It's beginning to SOUND a lot like Christmas...

Holiday tunes are fine.
Ye olde standard Christmas carols are mo bettah.

It's a rare occurrence anymore to hear a bona fide Christmas song on popular radio stations. I grew up listening to old-style Christmas carols. I still expect to hear them during the month of December.

For many a good reason, holiday music at this time of the year
has gone generic. It's all about snow, cold, warm fires, parties, presents and rockin' around the Christmas tree. Understandable, considering all the end-of-year celebrations that are not Christmas-related. All that is OK-fine with me. And so we are reduced to Christmas Music Lite. Which is also OK-fine with me. For the most part.

(Exception: I run screaming after the first few listenings of 'Santa Baby' sung by anyone other than Eartha Kitt)

Yet I do miss the good ol' Christmas carols. You know what they are.
The ones about Baby Jesus. Sung by choirs and choruses. In perfect harmony. A cappella. Or accompanied by a few instruments. A full orchestra for those amazing spirit-lifting crescendos.

To fulfill my need for soulful Christmas music, I sought out and subscribed to a 'Christmas Classics' station at Pandora.com.

Hearing those classic songs transports me back to childhood - to a time when Christmas felt most magical. Less to do with any clear religious conviction and more to do with holiday ambiance. That may sound a tad heathen, but what it is is what it is.

Imagine just how lovely for a little girl in the 'hood to entertain imagery of a starry night, a manger used for a babe's cradle, 3 wise men bearing gifts (myrrh?!?), barnyard animals...it's tough to fathom such ethereal things when living in the underbelly of a big bad but wonderful city.

O Holy Night style Christmas music.
Voices raised in joyous song.
Other worldly.
Peaceful.