- Church Christmas music
- Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, and Perry Como Christmas music
- The Nutcracker Suite
When Bryan and I got married I expected that he would cherish the same Yuletide songs and singers that I did.
I was wrong.
Bryan grew up listening to the Christmas stylings of Mannheim Steamroller. I had never even heard of this group until I'd been in college for a few years, and then I just heard their name in passing. Bryan played some of their music for me and it was... okay. It was so different from I was used to that it didn't feel like Christmas.
I remember one very cold, very snowy evening during the first December Bryan and I were married. It was either a Tuesday or a Thursday because I had a class that finished at just after five and Bryan had to be at work at five, which meant that the car went with him and I crunched home in the snow on foot. The whole way home I thought about what I needed to do that night: the dishes, my homework, etc. We lived just five blocks from campus but I was thoroughly chilled by the time I got to our little apartment. I punched the code into the keypad that kept our door locked, turned the handle, and walked into a world of magic. Before leaving for work Bryan had cleaned our apartment and turned on the Christmas tree lights. He had also put in a CD of Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller. My house was a wonderful contrast to the gloom outside.
Since that day I have had a warm place in my heart for the Christmas music of Mannheim Steamroller.
I was thinking about this yesterday as the boys listened to four or five different Christmas CDs. One of them was a Perry Como, Bing Crosby, and Nat King Cole CD. Another was a Mannheim Steamroller CD.
I'm glad that they're getting a little bit of each.
3 comments:
It was just you and Ian one year and I joined the next year (that maybe why you had trouble remembering).
For me, no one more than Nat "King" Cole embodies Christmas Music. I like how he had a collection of both carols and songs. Plus, in my opinion, he was the best jazz singer from that era. Frank, Sammy, and Dino are good and all, but nobody's as good as the King.
For me, it's not Christmas until I've listened The Forgotten Carols. It's been a family tradition for as long as I can remember!
We really like Christmas music in my family, although not until the weekend of Thanksgiving when tree goes up. We have quite the ecclectic collection of Christmas music, so for me, Christmas music means Mannheim Steamroller, Kenny G, "A Very Special Christmas", John Denver and the Muppets, the Nutcracker, Transiberian Orchestra, and the Canadian Brass. :) Ah, Christmas.
If you've never heard Canadian Brass, look them up. Seriously, they're really amazing. And if you like Mannheim Steamroller, you'll probably like Transiberian Orchestra also. :) I love Christmas music.
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