Music that brings back the Christmas Spirit

Dec 25, 2018 News

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By Kemol King

As you grow, it could get more and more difficult to feel that rush you felt as a child around Christmas time. Some believed in Santa. Some believed the world was a much kinder place than it really is. Others believed in love a lot more than you do, right now. Whatever it is, Christmas was kinder back then, but life has a way of weathering a lot of your innocence away.
On the bright side, there is music that has been around for ages, and is sure to be nostalgic by awakening the greatest childhood memories of Christmas. Here are 10 songs that will surely remind you of that caring, loving, cheerful spark that you know is still in there somewhere.
Oh Holy Night! – Mariah Carey
This is usually the first song people start to play when October is just about over. In this song, Carey sings about the miraculous night of the birth of Jesus Christ. In the music video, she is seen standing in a gorgeous red dress, in a church decked in garlands and pretty lights, with a choir behind her. The best part of this song (and I know everyone will agree) is at the end, where she pulls a long, powerful note on ‘Oh Night Divine’, that only the most accomplished vocalists could pull off. Oh Holy Night is arguably the best song on this list, and will go down in history as one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time.
Where are you, Christmas? – Faith Hill
Faith Hill’s song always hits people close to home, because it makes them think about how Christmas may be a little less inspiring, the older you get. The song is a part of the soundtrack of the movie, How The Grinch Stole Christmas; a story of a bitter, grouchy, green creature who set out to ruin Christmas for all the residents of WhoVille because of how they bullied him when he was younger. The story shows the Grinch, with the help of a little girl, showing remorse for his actions and eventually saving and being welcomed by the town’s residents. Hill sings of how, just like the Grinch, ‘If there is love in your heart and your mind, ‘You will feel like Christmas all the time’.
All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
With over 500 million views on YouTube, who can say that they’ve never heard this song? You’re probably thinking ‘Mariah is already on this list’. So what? It’s Mariah Carey. She’s one of the greatest vocalists of all time, and this song is the best selling Christmas song of all time. In the song, she sings about how she wants to be held tight by the one she loves, even if Santa has to forsake bringing every other present. It makes sense, that the infatuation of being in love can make someone feel a lot like they did when they experienced Christmas as a naive, innocent child.
Someday at Christmas – Jackson 5
Originally by Stevie Wonder, Someday At Christmas has been covered by too many artists to count. Luckily, you don’t have to, because the best one is by the Jackson 5, for their Jackson 5 Christmas Album. The song starts by saying telling a damning truth about how growing up changes children, especially boys, from happy toddlers to a world of divided people. However, the song is a wish and a prayer that, someday, there will be no hungry children, inequality or empty hands. But it goes on to say that love could only prevail if there’s hope in every heart. Do you think that there will be no tears, someday at Christmas time?
Every Year, Every Christmas – Luther Vandross
This one is a little sad. What do you expect from Luther Vandross? He was always a guy who’s music would pull at your heartstrings. This song, in particular, is about his endless love for someone who promised to be there for him, but hasn’t stayed true to that promise. He doesn’t lose hope. Despite his friends telling him to forget that person, and despite all the tumultuous emotion he is feeling, he will hold onto hope and wait for that person, every year, every Christmas. He doesn’t want to accept that they’re gone for good, but we know the truth. Isn’t love fickle?
Don’t Save It All For Christmas Day – Celine Dion
Celine Dion, with the voice of an angel, sings about how it’s better to give love every day, instead of just on Christmas. She sings that people are suffering every day, so we shouldn’t keep our love wrapped up. Children, especially, deserve to grow up and experience the world as a loving, welcoming place. Let’s show a little more love every day, so that our children could inhabit a world kinder than ours.
Bedtime For Toys – Stevie Wonder
Christmas is extremely commercialised. Parents tend to come under pressure to buy presents. A sad reality is that not every parent can afford to give their children the gifts they want at Christmas time. The song explains that children who don’t get brass soldiers or little drummer boys still grow up to be wiser and older, even by playing with a little rag doll. It still is sad, though, to know that some children will be saddened because they have less. So, Stevie hopes we sing a song for all the children that Santa didn’t visit.
Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth) – Bing Crosby & David Bowie
Two musical icons, Crosby and Bowie, performed this song about Jesus Christ who was born to save the world from sin. They sing that he will beckon peace on earth. It’s a prayer that, one day, every man and child will be able to experience a day of glory, where men live in peace.
The song lauded by the Washington Post as “one of the most successful duets in Christmas music history”. It was recorded for Crosby’s television special, Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas. Sadly, Crosby passed away before the show went on air. The song, however, will carry on his legacy for ages to come.
Silent Night – Andrea Bocelli
Celine Dion has said that “if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli. She was right on the mark. Bocelli sang this song, both, in Italian and in English. Both are equally breathtaking. The song was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. Bocelli’s cover perfectly encapsulates the feeling of reverence for a child who is as great and powerful as Jesus, yet still soft and tender.
The First Noel – Carrie Underwood
The First Noel is a traditional classical English Christmas carol, about the way in which the first people found Jesus in a manger, with his mother, Mary, and Joseph. The three wise men, had found Christ by following a particularly bright star in the sky, the Star of Bethlehem, while the shepherds received news and guidance from an angel of God. Underwood’s cover of this song is one of the best, ever recorded.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are many beautiful, mesmerising classics, each of which some person or the other has strongly identified with, for years. Whatever it may be, this list should set you on the right track for a Christmas you’ll never forget.

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