I’m sitting here at my desk, listening to Christmas music as I write this. The music fills me with precious Christmas memories from my childhood. Here are my top five favorite carols.
Number 1: “Away in A Mangerâ€. My reasons for picking this Carol as one of my all-time favorites are as follows: It tells the story of the birth of Jesus. I have fond memories of singing this carol in church and in school Christmas programs during my childhood. I also love this carol, because many of the children’s Christmas books and toys have a recording of it. For example, Mama bought a book for the kids that had a recording of a kid singing Away in a Manger that played when you pressed the button on the upper right-hand corner. Another place I heard this was on a stuffed bear that had an ink pen sized scanner in one hand and a board book in the other. As you slid the scanner across each page, the Christmas story was read in a British child’s voice. On the last page, after the story was read, the voice invited you to sing along as she sang Away in a Manger.
Number 2: “What Child is Thisâ€. This carol is another beautiful song about the birth of Jesus. On a side note, I’ll be singing this as a solo in our church Christmas program next Sunday morning. One of my favorite childhood memories of this carol is of me rocking one of my many dolls or stuffed animals while singing along with the Christmas tape I nearly wore out, before I received my first transistor radio. I also used to listen to a couple of Christmas records my mother had and rocked my dolls to many of the carols. If I remember correctly, “What Child is This†was on that record also.
Number 3: “Sleigh Ride†is another carol with fun memories, like the unforgettable time I went with my roommate and a lady who taught her Sunday School to a performance of the Living Christmas Tree at the church near my school. We were seated in the pews listening to the beautiful music, when the orchestra started playing “Sleigh Rideâ€. I felt as though I were on a sleigh riding through the snow. This was my first experience of being able to feel music. When I hear that song on the radio, I sit back and close my eyes, to try to capture that feeling again.
Number 4: “White Christmasâ€. I live in an area where we don’t see much snow, so the song makes me always dream of having a white Christmas of my own, even if I have to use my imagination to see it for myself. The song also takes me back to times when my family went into town to see the Christmas lights around the stores.
Number 5: This is not a traditional Christmas song that I’ve ever sung in church or school, but there’s a song on a cassette tape my parents got me years ago, which is more of a winter song, but I’ve heard it played at Christmas time, throughout my life. The song is called “Suzie Snowflakeâ€. I loved this song as a kid, because it made me imagine going out in the snow, playing and having fun with a magical snowflake. I was actually inspired to write a Christmas fantasy story based on this carol. I think this song is the perfect inspiration for a Children’s Christmas picture book.
Now it’s your turn. What are your top five favorite Christmas carols and why do you love them so much? Feel free to let me know in the comments below, or share them in your own blog post. If you use this post is inspiration for one of your own, please be sure to tag me, so I can hear the stories behind your favorite Christmas songs. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy, safe and prosperous New Year.
Blessings,
Ann