O, Mary, Did You Know, It's Cold Outside?

I have a hard time choosing ONE of anything. Ask anyone in my life and they will tell you - I can't for the life of me pick a restaurant, a radio station, or a pair of shoes when I have so many options to choose from. 

So this post gets 3 songs. I make the rules! 

First up, we have O Holy Night. 

Growing up in the church, I am very well versed in traditional Christmas hymns. I was always moved by this song, and the acapella versions I have heard on my favorite albums are just gorgeous. I am a sucker for acapella. The joy it brings, when you truly listen to the words, literally ignite the holiday season. The entire reason we celebrate Christmas. The story it tells, depicting how the night Jesus came into the world in beautiful detail. 

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn' 

Take a second and think about that line. A miracle came down to earth to refresh the world, give it a new life. He came so we might live - is what we are taught in the bible. A new and glorious day came, to remind us that we are all loved, and that we are saved. Powerful. So powerful. 

My favorite versions of this song would be *NSYNC's acapella version, Josh Groban, and Michael Buble's version - beautiful! 

Next, we have Mary, Did You Know? ... and this one is a doozy. 

My mom and I talked about this song when she was visiting at Thanksgiving. There are so many articles out there about how this song is illiterate, and not really biblically accurate. I beg to differ. 

If you know the story of Christmas (all I can see right now is the childrens' retelling and it makes me laugh), you know Mary was visited by an angel and told she would carry a son. Did she know at the time the magnitude of the blessing she was carrying? Obviously. 

But the song certainly brings things into perspective for the listener. This song makes me INSANELY emotional when I really listen to it. How blessed was she, to carry the man that would save the world?! That gets me.. every single time. 

Pentatonix does an incredible version of it, but Anthem Lights does one and it blows me away. They do a mash up of Mary Did You Know and Breath of Heaven - its gorgeous, you should listen to it, and call me after. 

Finally - one of the more controversial Christmas songs. I have always loved Baby It's Cold Outside - long before cancel culture tried to shut it down. Here's the deal y'all... when the song was written and performed for the first time... life was different by leaps and bounds. Women were not allowed to be alone with a man they weren't married to. To dumb this down for the haters - he was worried about her going outside in the cold. As the song title says. THAT'S IT. 

I loved the version of it in Elf.. who didn't?! The "new" version that John Legend and Kelly Clarkson did to appease cancel culture RUINS the song. I will not go on a tear about cancel culture now, that will come in the new year! The original is fun, upbeat, and flirty. There's no need to trash a classic to fit the narrative of the current climate. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Christmas music in general makes me wildly happy. The warm, fuzzy feeling I get sitting in the living room with the tree on and music playing.. nothing beats it!