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Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas……

Tuesday, December 24th, 2013

No Christmas is complete without watching White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Allen.   I can pretty much recite most of the dialogue of the entire movie! So for Christmas Eve, I leave you with the Crooner, the classic (and one and only) version of this song:

(And just ignore the dubbed in German at the end! what a hoot!)

May this evening find your surrounded by love and joy. Whether you are on your own or surrounded by a happy horde (or the usual squabbly family horde), thank you for sharing the holidays with me.

Children Go Where I Send Thee

Monday, December 23rd, 2013

I love the rollicking good time of this old song…Enjoy your musical interlude!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Sunday, December 22nd, 2013

Mostly, I like folk music and some rock. I’m not an avid country music fan, but I like my Christmas carols very traditional! English choirs in old stone churches with organs are wonderful, and I have found that most of the versions of carols that I really enjoy are sung by Country singers who know not to mess with a good thing when they hear it! Here is Martina McBride’s “Do You Hear What I Hear?” to enjoy as we approach Christmas day:

Enjoy!

Il est ne le divin enfant, Kate and Anna McGarrigle

Saturday, December 21st, 2013

For today’s Christmas carol, we’re heading overseas.  In high school, Mme. Tuomala (as you might guess she was our French teacher at San Domenico School) taught us French carols, and I always loved Il est ne le divin enfant (the holy child is born).  I have a version that includes Ca Bergers (sorry, don’t know how to make the cedille and the accents in French on my laptop), sung by Kate and Anna McGarrigle.  Here is a version on Youtube; skip to the 2 minute point where the singing begins.

Mme. Tuomala met a US soldier during World War 2 whom she married and then immigrated to the U.S.  Her mother, Mme. Peyrol, also came and also taught at San Domenico.  I remember my classes and Mme. Tuomala (who was always Mme. Tuomala and never Violette to me).  I learned so much from her that I went straight into Advanced French in college and tested well when I entered the Foreign Service.  She was from Provence, and maybe some day I will get to visit her native home.  I can still remember her telling the story of her dog, alerting him to an intruder in the yard:  “Chat! Chat!” and watching him go berserk yapping at the cat on the other side of the sliding door!

Light One Candle, The Magi

Friday, December 20th, 2013

As we approach solstice, I think we can all relate to the idea of lighting a candle in the dark (well, here in the Northern Hemisphere anyway!).  As Arlo Guthrie noted on a favorite album, Precious Friend, you can’t have a light without a dark to put it in.   Though this song comes from the tradition of lighting the candles at Hannukah, it is a light that we all share.

One of my holiday traditions is to watch my DVD (started with casssette tape, added the CD, then the DVD) of the Peter Paul and Mary Holiday Concert.  If my family is lucky, I do this when I am alone out in the house, because I belt out many of the songs as loud as my not-so-great voice can!

And another favorite from that concert–The Magi: