It’s The Most Wonderful Time of Year

I know, I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet then again it’s only 68 days till Christmas!! Christmas is my favorite time of the year. Everything about Christmas makes me smile from the snow-covered rooftops to the ice-covered roadways, from the warm hot chocolate in a mug to the freezing temperatures, from the feeling of giving to the smell of cinnamon candles. I just love Christmas-let us dissect all the wonderful things about it.

The Songs

My favorite Christmas hymn is O Holy Night sung by none other than Straight No Chaser.

Other carol favorites are Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Angels We Have Heard on High, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. The minor keys and the complex harmonies characterize these hymns. What about the classic Christmas songs: It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Feliz Navidad, or Winter Wonderland? I like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Who can forget that scene in Meet Me in St Louis when Judy Garland first introduced the world to the song? As a side note, the words she sang in the movie were not the original words. The original tune was the same but the original words were horrendous. I’m so glad they changed it.

The Movies

Who can forget the timeless song White Christmas in the movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye? Wonderful movie!!! Another popular Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart. It’s not my favorite; in fact, it’s very far from my favorite. I think it’s one of the most overplayed Christmas movies; however, I have to mention it as the playing of this movie on TCM is a sign of Christmas. Other famous Christmas movies are A Christmas Carol (the famous Charles Dickens book), The Miracle on 34^th St, and some even consider Meet Me in St Louis a Christmas movie. Of course we can’t mention Christmas movies without mentioning one of the most popular Christmas cartoon: Charlie Brown’s Christmas. Who can forget the famous melody Linus and Lucy that has so characterized the movie?

Some day I will play learn it on the piano. Then are the cartoons about Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. “You’re a mean one Mister Grinch…” It’s perfect for a bass voice and one can have so much fun with it. The best rendition of this song is the original sung by Boris Karloff.

The Traditions

Every family has a special tradition for Christmas. My family and I read the Christmas story every year and we have homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Others may open presents on Christmas Eve, light the Yule log, or some may even read The Night Before Christmas. And of course, everyone has gifts!! As a child, I could hardly sleep as I waited with anticipation for the next morning to open the gifts.

Ah Christmas time!! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The spirit that surrounds Christmas is that of love, giving, and selfishness. It can make one wish that it would be Christmastime all year. This time of year instead of singing in the rain, I’ll be singing in the snow. 

So now I leave you to reflect on the wonderful joy of Christmas with my quote of the blog from Roy L Smith “He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.”

The End

Comedy In It's Finest

Vaudeville and Slapstick have long been forgotten. The days have come when stand up has become the only way besides a movie to see a comedian. Oh, for the days of the comedians who actually had good jokes and were fun for the whole family. The days of gathering round the TV or radio (if you go back that far) to listen to the Carol Burnett Show, the Dick Van Dyke Show, or the Abbott and Costello show. How I wish I could have seen them in their element. *Sigh*

Those days have long past and all we have is some glimpses of their glorious careers. Not one comedian today can hold a candle to the likes of Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, or Cary Grant. Gone are they along with the rest of those funny men and they have taken down the comedic teams. Comedic teams that consisted of the tall man and short man, the straight man and the funny man, or the thin man and the fat man. What happened to the times were the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Lewis and Martin, Hope and Crosby, or Laurel and Hardy were popular? Who can forget those famous routines? What is this world coming too??? Ruin, it’s all come to ruin! *Sobs*

Yes, that might be a tad extreme but there are many generations that have grown up without the enjoyment of the type of comedy only these teams could provide. Who can forget hearing Abbott and Costello’s famous routine “Who’s On First?”

Or who can forget Laurel and Hardy’s “Tell Me That Again” routine:

Or what about the Three Stooges classic Courtroom scene:

I have never met these funny men but I have watched their work and like a master they make something so simple sound so hilarious. Ah, for the days of the comedic teams to resurrect themselves into popular culture. If that never happens, we can still celebrate them by enjoying every piece of clip or movie that we can and although these men have long passed, we can still enjoy them. It still amazes me that something that someone did in the 1950’s can still be funny today and can still impact them.

I leave you with this quote from the one of the masters himself Bud Abbott: 

"It gets so boring at home. After all, how many reruns of Abbott and Costello movies can a guy watch on television?"