Christmas carols are ubiquitous during December, and often prompt experiences you don’t expect.
Some may have to do with the holidays, and some may not.
Here are stories featuring Christmas carols in my life.
American Christmas carols: Feliz Navidad?
Our family of seven camped through New Zealand many years ago during the Christmas holidays.
One night in Rotorua, we rode a bus to the Tamaki Maori Village for an evening of Maori culture.
We experienced music, songs, dances, and viewed cultural events and crafts.
The evening finished with a traditional dinner.
(It reminded me of our experiences at luaus in Hawai’i.)
On the trip back to town on a bus full of international visitors, the bus driver asked us to sing songs from our country.
We were the only Americans on the bus, but after hearing Christmas carols that sounded very familiar, we wanted something different.
The only different song we could all remember was Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad,” which we sang with gusto.
(Okay, we ARE from California).
Everyone on the bus loved it.
I’ll be home for Christmas
As I inspected the frozen vegetables at the grocery store last week, “I’ll be home for Christmas” wafted over the speakers.
Staring at the frozen peas, I began to cry.
Hawai’ian creche
23 years ago in October, I sang that song over the phone to my mother, announcing we’d purchased tickets to California from our home, then in Hawai’i.
She was very excited she’d get to spend a Christmas that year with all seven of her grandchildren.
My husband’s military leave orders were canceled the day before we were scheduled to fly. We had to stay home.
Mom gamely mailed all our packages, and they arrived in time for Christmas.
But we were so very sad. “I’ll see you next year,” I promised over the phone.
She died the next year on December 22. I saw Mom that Christmas in her casket.
Curious how a Christmas carol can trigger grief so many years later.
For Unto Us a Child is Born!
Handel’s Messiah is most often heard at Christmas time, though it works equally well for Easter.
In my case, it played an important role in November–when I labored with my first child.
I played it over and over again as I walked the entire night, hoping my child would be born soon.
Uganda creche
Though I didn’t know the sex, I even sang along, “Unto us; a son is given, for unto us a child is born!”
We did have a son–born 18 hours later!
Other meaningful Christmas carols
I’ve written other posts about meaningful Christmas carols in my life.
My favorite contemporary carol is A Strange Way to Save the World.
We had a delightful Christmas in Queenstown, New Zealand singing carols with a New Zealand twist. “The Upside Down Christmas,” made us laugh as we sang the words!
My Deliverer is Coming also inspires during Advent.
My Christmas novella, The Yuletide Bride incorporates bagpipe music into the storyline at Christmas, no less!
Can you share a story about how a Christmas carol affected you?
Tweetables
Personal laughter, birth, sorrow, and joy: Christmas carols over the years. Click to Tweet
Adventures in Christmas carols: laughter, childbirth, poignancy and joy. Click to Tweet
Is Feliz Navidad really an American Christmas carol? Click to Tweet
Thank you so much for sharing these vignettes from your life, Michelle.
For me…well, I’ve seen a lot of dying, probably too much by far (and a lot of it around Christmas, for some reason), and the Christmas song that speaks most clearly now is the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Better Days’.
I hope it’s OK that I share the Youtube link here:
I had not heard this song before. Thanks!