing to do with the original folktale of The Swallow.
01:00:42
Speaker
Woloski not only rewrote the lyrics, he rearranged the melody so that an orchestra could accompany the choir. The new Christmas song became a a fast favorite during the Great Depression, and it was copyrighted in 1936.
01:00:55
Speaker
So I would suggest the two most popular versions, or at least the most recognized versions, are 1988 1990.
01:01:03
Speaker
In 1988, Mannheim Steamroller recorded the prog rock version, which is very, very popular with Christmas light shows. Is that the Trans-Siberian Orchestra? It's the Mannheim Steamroller. That sounds like yes the same. Amazing. That's the It sold million copies Wow. Yeah. And if people don't recognize that version, they'll surely know the Home Alone version. um And the soundtrack there, of course, was was conducted by John Williams. And then to finally circle back to the very beginning, have just learned of a mashup by the Piano Guys. It's a cello arrangement that combines Carol of the Bells and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, oh which I forgot to listen to when I was writing my notes. um But that has garnered over 30 million views. And I'm going to look it up as soon as we're done recording.
01:01:52
Speaker
And then while we're on YouTube, okay, so let's say we go look that up. It's also worth looking up the Muppets parody of the song that featured a large, she was a large bell falling on an increasingly frantic beaker.
01:02:06
Speaker
yeah I know you're exactly that one. Yes. Amazing. Yeah. Just about perfect for those of us who might need a little laugh during this Christmas season.
01:02:18
Speaker
Oh my goodness. That's true. I forgot about all those versions and that mashup. I kind of gasped because that's like two of your three. i know. picks like one am i wrong I would have never picked those two to go together. And I'm actually kicking myself that I didn't listen to and I was writing my notes yesterday, but that's, I will do that right away. Mm-hmm.
Science and the Power of Christmas Music
01:02:39
Speaker
Mm-hmm. my gosh. I know. I love Carol of the Bells. There is, like, something eerie, like but yeah eerie in, like, the magical way. Yep. Right? It's like when you get out of Christmas Eve mass and it's, like, quietly snowing.
01:02:53
Speaker
Carol of the Bells is what you want to hear. Yeah. Yeah. As you're running to your car being chased by Santa. Just kidding. Yeah. We really pack it all in. It's funny because even like as a kid or like, I was like, where did this come from? Like this song is so different. And so.
01:03:12
Speaker
Every year, it seems as though people in stores start playing Christmas music earlier and earlier. And for many, it is a dopamine hit that gets their hearts and minds into the spirit of Christmas.
01:03:23
Speaker
But for others, it triggers feelings of sadness, loneliness, and anxiety over Christmas. Science tells us something else. The National Institute of Health looked at the effects of singing Christmas carols together near a Christmas tree. And they found that singing in groups increases secretory secret secretary secretion. How would you say that? Secret? Secretory? Secretatory. We'll go with that. Sure. Immunoglobulin A. This is really important, right, as the fuse flu season starts to hit peak winter.
01:03:56
Speaker
Group singing has also been found to help in the fight against neurodegenerative and mental health conditions, with one study showing that eight weeks of singing with others can reduce depression. Yeah.
01:04:07
Speaker
Christmas is the perfect time of the year to sing together as a family, to learn the stories behind the old favorites, traditional folk songs, and maybe your 11-year-old will also try to hit Mariah Carey's high notes in All I Want for Christmas, just like mine.
01:04:20
Speaker
Every family has their favorites and will fiercely defend them. My family is a day diehard Bing family um with a side of the Raffi Christmas album from 1983, which I highly, highly recommend to families with young children. Others will swear by Boney M or Andy Williams, Frank Sinatra or Pentatonix.
01:04:39
Speaker
We have encouraged you in past op episodes to read longer books, to listen to complete albums. And we suggest doing the same with Christmas albums. While our go-tos are played for a reason, this research opened up a whole world of Christmas music I never heard before and I want to try listening to.
01:04:57
Speaker
Whatever you're feeling this Christmas, there is a song for you. The perfect soundtrack to have on as you fall back onto your couch, frazzled and exhausted after another long day of December to-dos. Or perhaps you're settling up to the couch, feeling comfort and joy. There's a song for that. And there is often a great story behind that song.
01:05:17
Speaker
Yeah, that's so true. And often... you know, along with music, it's stories that connect us. Yeah. Right. And so with Christmas carols, we have such a unique mixture of both the music, the song and the story. And so why wouldn't we take advantage of spending a little bit of extra time this holiday season to really invest in learning a little bit more of these tunes and enjoying them? Yeah.
01:05:43
Speaker
And so, you know, as we wrap up our Christmas episode and we get ready for the Christmas season as well, ah we just wanted to really sum things up with a little bit of a Christmas greeting to all of you to thank you once again for spending the year with us and for listening and joining in our conversations. We're so grateful for you all.
01:06:05
Speaker
And we're going to end with a little bit of a Christmas well-wishing and a blessing. So may the light of Christ fill your homes with peace, may his love steady your hearts, and may his hope carry you into the new year.
01:06:21
Speaker
We pray that this Christmas reminds you of the beauty of ordinary moments, the gift of family, and the grace that finds us exactly where we are.
Conclusion and Holiday Recommendations
01:06:32
Speaker
Merry Christmas, and God bless you all.
01:06:46
Speaker
Okay, it's time for our What We're Loving This Week segment of the show. So, Lindsay, what have you been loving this week? Okay, this one's a no-brainer. I have wanted to recommend this for a long time, and I think now is the perfect time because it's a little relaxing 30-minute podcast that you can, like, turn on if you need to escape during the hectic holiday season or maybe during the quiet of January. And it is a podcast by my favorite historian, Ruth Goodman.
01:07:14
Speaker
For those of you who might not know her name, you'll know her as the redheaded Wonder Woman in all of the farm shows like Victorian Farm and so much more. She has a podcast that I don't think most people know about called The Curious History of Your Home. And she does deep dives into things like beds, forks, coffee, dishwashing, ovens. Each episode has lovely music and background noise.
01:07:37
Speaker
and Ruth's ever calming voice. I have listened to episodes over and over and over again. And so I really, really recommend The Curious History of Your Home. h that's awesome i've i've i've never heard of that podcast but it reminds me of or i was gonna say it reminds me of the lucy worsley yeah documentary of like if what is it if these rooms yes yes yes yes this guitar yeah yeah but i i love ruth goodman too so i'm definitely gonna check that out and what have you been loving this week
01:08:14
Speaker
So um i I couldn't remember exactly. and I'm almost positive we have already talked about her on the podcast in the past. But just in case we didn't, I must share this gem of a woman and her YouTube channel with you all. um So this is a plug for Cecilia Blomdahl, who is a content creator from Svalbard. which is a small island belonging to Norway.
01:08:38
Speaker
And it is the northernmost town in the world um to the Arctic and to the North Pole. So her videos, it's a vlog um on her YouTube channel. Her videos are just absolutely stunning to watch, ah whether it's the truly breathtaking views or like her cozy cabin shots.
01:09:00
Speaker
And she herself is, she's just so delightful and happy and excited about everything. It's the most contagious, like good vibes you'll find, I think right now on the internet.
01:09:13
Speaker
Yeah. And when we were going through the flu last week in our family, she basically got us through the the flu. And I said to my husband, i was like, Phil, she is the good mood that I need yeah right now. Yeah.
01:09:28
Speaker
So my favorite season to watch Cecilia's channel is right now in winter because they've entered into polar night, which is the six months or or so of the year where the sun does not rise at all. And they live in complete darkness all winter. And I'm fascinated with that whole concept of polar night.
01:09:48
Speaker
um ah And so I love how she shares what their lifestyle is like up there. During this time. And I feel, i don't know how you feel, Lindsay. I feel like i would kind of like Polar Night. Oh, I'd love it. Yeah, I know. I know. Me too. I can't tell if it's because I like her life during Polar Night.
01:10:07
Speaker
um But that I mean... everything just seems so cozy and magical looking and they get to see northern lights all the time and so the videos are just 30 to 40 minutes of really wonderful content um and so yeah if you are looking for your next enchanting binge watch on youtube you have to make it cecilia blomdahl from svalbard Amazing. And then once you watch her, right, and your algorithm picks up on like that you like these Scandinavians, you will find a treasure trove of just awesome content that I prefer to watch in the summer because I hate the summer so much that I watch so much winter content to get me through. And then, yeah, I'm one of, I think, the few who doesn't bemoan the time change. i'm like, yes, it's getting dark 430. And then the night feels like it's like two days worth of time. i absolutely love the darkness. it It does not affect me in a negative way at all. Thanks to Hyuga, right? Which I think it's my 10th anniversary of practicing Hyuga, which was a game changer. Happy and anniversary. Thank you so much. um And so... Yeah, I just, oh, I love it. That is awesome.
01:11:26
Speaker
Okay, that's going to do it for us this week. If you want to get in touch and chat with us about our topic today, you can find us on our website, www.themodernlady1950.wordpress.com or leave us a comment on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube at The Modern Lady Podcast.
01:11:45
Speaker
I'm Michelle Sachs, and you can find me on Instagram at mmsachs. And I'm Lindsay Murray, and you can find me on Instagram at lindsayhomemaker. Thank you so much for listening. Have a great week, and we will see you next time.