On "Christmas" Music

As Ogden Nash once said while complaining about the state of Christmas:

I guess I am just an old fogey.
I guess I am ready for the last roundup, so come along little dogey.

You may think this an odd quote for someone under 25, but I'm about to sound very curmudgeonly about certain so-called "Christmas" songs.

There is a radio station in my hometown that prides itself on playing nonstop Christmas music from the middle of November until the end of December. I listened to it on my way home today and heard not one song that even mentioned Christmas. I heard "Let It Snow" twice. I heard "Walking in a Winter Wonderland", "Frosty the Snowman", and (surprisingly) "My Favorite Things". As each song came on, I thought to myself, This is not a Christmas song. This is a winter song. "My Favorite Things" is barely even a winter song, in so far as a few of the things mentioned (warm woolen mittens, sleigh bells, snowflakes, and "silver-white winters that melt into springs") have to do with winter. Now, it's not that I don't like these songs. They're fun to sing, especially when one needs some comfort in a Minnesota blizzard. But they have nothing to do with Christmas except that Christmas takes place in winter. In places where winter is not cold and snowy, such as Arizona, Central Africa, or, hm, maybe Bethlehem, where the first Christmas took place, these songs have no meaning at all. Granted, this is Minnesota, and these songs may get us in a festive mood, so they can be appropriate. But when these songs are all you hear, you are not hearing Christmas music.

In the middle of all the wintry festivities, Whitney Houston sang "Do You Hear What I Hear?" This song comes closer to being a real Christmas song. It's not about snow or sleigh bells, but about things and people that were actually present when Christmas began. Or so it seems. But take another look (or listen). In the first place, Ms. Houston left out the first verse. A lot of artists do that. They skip right to the verse that has the title in it, leaving out the night wind asking the little lamb, "Do you see what I see?" and pointing out the star. But the star is the only thing in the song that points to Bethlehem, to Jesus. Otherwise, the child could be any child, the song any song, the king any king at any time. Even an atheist could appropriate the song and say, "Yes, children are a source of goodness and light in this world, and if they're suffering, we should give them money" and leave it at that. And even if you leave the first verse in, there are other problems in trying to link this song with the first Christmas. Leaving out the poetic license that "wind and sheep don't talk", there are a few major problems with the mighty king. For one thing, the only "mighty king" we hear about in the story didn't bring Christ silver and gold or think He had come to bring goodness and light. He certainly didn't proclaim Him to people everywhere. He was Herod, who tried to kill Him. If you want to apply it to the wise men, you're forgetting that they were magi, astrologers, like the wise men of the book of Daniel, not mighty kings. For another thing, the mighty king's announcement undercuts a major feature of the story: Jesus didn't come with a worldwide announcement from a mighty king. He didn't blow trumpets or advertise, or throw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple. He came humbly, revealing Himself to shepherds and fishermen and tax collectors, and yes, powerful people who were humble enough to receive Him as their Lord. If you miss that point, you miss a lot of the grace and power of the central event of Christmas: the Incarnation.

As I pulled into the garage, the station finally began to play the intro to "Joy to the World". I sighed with relief...and then gritted my teeth again as I realized it was instrumental. No one was singing. There were no words expressing the triumph of God's kingdom. Maybe that's too much to ask from a secular radio station that doesn't want to offend anyone. And "Joy to the World" would certainly offend any rebel sinner who really thinks about the words. The Lord is come; let earth receive her King. The Savior reigns. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove the glories of His righteousness. This is a real Christmas song that was, ironically, not written for Christmas. It expresses the hope of the eschaton, the end of all things consummated in Christ. He will indeed rule all things. On that day, heaven and nature will sing. Fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains will repeat the sounding joy. His blessings will flow far as the curse is found. But even now, He has begun the work of subduing all His enemies and bringing the kingdom of heaven. A lot of people don't want to hear that; but I do. I want to be reminded of the midnight clear when the angels bending near the earth declared that peace on earth and goodwill to men had begun. I want to see how still lies the little town of Bethlehem as in her dark streets shineth the everlasting light. I want to ask again what Child this is whom shepherds guard and angels sing; to haste, haste to bring Him laud. God invaded this crooked world, becoming a helpless infant away in a manger, to save us all from Satan's power when we were gone astray. These are tidings of comfort and joy, not the sentimental longing for a "White Christmas" or a "Winter Wonderland".

Again, such songs, or songs about Santa Claus bringing gifts, are not bad in and of themselves. They're fun, like a snowball fight or a grab-bag party. They're just not the most important or even the most satisfying thing. I am reminded of C. S. Lewis' insistence on putting first things first and second things second. He pointed out (rightly, in my opinion) that if you put second things first, you not only lose the first things, but you lose the second things, too. If all you're dreaming of is a white Christmas, or little tin horns and little toy drums, not only do you miss out on the Incarnation, but those holiday trappings lose what meaning they had. Who hasn't felt the pressure to create the perfect Christmas experience, only to face an emptiness that can't be hidden by tinsel and holly? But when the joy of God's radical grace, His love that humbled Him to the manger of Bethlehem, takes center stage, then all the rest falls into place. We give because He gave. Our hearts are warmed by the light of His love; let it snow! Our Lord was a child and gives us childlike faith; the kids in girl-and-boy land will have a jubilee. Our King is making this world His own and will come again; it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Let's add those fun songs and festive decorations to our Advent celebration, like sprinkles and frosting on Christmas cookies; but let's make sure the cookies are there first. Sprinkles and frosting are pointless without them.