Hark how the bells,
Sweet silver bells,
All seem to say,
Throw cares away

Christmas music is both loved and hated. For some it is a way to celebrate the excitement of the Christmas season, while for others it only emphasizes the over commercialization of the holiday. I still belong to the former group, though I struggle not to get sucked in to the commercial aspect of it.

When I was growing up, Christmas music was a very strong tradition in my family. My Dad would put on orchestral or choral Christmas music over our sound system at home when the holiday drew near, which is why I still prefer instrumental or choral Christmas music to the pop versions of traditional songs. The music was part of our family celebration, and listening to it now brings back memories of celebrating the holidays with my family.

My favorite Christmas melody is Carol of the Bells, both instrumental and choral versions. Unfortunately, this song has been used quite a bit in stores, TV ads, and even parodies, but I don’t tire of it around Christmas time. Other favorites include The Nutcracker Suite, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, The First Noel, and O Holy Night.

Although I prefer traditional Christmas music like that of The Morman Tabernacle Choir and the Vienna Boys Choir, I have also expanded my music collection to include newer stuff like Charlotte Church and The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. I especially like TSO’s take on Carol of the Bells and The Nutcracker Suite. Having different styles of the same songs helps break up the monotony of it, even if I do love the songs themselves.

This is hopefully just the first of a series of posts I’m going to make about Christmas. It is, after all, my favorite time of year, and music always helps me get in the right mood.