My Favorite Christmas Songs

With the passing of Thanksgiving, I am now allowing myself to listen to Christmas music. The month between Thanksgiving and Christmas is my favorite time of year, and one of the best aspects of this season is the multitude of songs available for my listening pleasure to get into the spirit. I've been thinking about my favorites among the hundreds to choose from, and here they are, in no particular order:

1. "All I Want for Christmas is You" Mariah Carey
I know, I know...Mariah Carey. But back in the 1990's, she was IT. And her Christmas album is surprisingly timeless. This song is just light-hearted and romantic, and with my string of unrequited loves over the years, you can imagine how many boys I tunelessly sang this to in the privacy of my room. And who can forget its prominent appearance in "Love Actually," with the little girl who has an AMAZING voice, and that priceless moment where she turns and points to the precious pubescent boy at the end of the song. I know if it had been me, circa 1997 and my 8th grade crush Chad did that, you would have seen me in a puddle of swoon and faded black jeans. So this song just makes me think of love and happiness at Christmas time, and I love belting it out in my car.

2. "Do They Know It's Christmas?" Band Aid
We could dissect this song and point out its obvious faults, like Bono asking you to thank god other people are starving and not you (actually, Bono? Umm, I don't want ANYONE to be starving...) and the fact that people in Africa, if they haven't been corrupted by Christian missionaries, wouldn't even know what Christmas is, but why destroy a song so magical, so wonderful that it feels like a symphonic orgasm? It still gives me goosebumps when it builds to that thrilling chorus. And on top of that, it features ALL of my favorite 80's musical stars, from Simon LeBon to Boy George. It doesn't get much better than that. And let's be honest, the 80's were the only decade where you felt like musicians legitmately gave a shit and did something for a cause like world hunger. None of the ripoffs that came in the 1990s and 2000s can come close to the joining of so many famous people for one song in order to help others; I always felt like the later ones had the singers phoning it in from their hot tub in the Hills. So I will always love this song for the simplicity and the selflessness, the devotion (no matter how misguided) to educating Africa about Christmas and giving.

3. "Merry Christmas Baby" Hanson
Could it get any worse than Mariah Carey? It just did. Yes, I liked Hanson in my tween days. Tease if you must. But everyone has their boy band shames. And actually, their Christmas album is pretty decent. This song still makes me jam out no matter where I am, transporting me to my tiny shared bedroom with Pam back in PA in the winter of 1997, singing along to Hanson in order to escape my depression of my fractured family life. It's fun, light, and infectious. However, I am so embarrassed by my love of this song that I have it under a completely different name on my iTunes, only to have that cover blown when I realized that the picture on the Hanson Christmas album shows up on my Zune. Whoops. Hanson will always have a special place in my heart and also in my Christmases.

4. "I'll Be Home For Christmas"
This song has developed more meaning for me as I have gotten older and moved away from home. I think of driving through North Carolina and singing this song forlornly to myself, anticipating the upcoming trip to Denver to see my family, knowing that that is more my home than Chapel Hill ever has been. This year it has held even more meaning, as at Christmastime this year, I WILL be home for Christmas and not leaving again.

5. "Silent Night"
The only religious song on my list, I love this particular gem because it reminds me of a quiet Christmas night, being lulled to sleep with the calm darkness and the excitement of presents the next day. It's so peaceful and gentle. I also think of attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, like the good little Catholic family we were, and seeing the church all lit up with candles; or getting up early before my family just so I could sit by myself and look at the Christmas tree lights in the semi-dawn. I just want to snuggle under my covers and watch an evening snowfall when I play this song. Oh, and another "Love Actually" reference--when this song plays in the movie, it is during a scene where my heart is shattered with a sledgehammer into a million tiny pieces. Just saying.

How I love the Christmas season! This has inspired me to go download more Christmas music. Anything to pass my time here at work (one and a half more days of lab! Woohoo!).