The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's time for a confession. One I've kept to myself for a long time, but I just can't find a reason to suppress any longer.

I completely love Christmas music. And uh-oh, what do you know -

"Well sure," someone said to me when I told this to them, "it's after Thanksgiving now, it's okay to listen to it."

But that's not what I mean. I love Christmas music. All the time. From New Years Day to New Years Eve. I love just about every kind of Christmas music. I love the old stuff, I love the new stuff, I love Christmas raps and Christmas song parodies. I love the songs about Jesus and the season, and the stuff about Santa and reindeer. About the only songs concerning Christmas or its indices I don't enjoy are "The Christmas Shoes," (maybe the most unnecessary song ever written) and anything wherein Santa is at the beach because that's soooo zany.

A sand snowman? Too wacky for me, Caillat.

No, I can listen to Christmas music with almost the same enthusiasm as I would Guns n' Roses, or Journey, or anything by the Muppets.

This is the greatest thing ever.

Maybe if there was good Hanukkah music out there I could include some of that, but whoever is in charge of our media conspiracy decided that our most popular songs about the holiday would just be lists of famous Jews..

This one keeps getting left out for some reason.

So all I wanted to do today was talk about some of my favorite Christmas songs, and share what you'll hopefully find to be some pretty good renditions of them.. Be warned that this post is going to be pretty video and link-intensive, but I'm sure we'll all have a good time at the end. So grab some hot cocoa, warm yourself by the fire, and, as I know we need it now more than most years, let's all share some holiday cheer.

Happy Easter

I am a Roman Catholic. I might not always agree with every little thing that the Church teaches, but I really love and cherish my faith.

The Triduum is my favorite weekend in the entire liturgical calendar. On Holy Thursday we celebrate the Last Supper, and its institution into the Liturgy of the Eucharist at Mass. On Good Friday we celebrate the Lord's Passion, his blameless death on a cross for our sins. And on Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil, we celebrate his rising.

Every year the Good Friday service moves me. We sing the entire Passion (according 

to John) and venerate a large wooden cross that symbolizes the place where our Savior was hung, bleeding and humiliated, to die. And every year, at some point between singing

Jesus, remember me

When you come into your kingdom

and

And when my hour of glory comes

When all was meant to be

You shall see me lifted up

Upon a tree

Behold, behold the wood of the cross

On which is hung our salvation

Oh come, let us adore

I start to cry. Like a baby.

Because while you may not believe, as I do, that Jesus rose three days later to offer salvation from the sins of all humanity, there is historical proof that he lived and was murdered brutally and publicly. He was stripped of his clothing, whipped with bone shards, nailed to a piece of wood, and hung on a hill for everyone to jeer at while they walked home from work, all for preaching a message of love and acceptance.

He was a man. And he died for others. Say what you will about my religion, but that's something to be respected.