Christmas is coming.
I looked at the calendar this morning and saw that we are now three weeks away from Christmas. The season is rapidly approaching and yet I was outside working in the yard in short-sleeves last weekend and thermometers hit 70 degrees here today.
It feels like some sort of disconnect - unless, of course, we all moved to South Florida recently!
Around our house this past weekend, we started getting ourselves in the spirit of the season with the FHS Madrigal Dinners I told you about. Also, we wrapped up a couple gifts and l pulled up the iTunes on my computer to play some of our favorite Christmas songs as a backdrop.
I don’t know about you, but Christmas music really helps to get me into the mood for the Christmas season. Over the years, I have really become a huge fan of “O Holy Night.” I really like the Nat King Cole rendition but I think I love Michael Crawford’s version even more.
I love to tell this story about Holly and I first heard Crawford’s rendition.
During her ballet days, Lisa and I would trade out dropping her off and picking her up for practice. I think this story centers on the Christmas season when she was in seventh grade (but I’m sure she could tell you for sure – maybe even down to the specific day, date and time this story took place).
We tuned our Sirius/XM channel to one of the Christmas music channels and began driving, heading west on Kingston Pike. I think we were somewhere near Franklin Square when the Michael Crawford version of “O Holy Night” came on the radio. We were both, immediately, captivated. When he got to the part “Fall on your knees…” I felt my eyes well up and chill bumps appear. I know Holly had a similar reaction. And if I thought that part was amazing, I wasn’t prepared for the emotional crescendo, when he sings the line near the end that begins with “Noel.”
Wow.
I know that Holly had a similar reaction because we’ve talked about this moment many times since then.
Needless to say, we immediately purchased the song via iTunes. When it came up in the rotation over the weekend, I smiled and we told the story again. The story has become one of those annual events - much like trimming the tree or hanging our wreaths. You know how it is about family traditions this time of year!
If you love this particular Christmas song, and you’ve never heard this version, I’d highly recommend it.
And if you find that, amidst the spring-like weather, you just haven’t gotten into the holiday spirit, why not pop a few of your favorite Christmas CDs in the player or pull up your favorite online service and get yourself in the mood.
Christmas is coming. Just three more weeks.
JG
Originally posted 12/4/2012
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