Tag Archives: Holiday Music

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: GREENSLEEVES (WHAT CHILD IS THIS) – 25 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

Back in the 19th century, it seems like they recycled melodies a lot.

“The Star-Spangled Banner” and “Deck the Halls” are two examples of music that was composed before the 1800s and lyrics crafted to fit those melodies.

Such is true of “Greensleeves,” although there’s a slight difference.

The melody is believed to date back to Britain in 1580 – when Shakespeare was a teenager. It has been used for folk tunes, love songs, operatic arias and what the ice cream truck plays as it rolls down the street. 

In 1865, William Chatterton Dix took the tune and put Christmas-themed words to it. It was given the alternate title of “What Child Is This?” and apparently caught on.

The best arrangement is the Vince Guaraldi interpretation that is part of the epic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” soundtrack. But the version I’m linking to is that of a great singer who passed in 2025: Roberta Flack. I hope you enjoy it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_ilAT57Jpc

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN: GOOD KING WENCESLAS – 26 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

You’ve probably been listening to this song your entire life and not understood a) why it’s a Christmas song and b) who the heck King Wenceslas was and what kingdom did he rule.

Let’s start with second things first.

First of all, Wenceslaus I wasn’t a king. He was a duke of Bohemia (now Czechia), the equivalent of a prince. He lived in the 900s – he might be the best known person of the 10th century by default.

Most of what we know about him is legend – there aren’t a whole lot of documents remaining from 1,100 years ago. But apparently, as the song indicates, he went around providing comfort for the impoverished in his realm.

Wenceslaus was supposedly murdered by his younger brother, whose name – believe it or not – was Boleslaus the Cruel. They didn’t fool around with names back then.

Later in the 9th century, the Holy Roman Emperor posthumously crowned Wenceslaus, who also was made a saint by the Catholic Church.

As for the song, the feast of Stephen is the second of the 12 days of Christmas, a day honoring  one of the first Christian martyrs, 

The Wenceslaus legend hung around throughout the centuries. In the 1850s, a British hymn writer put lyrics to a 13th century melody, dropped the u from his name, and, voila, “Good King Wenceslas.”

It’s not one of my favorite holiday songs and I can’t name a definitive version. So here is a version I found on YouTube by the Irish Rovers. 

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HOLIDAY MUSIC COUNTDOWN: DECK THE HALLS – 27 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

I love music of the holiday season. Obsessively.

I add about 100 songs to my library every year. I possess some of the best songs that you might never have heard, some unusual versions of songs you know and some recordings that you would loathe me for bringing into your life.

So I’ll start this year’s countdown to Christmas Day with one of the best-known songs of the season.

“Deck the Halls” started its existence with a Welsh melody that was written more than 400 years ago. In the 1860s, Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant put Christmas words to the melody, which had been used to celebrate the New Year.

Oliphant’s original first stanza remains intact – with the exception of one line. His original third line was “Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel.”

That apparently didn’t sit well with folks in Pennsylvania. If kids were going to sing this song, filling meadcups and draining barrels wouldn’t do. So they changed the lyrics.

To “Don we now our gay apparel.”

In 1877, “gay” was not widely used the way we use it in 2025. Had the Pennsylvanians realized how the meaning of the word would change, it’s a good bet they would have come up with something else.

In fact, I’m surprised the people who see gay as some sort of evil haven’t tried to change the lyrics. Even back to the mead and the barrel draining.

I didn’t use any lyrics when I did my reimagining of the song in 2023. I fooled around a little with the melody instead and created something I thought was more contemporary.

It’s one of three tracks on my holiday EP, “Holiday Hospitality,” which you can hear on pretty much every streaming service (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.) and buy digitally on Amazon and iTunes.

Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXYDm6kDsK0&list=RDHXYDm6kDsK0&start_radio=1 from YouTube Music. I hope you enjoy it, in gay apparel, a full meadcup, or both.

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 25 (2 OF 2)

“(WHEN IS) HANUKKAH THIS YEAR” – 1ST NIGHT OF HANUKKAH

Hanukkah is always the same day in the Hebrew calendar – the 25th day of the month of Kislev.

But since that’s a lunar calendar, it never falls on the same day in the Gregorian one. So figuring out when to wish our Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah is often a challenge.

In 2024, Hanukkah begins on the night of December 25 – tonight if you read this when it’s posted. And it’ll run all the way into the first two days of January.

This song, by the alternate rock band Mêlée, captures the calendar confusion as well as the joy of a festival that celebrates lighting the way in the darkness.

Happy Hanukkah!

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 25 (1 OF 2)

“GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN” – CHRISTMAS DAY

The last Christmas song in this year’s countdown is this old English carol whose origin isn’t known for sure.

Some say it dates back to the 16th century. Others place it in the 1700s.

It’s one of those songs that’s in every holiday songbook, but doesn’t particularly make anyone’s favorite list. It’s nice, but somewhat innocuous.

Except that the Kiwi composer John Metcalfe has created a version that’s interesting. It has become my favorite version of this song.

And it’s a good way to wish you all a wonderful Christmas Day and a better-than-expected 2025.

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 24

“FELIZ NAVIDAD” – CHRISTMAS EVE

The best version of this Jose Feliciano song I ever heard isn’t recorded – unfortunately.

It was performed on December 24, 2010, at my family’s Christmas Eve celebration.

Every year, my father would give a toast as he celebrated the gathering of his family. That gathering meant so much to him – he and my mother viewed us as their greatest achievement, and Christmas Eve was the manifestation of that.

Instead of his usual toast, he began to sing “Feliz Navidad.” He made up words as he went along, mixing in Spanish, English and – because he was my father – Italian.

It was magical, if not particularly loyal to the original.

And, as I look back on it, it was a gift. He knew that he was beginning to disappear into the world of Alzheimer’s – and this little song was his way of saying goodbye to us. He would live another six difficult years, but this was his last real chance to tell us how much he loved us.

To me, the songs of this season are not mere words and music. They have a power to evoke memory and remind us of what’s great about life. When they do that, they make the friends and family we love immortal – at least as far as we’re concerned.

So Jose Feliciano’s version will suffice. I’m grateful to him for it – for inspiring my father to wish us a Buon Natale from the bottom of his heart.

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 23

“FRUITCAKE” – 2 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

There are bad silly Christmas songs that needn’t consume any of our time.

And then there’s “Fruitcake.”

It was recorded by the Superions in 2010, a good year for Christmas comedy. The group was a side project of B-52’s lead singer Fred Schneider, recording an entire album called “Destination…Christmas.”

“Fruitcake” was the most promoted track, released as a single in September and made available on iTunes when it used to give away those free songs at Starbucks.

As for the namesake item, I wouldn’t think this applies to a decent Italian panettone. I think it’s more about one of those things you get from mail order that breaks your teeth if you bite into it.

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 22

“THE FIRST NOEL” – 3 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

I always thought this song was French. I mean, Nöel is in the title.

But apparently it’s Cornish – from Cornwall in southwest England – and dates back to the early 19th century. It tells a simple story of the Nativity.

The most popular versions of this song were performed by Whitney Houston and Christian rapper TobyMac with the electronic music persona Owl City.

I just heard my favorite version in the wild for the first time. It was in Maui, of course, because the performer was the Hawaiian singer Justin. He gives the song a sort a doo wop sound that enhances its message.

Hope you enjoy it:

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 21

“FROSTY THE SNOWMAN” – 4 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS

“Frosty” is one of those holiday season songs that’s about the weather and not Christmas. Like “Winter Wonderland,” “Sleigh Ride” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,”

What I didn’t know until I started writing this is that Armonk, New York, in Westchester County, claims Frosty as a homeboy.

One of the song’s composers, Steve Nelson, is from Armonk and supposedly had the town in mind as the place Frosty and the kids run around. The community’s former police chief is credited with yelling “Stop!,” ending the apparent hoodlum spree through the streets.

In fact, Armonk has a whole day dedicated to Frosty. It was December 1 this year, so maybe next year.

Here’s Ella Fitzgerald’s version of the song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmw4Fu4XupE

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HOLIDAY SONG COUNTDOWN – DEC. 20

“FATHER CHRISTMAS” – 5 DAYS TO CHRISTMAS

I think of this as more curiosity than canon.

The Kinks released this punk rockish song as a single in 1977. It is among the more, uh, violent tunes of the season. There’s also a certain crassness to it – preferring cold cash to the silly toys that can go to the little rich boys.

Including the fact that the title is “Father Christmas,” this song seems very British. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

I thought about linking to a version other than the original. But this song seems about getting to the point – “Give me some money!” – so here are The Kinks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPPCPqDINEk

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