“MELE KALIKIMAKA” – 9 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

It was my pleasure to spend the much of the past week in Maui. Where, believe it or not, it is also Christmas time.

The reason you might not believe it is that it’s nothing near cold there. We were walking by the beach in T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops while it was 19 degrees at home.

But there are decorations – below is a picture of the Christmas tree just after sunset outside the restaurant where we had dinner. 

And there is music. It should not surprise anyone that the one song we heard play most in the seven December days we were there was “Mele Kalikimaka.” It was written by R. Alex Anderson, who was born in Hawaii. Bing Crosby popularized it in 1950.

Because it’s in English – other than the words “Mele Kalikimaka,” which mean Merry Christmas – it’s not considered traditional Hawaiian music. But it’s fun to hear Hawaiian musicians play it in Hawaii.

Unfortunately, there are few versions online, but this video by Josh Tatofi is most reminiscent of what I heard during a glorious week in paradise.