So… All of a sudden, I am behind on posting on my blog (again), and the posts I wanted to make will have to wait, since now it is the 24th of December… And I know some of you might be thinking, yes but then it is not Christmas yet, but it is. In the Nordic tradition Christmas Eve is celebrated, and not Christmas day. So tonight, it is Christmas.
This means that I moved my full corpus and spirit to Finland, to spend Christmas with my boyfriend, and this year that means spending Christmas at my brother-in-law and his girlfriend’s home in Finland.
Everything has just been nice and calm since we arrived last night. The only disappointing thing is that it would seem that for the first time in ages there is almost no snow at Christmas in Finland, and I had been promised bucket loads of snow, but alas I will not let a small thing like that put a stop to my Christmas spirit.
I only have one big resolution on my own behalf this Christmas, and it might sound a bit strange.
I really want to, this Christmas, to able to just enjoy myself, keep my spirit high, and not feeling bad, because I am not spending Christmas with my own family. Because in a sense I am, my boyfriend and I have been an item for over 10 years, making the people I spend Christmas with this year, just as much family as the family I have grown up with.
I will probably not succeed, but if I can just try, that would mean the world to me, because there is nothing worse than to feel like you’re not enough at Christmas.
But this was not supposed to be a post with me whining, so let’s just tie up this with saying that I am thinking about my whole family today, but I am happy to spend Christmas with at least some part of it.
I really only wrote this post to be able to wish you all a very merry Christmas, and many many Yuletide greetings, and I will see you all at the flip side…
Merry Christmas from an atheistic Snorkmaiden who loves her family and Christmas
Rather I was thinking about broadening the spectrum. Because there are many different things born out of our culture through time, that relates to Christmas, and either really lifts my Christmas spirit, or well ruins it. So I decided to make another list, except, it is two lists, one of things/concepts that, if your Christmas spirit needs a boost, these are cannot miss cultural stuff, and another list of things (because I really needed to not be so positive all the time) that can ruin even the strongest Christmas spirit.
So without further ado, I bring you my five Christmas spirit lifters, and my five Christmas spirit “downers”.
5 things categorized as “stay away from this or risk getting your Christmas spirit totally ruined”:
5. Low-Fat Christmas
I am sorry, but this is just a horrible concept waiting to go wrong. As a girl who has been dieting and also shedding the weight over the last one and a half year, I am saying No to low-fat Christmas.
I can see how someone has gotten the idea, but please, no Christmas food is healthy or low-fat/low-sugar anyway, and you just take all the fun out of the food by trying to “low fat it”. The point is, that to make it low-fat you have to change it quite a lot, and well – then it isn’t the traditional Christmas food anymore, and as much as I like couscous or baby spinach, it just is not Christmas food. And getting your hopes up for traditional Christmas feasts, just to have them crushed by “low fat” new and exciting recipes is just not for me. Give me my full fat traditional Christmas food and then I will eat it, enjoy it, and then maybe just be a bit more strict with myself come January.
4…Mickey’s Magical Christmas
This might seem a bit harsh, and it is, but it is deserved. This is not a attack on this movie in particular, this one is just an excellent example of it. Take the nicely drawn Disney Characters we all love, and animate them to look like weird blob-like creatures with a passing resemblance of the original characters, put them in a Christmas setting with almost no plot, and sell it for as much money as you can. This is just so slobby, and everytime I see it, it annoys the hell out of me.
Many of the great animation movies have shown that it is possible to make both endearing and amazing animated characters, and also tell amazing stories using computer animation, so why don’t you? There is absolutely no excuse for the trainwrecks that are “the animated Mickey Mouse Christmas stories”.
3. H. C. Andersens Christmas fairytales
Yes, I know I am trampling on someone’s toes here, but really? I will be the first one to admit that H. C. Andersen has written some both beautiful and inspirational fairytales. Yes I admit it. But… He is not exactly one for getting into the Christmas spirit, is he?
His Christmas “fairytales” has a tendency to be filled with “the feeling of let down”, making stupid decisions, and people dying. Come on, give me one person who has sat down, read The little match girl, and felt their spirit being lifted, and felt joyous, after hearing the story about a poor little girl, that had nothing, got nothing except hallucinations and then died…
So it is not because of his lack of talent, that Andersens stories about Christmas is on my list, but because nothing can make you feel down as small girls dying, trees that feel left behind and Snowmen that only loves what will kill them…
2. “Put the Christ back in Christmas”.
Yes, this is a discussion that has been going on these last many years. Is Christmas only for Christians or for every one, and should Christmas be more about Christ and less about Santa, and what is up with all those people just enjoying the season without caring about the existential problems of whether they should have fun if they are an atheist/Christian/Jew/Jedi Knight/etc. And I come down on the side of “I just don’t freaking care, let me enjoy Christmas my way instead of bothering me”.
But I mean it, if you want to look up the discussions going on, it is at your own risk, nothing is more crushing to the Christmas spirit than a bunch of serious people discussing whether some other people aren’t keeping Christmas the right way, or whether they even should be celebrating Christmas at all.
1. Destiny’s Childs – 8 Days Of Christmas (The Christmas Album)
Yeah, I know what you are thinking, is it really fair to put Destiny’s childs Christmas album on the top of the list of things that can ruin the Christmas spirit. And, to answer: Yes, it is fair, because nothing ruins the Christmas spirit, than Destiny’s Child murdering innocent Christmas carols. And yes, they are definitely murdering them. The poor innocent Christmas carols like Carols of the Bells (here renamed Opera of the Bells) does not know what have hit them, when Destiny’s Child starts murdering them with R’n’B and too many weird vocal liberties and intonations, making the poor song almost unrecognizable.
If you do not believe me, try listening to this (at your own risk):
5 things categorized as “always raising the Christmas spirit”
5. Mince Pies
I know not everyone will agree with me, but despite the fact that I am Danish and we do not have a tradition for mince pies, I do think there is anything that says Christmas more than a good mince pie. This also mean that I make them every year myself, and have had to go through quite some experimentation, to find the right ingredients that would work instead of the ones in my recipe, because they do not sell either lard, nor mixed spice or mixed peel in convenient stores in Denmark. But I will make mince pies regardless of this fact. If you want to expand on this “thing”, it could also hold the homemade biscuits and homemade candy that is made in this household, but if I had to choose one thing, it would be the Mince Pies. Homemade sweet Christmas treats are always great for lifting the Christmas spirit.
4. The Christmas music
I will not go into more detail, since I already have a whole blog post on Christmas music already, but this is something that always lifts my Christmas spirit.
3. A decorated Christmas tree and Christmas lights in general
Nothing can lift my spirits as seeing a decorated Christmas tree. It does not have to big, or stylish, or expertly done, it just needs to look like someone has had fun decorating it. And what I really like about Christmas trees are that they often has Christmas lights, and I love Christmas lights. It does not matter if it is electrical lighting on a house or it is candles that are lit, there is just something about lighting the darkness at Christmas that makes me happy inside and raises my Christmas spirit considerably.
2. Gift giving through December
I do not know how widespread this is outside of the Nordic countries, but both me and my boyfriend has a Christmas stocking, and his kids has as well for the days they are here in December. This means that my boyfriend gets a small gift every day of December until the 24th (this year it is small letters with funny facts, or interesting histories in them), and I get bigger gifts in my stocking once a week. As a child I thought it was an elf (a Nordic type of elf, it is a rather grumpy old man with a beard and a red hat, that was said to live on the farms in the old days, where if you where nice to him, he would help out with the animals etc.) that brought me the presents I got every day in my stocking.
But I love the whole idea of have small things every day (or every week) to help you count the days, and making every day until the 24th special. This also includes the chocolate calendar I have, which I open every morning and get a new piece of chocolate every day until Christmas.
1. Great versions of Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
I just love that story, so I will recommend three different ways of enjoying it (you can do all three, as I usually do).
Firstly you should read a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, it really is worth the read, it is a brilliant story, that is both well written, and is imbued with Christmas spirit. Secondly, you should get a hold of the audiobook of the book, read by Jim Dale, one of the really great voices for audiobooks.
If this is not enough (and it probably is not) then get hold of Muppets version of a Christmas Carol. It is lovingly made, and with great understanding of the story. And it is just heartwarming in the Muppets version.
I think that was all from me, hopefully I could inspire (and help you avoid) something this Christmas.
Argh my boyfriend got around to posting his blog about christmas music before me, so I had started writing my blog post before he posted his, but I thought I needed to acknowledge that he was the first one to do a post, which means this first part of the blog post, is written last, to congratulate my boyfriend on being faster to post than me, and recommend that you read his Christmas music blog post.
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One of the things that I love and enjoy about Christmas is the music. From the more or less well turned out tunes, made by large international stars to try to capture some of the Christmas music market and get airtime in radios etc., to the traditional carols, and everything in between – I love Christmas music.
Despite my atheism, some of the songs that have a special place in my heart are the ones in both Danish and English, that is the most religious and grandiose, the Christmas carols. I love the way they makes my skin prickle because they are so beautiful, and how you can almost lose yourself in the music of some of the more well written tunes.
It is okay to get giant choirs, and whole symphony orchestras to perform the songs, making them even more awesome…
Or you can get them done in celtic style, or by big gospel choirs. It is like that all the just “a bit over the top” types of musical expression, is okay, as long as it is Christmas carols. This means that it is okay for those of us who secretly sort of like that type of music to listen to it. And when it is Christmas carols that are being performed, it just elevates the musical forms to even higher levels… Did I mention that I love Christmas carols?
But if this was not enough, I also love singing Christmas carols. Which is also why I love the Danish ones, because those was the ones I learned to sing when I was a child.
And yes, I have heard all the more or less stupid arguments for why I as an atheist is not allowed to enjoy religious christmas music.
Well tough for you guys, I am enjoying it, without getting any religious feelings from it, and who are you to stop me in enjoying something that is belonging to a long line of cultural products that people have handed down for generations, to the enjoyment of a season that is founded on traditions that goes back way longer than the myth about Jesus. So I will enforce my right to enjoy religious Christmas music, and there really is not much you can do about it.
When that is said and done, I also have some more secular Christmas music, that I really enjoy. And that you should enjoy to, because at least a few numbers have the ability, the same way as the religious carols does, to give you this sense of them filling your world with beauty, and maybe making you want to shed a tear because they fill this little part of you that is empty with something meaningful… (No, I have in no way oversold the songs – nooo… *sarcasm*)
And now that we have all those things cleared, without “much” further ado, my list of 12 of my favorite Christmas songs. Just to be clear (this is the not much part), there are a few criterias for the choices made. They had to be English, since not everyone on the internet understands Danish (and this gives me the opportunity to make a whole list of just Danish christmas songs, if I ever get the time), they had to be able to be found on youtube in the right version, so I could link directly to it, to avoid confusion, and three it had to be twelve songs because I just stole the amount from my boyfriends list, and then I didn’t have to only do ten. And they are not in order, I have only numbered them because it was easier on the eye…
Top 12 Christmas songs
12. The Rebel Jesus by the Chieftains
It is almost a secular Christmas song, and despite this, it has a beautiful and touching musical track, and at the same time the lyrics are pretty awesome. Come on it has Lines like these:
“And perhaps we give a little to the poor, if the generosity should seize us, but if any one of us should interfere, in the business of why they are poor, they get the same as the rebel Jesus…”
So just, listen to it, it is actually just F’ing awesome.
11. We Three Kings performed by Dolly Parton
I just LOVE We Three Kings, it is one of my all-time favourite English carols. And this version with Dolly Parton is just over the top in a very good way. There really is not much to say, it is perfect.
10. O come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) performed by Nat King Cole
Sorry, but no Christmas all-time greatest without Nat King Cole. It just is not done. And this rendition of O Come all ye faithful, is really one that can bring calm in my heart when I am otherwise stressed out, and just make me stop and listen to the beautiful song, and find great joy in Nats amazing smooth voice.
09. I Believe performed by Andrea Bocelli and Kathrine Jenkins
Every time I hear this song it sends chills down my spine. It is so amazingly beautiful, that it can, in the right circumstances almost make me cry (yeah – the almost is just me trying to pretend to be tougher than I am), and since I heard it for the first time, I have loved it.
08. Baby, It’s cold outside performed by Carmen McRae and Sammy Davis Jr.
This is me digging anything Sammy Davis Jr.. But only partly. This song is a wonderful winter song, all in itself, but the way Sammy acts out the part as a desperate bachelor, that almost got the girl to stay over, speed talking and growing more and more desperate, with every line he sings, it just takes the song to an even higher level of awesomeness…
07. What child is this performed by Mahelia Jackson
Mahelia Jackson has a very special place in my heart, when it comes to Christmas. Well actually for as long as I can remember Mahelia Jackson had a very special place in my mom’s heart when it came to Christmas. Meaning that my mom listened to ONE Christmas CD, and that was the Mahelia Jackson Christmas CD she owned, and had bought herself. That sort of thing has a tendency to stick, and now it just is not really Christmas, if I haven’t heard Mahelia Jackson and her very voluminous version of “What Child is This”. And admitted, I absolutely love it.
06. Walking in the Air from the Snowman
Since seeing the Argos commercials, well this song has become an instant Christmas favourite. Yes I heard it first in the Argos commercial, Yes I have not seen the Snowman (But I am getting around to it), and Yes it is embarrassing, but the song is still amazing.
05. Joy to the World performed by Train
Well, the singer from Train just have pure joy in his voice, and for that reason alone, this song belongs on the list. It always makes me smile, and when the singer sings Joy to the world, he actually brings joy to world just by singing.
04. In the Bleak midwinter performed by Julie Andrews
In the Bleak midwinter is a beautiful song, and well it’s song by Mary Poppins – Come on – Mary Poppins (Or Maria from Sound of Music if you swing that way)… It does not get more magical.
03. One more sleep til Christmas performed by Kermit the Frog and the Muppets
Yes, I have a song on my list that is performed by a muppet. But it really is a song that continues to grow on me, every time I listen to it, and every time I watch Muppets: A Christmas Carol. Kermit the frog sings it as Bob Cratchit, Mr. Scrooges poor but stoic and likeable clerk, from Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol ( If there is as much as one person reading this think, ehhh what story is that, you should be very ashamed, and then as fast as possible go and get a version of it and read it, it is the Christmas tale to end all tales), and it is just an amazing song, both in lyrics and in music, and I love it to pieces.
02. A Spaceman came travelling performed by Chris De Burgh
This is actually a relatively old song that I had not heard until recent years but as soon as I had heard it the first time, it was an instant hit. The melancholic sound just resonates really well with me, and the whole idea in the song with having a spaceman in a Christmas song, is just quirky enough to work for me. And of course, who can argue with a song that has a “na-na-na-na-“chorus?
01. White wine in the Sun performed by Tim Minchin
I like any version of this song written and performed by Tim Minchin, but this version where it is taken down a bit and focused on his voice, is one of the really great ones.
There is a very special reason this song is on my list. It is the song I found, when I realized as an atheist that I probably should think a bit about that Christmas stuff. And I did. I found a song written by an Australian comedian that just summarized exactly how I feel about Christmas (except for the drinking white wine in the sun stuff, I am from Denmark it is way too cold for sipping wine on the porch at Christmas).
The fact that he has both the part about the lyrics of the carols being dodgy, but also quite liking the Christmas songs, and well liking the spirit of Christmas, hits just the right spot for me. Yeah and I have loved Tim Minchin as a performer and comedian ever since I found this song, even though the song in itself, is not a comedy song as such.
Btw. This list is a picture drawn of a point in time. Meaning that right now, these are my 12 favourite Christmas songs, within the boundaries given, but maybe tomorrow, I will have changed my mind… (In which case I will not write a new list, this one has taken way to long time already)
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