“Christmas” Songs That Can Be Played Long After Christmas
As a longtime aficionado of Christmas music, I always get annoyed when the radio stations abruptly turned off the faucet of holiday music at end-of-day on the 25th. Early December is always so chaotic with clients’ year-end requests at the office, or final papers and exams (whether student or teacher), or myriad customer requests. And then there are all the party obligations, shopping, cooking, and traveling headaches while you are laden down with luggage and packages.
It seems the only time I have to enjoy the music is on Christmas day during the after-dinner nap, or in the slow week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Sure, I can pull out my favorite CDs and listen to my heart’s content, but that takes away from the random joys of listening to 24/7 holiday radio and being thrilled and surprised when Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” eventually plays and you have to get up off the couch and dance around to work off that pie.
But there are a number of songs that have been posing as Christmas songs and they need not. Some can be played any time of year, but several can surely be played through the winter.
And so, I will count down the top ten Christmas songs that radio should be playing through the winter, and sometimes beyond.
10. Suzy Snowflake — This was made popular by Rosemary Clooney (and in my household, by my mother — complete with hand gestures) and there was even a Christmas special about Suzy way back when. But there is no mention of Christmas in the song. Suzy is all about snowflakes — she is surely busy January through March and, in a contentious political season, year-round.
9. Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep — Another one first sung by Rosemary Clooney, but later covered by many other artists. OK, it was sung in the film White Christmas (in which Clooney starred with Bing Crosby), but this is a song about gratitude. Christmas — and not even snow — is ever mentioned. Can’t we be grateful any time of year?
8. My Favorite Things — Somehow, this has become a perennial classic, covered by divas like Barbra fifty years ago to, recently, Kelly. Although many things are listed in the song, it’s not about presents! I mean, I kind of like it when “silver white winters . . . melt into spring.” So why can’t we sing it in April? And, frankly, I’ll take a brown paper package tied up with strings any time. (My birthday is in July, hint hint.)
7. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm — You need to re-evaluate your relationship if your love is only keeping you warm in December. Yes, December is mentioned in this song. So what? Do we stop singing a song about the moon in June when we hit July?
6. Frosty the Snowman — This is the male counterpart to Suzy Snowflake, but he is better remembered and his Christmas special still plays. And like Suzy, Christmas is not mentioned. Do we stop making snowmen in January? Right. Then we need not stop singing this song.
5. Hallelujah — Can we go back to the original Leonard Cohen version of this after the holiday? A hymn to both carnal desire and spirituality? It is not a Christmas song at all, and there is a struggle going on in the lyrics. I’ve often wondered what Cohen, a Jewish Buddhist, thought of this becoming a Christmas song. Or what he thought of the lyrics that were inserted into the song by Christian band Cloverton in 2014 — a version that has already made its way into churches. I myself identify as Christian but I cringe when I hear it — it has none of the complexity of the original.
4. Sleigh Ride — Very few people know what a sleigh is or have ever been in one. And yet, the sleigh has become associated with Christmas as much as Santa himself. I assume horses pull sleighs — perhaps even with bells? — all winter long. The song never mentions Christmas, only a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray. Is Farmer Gray one of those poor souls who shares his birthday with the Christmas holiday?
3. Winter Wonderland — I’ve seen some pretty impressive winter wonderlands in March. The first line, “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” brings us back to the iconic sleigh but no mention is made of Christmas. In fact, statistically, you are more likely to get a winter wonderland in January, February, and even March. Only 15% of annual snow comes before January. Be brave, deejays. Keep playing that song!
2. Baby, It’s Cold Outside — Made most famous by Dean Martin, it’s been covered by every imaginable singing pair since then. Recently, during the #metoo movement, it has come under harsh criticism for its uncomfortably and icky date rape connotations. Why are we singing this at Christmas? Does it remind us of that office Christmas party when we perhaps drank a little too much and took that ride home with the office mate? Not a fun trip down memory lane.
1. Let it Snow — Another Dean Martin classic, also covered by countless others. While I imagine no snow is as exciting as that first one of the season, the later ones are often bigger and better. So, let it snow in January, February, and March. This should be the soundtrack for every snowy weather report, whenever that blizzard is predicted.
