I’ve been tagged by illustrator Doug Jones for the Christmas Song game. My job is to post my five favorite Christmas songs, and then tag five other people. It’s hard to pick just 5, but here they are (in no particular order):
1. The Muppet’s version of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Miss Piggy’s “five golden rings” is classic.
2. Tie: Have a Holly Jolly Christmas and Silver and Gold. Specifically the versions sung by Burl Ives as the Snowman narrator in the charming Rankin-Bass special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. They don’t make ’em like that any more.
3. Zat You Santa Claus? by Louis Armstrong. I just discovered this song last year, but I love it. Not only is it an upbeat, jazzy number, but it’s so different from most other Christmas songs (which all start to sound alike after a while).
4. Do you Hear What I Hear? I was in the church Christmas program as a kid and this was my favorite song to sing. Not sure why, but it brings back warm memories.
5. Finally….Handel’s Messiah. Ok, it’s not just one song, it’s a whole album. But it’s beautiful music inspired by the true reason for Christmas: not Santa, shopping, or sleigh bells, but the Savior. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners…” (1 Timothy 1:15)
There ya go. Merry Christmas and happy singing to one and all!