music and rituals

It was very hard for me to think of a single ritual or tradition that I've done with memorable music. The only weddings I've been to were when I was very young, I can't think of any funerals I've been to, and the only graduation song I remember is Celebration by Kool & The Gang. 

For my blog, I decided to talk about different Christmas songs that I hear around the holiday season! Although I don't have any specific traditional parties or gatherings around that time, except eating at my grandparents house, there's a collection of different things that I'd like to share!

Golden Oldies

A great genre of Christmas music are the absolute classics of the 50s/60s! Because one of the only Christmas celebrations I have is with my grandparents, we just have to listen to good ol' classics! 

One song is Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee! Fun fact, the electric guitarist from this song, Hank Garland, is actually from Cowpens, South Carolina! Floyd Cramer, my great grandma's favorite musician (if you remember from my last post), also played the piano!


One song that has a very special place in my heart is Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives. I remember when I was really young, my grandparents had this dancing Santa hat. It would move left and right to the beat of Holly Jolly Christmas. I'm surprised I didn't get a concussion from how many times I was thrown around by the force of that thing, but it's a funny memory now.


Another overall fun listen is White Christmas by The Drifters! It's probably one of my all-time favorite Christmas song's ever. It's just so catchy and a great sing-a-long.


Religious Traditionals 

My family is pretty religious, and there are many songs about the birth of Jesus that we like listening to for Christmas. 

Almost every single one of my family members told me O Holy Night was their favorite Christmas song. It's definitely a very beautiful and powerful listen, no matter the singer.


 Another one I hear every time during Christmas is Mary Did You Know! Although it's not as traditional and definitely more modern than others, it can still be considered a hymn! My family especially likes listening to the Pentatonix version of the song.


Pop Culture Classics

One tradition me and my brother started doing a couple years ago is making a list of movies/episodes to watch as a countdown to Christmas Day!

A show that is very special and nostalgic to me and my brother is Spongebob! We never forget to watch the Christmas specials every year. They just never get old! In the first Christmas special, Bikini Bottom learns about the popular holiday from the resident squirrel, Sandy. They sing a song as they decorate and wait for Santa to arrive!


My all time favorite Christmas movie would be The Year Without a Santa Claus! Any Claymation Christmas movies are very dear to my heart! Instead of just me and my brother, we have to watch these with the entire family. I can't NOT mention the iconic Miser duo and their introduction songs! 


Although this is more eclectic than it probably should be, it was nice to reminisce on all my favorite holiday traditions rather than trying to limit myself to just one!

Comments

  1. Kyle MonkNovember 5, 2024 at 7:43 PM

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  2. Kyle MonkNovember 5, 2024 at 7:43 PM

    Savannah, I enjoyed reading about your blog. There were great song choices! I liked that you threw Holy Joly Christmas, and the spongebob squarepants christmas song. Those are staples for our generation. I feel like I resonated with you on the fact that I always rewatch famous christmas movies, and specials. They definitely never get old!

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  3. Avery FulmoreNovember 7, 2024 at 3:57 PM

    Hey Savannah! I love that you picked Christmas as your tradition, as it is one of my favorites! The Spongebob song is something that absolutely brings me back to my childhood, iI love it. All of the songs you picked are also some of my favorites to listen to around the holiday season, thanks for sharing!

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  4. Harry's international adventureNovember 7, 2024 at 10:43 PM

    Savannah, great blog, I like how you picked Christmas as your tradition as for me, its close to my heart as its now normally the only time I get to go home and see my Family and friends . The songs bring such joy and i really enjoyed listening to them and also bringing back memories . great post

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jordan RiceNovember 10, 2024 at 10:20 PM

    Hey Savannah! I really enjoyed your blog and it was right on time as the holidays are steadily coming up. Rockin’ Around the Christmas tree is definitely a classic and is a song known by all, this was a great choice for this blog. Pentatonix is actually one of my favorite holiday artists, and I love how they put their own touch on to traditional Christmas songs

    ReplyDelete

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