Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Christmas Eve: the night before the day before the First Day of Christmas

(It came upon a midnight) Clearly, Christmas Eve belongs, somehow, within the Twelve Days of Christmas, even though neither it nor even Christmas Day itself are, technically.  Because Christmas Eve is the night when the magic of Christmas is stirring, gestating, breaking its water.  It's the night when the shamanic demi-God represented by Santa Claus miraculously comes to every child in the world's home on the same night using flying reindeer, and some sort of cornucopia magic to fit billions of presents into, like, 3 sacks--not to mention fitting his fat rear end down the often disused and narrow modern chimney.

By Christmas Eve, the Christmas tree is up and decorated--in my family home, my parents held a huge "tree trimming party" some days before [the ring of voices, drinks in adults' hands, cigarette smoke creating a fine mist, and the tree, little by little, being strung with lights, hung with ornaments, and draped with that "icicle" tinsel over each little branch of the twelve-foot-tall douglas fir...].  It was semi-magical, really, that the tree got itself trimmed even while in the middle of a bunch of people partying and yakking.  You can go on about talking animals and whatnot in all those Christmas tales and TV specials, which almost always take place in the time before Christmas, and that will, too, will add a touch of the magical anticipation of Christmas Eve.

At first I was puzzled about what sorts of songs to put on my playlist for this day, because, although there are a few songs with "Christmas Eve" explicitly in the title, they aren't many, and they're all sung by Justin Bieber.  So, I chose any song that focuses mainly on the time before Christmas ("They know that Santa's on his way...", or on Santa Claus ("...Is Coming to Town"), or things that we deal with before the actual day of Christmas (like Christmas trees, O Tannenbaum).  I found some real gems, like Korsakov's orchestral suite titled "Christmas Eve" and based on the short story of that same name by the Ukrainian-born Russian author Nikolai Gogol (available at your local public library?  I tried in vain to find a free on-line copy), The Cajun Night Before Christmas, the Ella Fitzgeral version of "It Came upon a Midnight Clear," which actually made me weep, and the musical comedy piece "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" by Cheech and Chong (which I'd never heard before), and a crazy vid featuring Bob Dylan of "Must Be Santa". 

Enjoy the playlist on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdartdqjh56C-o-JycMVVu4wetdRQ0b9k --but, above all, enjoy your Christmas Eve!

PLAYLIST, SONGS:

Rimsky-Korsakov - Christmas Eve: Orchestral Suite (1895)


Coworkers Recite Night Before Christmas from Memory

Cajun Night Before Christmas - Tee Jules 

The Nutcracker Suite (Full Album) - Tchaikovsky

Ella Fitzgerald: "It Came upon a Midnight Clear"

Santa Claus and his Old Lady

Weird Al Yankovic - The Night Santa Went Crazy

I am Santa Claus

Cheech & Chong - Santa Claus and his Old Lady

Santa's a Scotsman

Ray Stevens - Santa Claus Is Watchin' You

The Jackson 5 I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus (with lyrics)

BUCK OWENS - Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy (1965)

Bob Dylan - Must Be Santa (Video)

"You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch" ~ Dr Seuss

Snow Miser/Heat Miser Song

St. Paul & The Broken Bones Perform 'Zat You Santa Claus'

Moses vs Santa Claus | Instrumental

The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York (Official Video)

John Legend - By Christmas Eve (Official Audio)

Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus - 1947

Frosty The Snowman

Silver and Gold - Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (Original Soundtrack)

Kay Starr - (Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag - HD

Bing Crosby - I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams) 1943

Nat King Cole - Deck The Halls

Michael Bublé - Silver Bells (ft. Naturally 7) [Official HD]

⭐️ O Tannenbaum - Weihnachtslieder deutsch | Kinderlieder deutsch | Weihnachten - muenchenmedia

South Park - O Tannenbaum / Christmas Time in Hell

Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song