I had the phenomenal privilege of attending a live concert of For King and Country earlier this year, and I still can’t stop talking about how amazing it was! It was the first time I had ever attended one of their concerts, and it was also the first time I had ever attended a concert VIP, so all in all it was a brand new experience for me. I did not use to be a fan of the song The Drummer Boy until I heard this arrangement by For King and Country. They do an amazing rendition of it. and it is on my list of top five favorites of their songs. It is a very unique tune, and they added their own touch of pop to it. Now whenever I hear any other arrangement of The Drummer Boy, I think it sounds puney!
This Christmas, I have probably listened to this song at least once every day. I LOVE it! I do not know why this year it has really stuck out to me, but I just can’t seem to get enough of it!
As I said in my review of Mosaic, Amy Grant is my childhood! Christmas in my house is not Christmas until Amy Grant’s voice is playing on the radio. For as long as I can remember, every Black Friday, we would turn on Amy Grant, pull out all the Christmas decorations, and decorate the tree. Amy’s voice just brings back so many good memories! I love all of her songs, but I would have to say that this one might be my favorite!
Francesca Battestelli is another newer singer to me as I just started listening to her this year. However, I have been making up for all the years I have missed, by listening to her almost non-stop! I recently purchased her Christmas album, and this is my favorite song off it! I do not usually like The Christmas Song because–in my opinion–it is slow and boring. However, Francesca’s rendition of it is anything but slow! She adds her own touch to the song and adds some spark and life to it.
I don’t know what else to say about this song other than it comes into a close tie with The Drummer Boy!
I have to admit that usually I am not a fan of Toby Mac. I strongly dislike rap, and he seems to use it a lot. However, Christmas this Year is one of the exceptional songs I like. I am on the kids’ worship team at Calvary Chapel, and this is one of the songs we dance to. I have to say that it might be my favorite. It is a lot of fun to move and dance to!
I would have to say that this is one of–if not THE–most powerful Christmas song I have ever heard. The words are just so true, and could not have been said better. It is also so thought-provoking. I could not reccomend it more!
Pentatonix is an extremely talented group! What they do with their voices is beyond me. Where Are You Christmas is already one of my favorite songs, but I think they present it better than any other singers.
I hope you all have a very MERRY Christmas celebrating with friends and family!! Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for another book review and a great giveaway!
I know this post has nothing to do with books, but I thought it would be a fun and festive post to do this time of year! I hope you enjoy!
“Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas. The song was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont and published under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”. It was supposed to be played in the composer’s Sunday school class during Thanksgiving as a way to commemorate the famed Medford sleigh races. “Jingle Bells” was also the first song to be broadcast from space.
Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. According to Roger Highfield, the author of the book “The Physics of Christmas: From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey” the world’s most famous reindeer has a red nose due to a parasite. However, Rudolf’s relationship with his parasite is symbiotic: after all, the red nose illuminates the path through the winter night for the whole reindeer team.
In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas (the Dutch version of Santa Claus) arrives from Spain, not from the North Pole. And that’s not the only weird thing about the Dutch Christmas. Sinterklaas has his little helpers, but they are not adorable hard-working elves: they are black-faced boys and girls who can steal your kids if they misbehave, and bring them to back Spain which is, according to the Dutch, a severe punishment.
In Germany, Poland, and Ukraine, finding a spider or a spider’s web on a Christmas tree is believed to be a harbinger of good luck. According to one legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus, according to the other – a spider web on the Christmas tree turned silver and gold once the sunlight touched it. One way or another, decorating a Christmas tree with artificial spiders and spider webs will inevitably bring you luck and prosperity!
Santa stretches time like a rubber band, in order to deliver all the gifts in one night. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are 2,106 million children under age 18 in the world. If we assume that each household has in average 2.5 children, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles. Given the different time zones, Santa has 36 hours to deliver gifts, therefore his average speed would be approximately 650 miles per second. It is less than the speed of light (therefore, it’s, theoretically, doable but still quite hard for a chubby old man). Larry Silverberg, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University, suggests that Santa uses relativity clouds to get the work done. Relativity clouds, based on relative physics, allow Santa to stretch time like a rubber band which gives him months to deliver gifts, while only a few minutes pass for the rest of us.
Two weeks before Christmas is the one of the two most popular times for couples to break up.According to data analyzed from Facebook posts and statuses, couples are more likely to end their relationship two weeks before Christmas and two weeks after Valentine’s day, during the spring break. Christmas Day, however, is the least favorite day for breakups.
In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce and spinach. Many Armenians fast for a week before the Christmas Eve, that’s why, in order not to stress the stomach, the menu for the Christmas dinner is pretty light.
Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner. Although the percentage of christian people in Japan is close to zero, every Christmas, kids and grown-ups head to the closest KFC to enjoy some fried chicken – the closest food to turkey that you can get in Japan. It’s all thanks to a successful “Kentucky for Christmas!” marketing campaign in 1947. First aimed at foreigners, KFC offered a “Christmas dinner” that contained chicken and wine – a meal that remotely resembled the food expats and tourists had at home. After a huge success, Kentucky Fried Chicken started promoting this offer every year, until the fast food chain became strongly associated with the holiday season.
The “X” in “Xmas” doesn’t take “Christ” out of “Christmas. Xmas is a common abbreviation of the word Christmas, however, some people think that this spelling is not right, because it takes the “Christ” out of Christmas. Don’t worry, no one is taking the “Christ” anywhere. In the Greek alphabet, the letter X (“chi”) is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ or Christos.
The first artificial Christmas Tree wasn’t a tree at all. It was created out of goose feathers that were dyed green. The first artificial Christmas trees were developed in Germany in the 19th century, due to a major continuous deforestation. The feather trees became increasingly popular during the early 20th century and finally made their way to the US.
Iceland has 13 Santas and an old lady who kidnaps children. Christmas in Iceland is a colorful fusion of religion, fairy tales and folklore. Instead of one Santa, the kids are visited by 13 Yule Lads that either reward children for good behavior or punish them if they were naughty. The holiday period begins 13 days before Christmas and each day one of the 13 Yule Lads comes to houses and fills the shoes that kids leave under the Christmas tree either with sweets and small gifts or rotting potatoes, depending on how that particular child has behaved on the preceding day. The mother of Yule Lads, half-troll, half-beast, horrifying old woman Grýla, kidnaps naughty kids and boils them in her cauldron.
In Germany, Heiligabend, or Christmas Eve, is said to be a magical time when the pure in heart can hear animals talking. They can also see that rivers turn into wine, Christmas tree blossoms bear fruit, mountains open, revealing gems hidden inside and bell ringing can be heard from the bottom of the sea.
America’s first batch of eggnog was made in the Jamestown settlement in 1607. Its name comes from the word “grog”, meaning any drink made with rum. Non-alcoholic eggnog is popular as well.
In 1914 during World War I there was a now famous Christmas truce in the trenches between the British and the Germans. They exchanged gifts across a neutral no man’s land, played football together, and decorated their shelters. (Read more about it in the book “Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce” by Stanley Weintraub.)
The Christmas wreath was originally hung as a symbol of Jesus. The holly represents his crown of thorns and the red berries the blood he shed.
The tradition of hanging stockings comes from a Dutch legend. A poor man had three daughters for whom he could not afford to provide a dowry. St. Nicholas dropped a bag of gold down his chimney and gold coins fell out and into the stockings drying by the fireplace. The daughters now had dowries and could be married, avoiding a life on the streets.
Brenda Lee recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” when she was only 13 years old.
Almost 28 sets of LEGO are sold every second during the Christmas season.
