Cards and carols – they make the holidays bright
December 22, 2010 · 0 Comments
By Dale M. King
I love to send Christmas cards. You know, the ones you can hold in your hands, the ones that arrive in the mailbox with holiday stamps and other decorations.
I know, in this era, e-cards are all the rage. I’ve received several already, and I must admit, they run the gamut from beautiful to outrageous. My niece, Tracy, in Massachusetts always sends e-cards, for example. Several of our friends here in Florida do the same.
One very cute one arrived the other day. It required a level of interactivity – that is, helping little animals build a snowman.
Maybe I’m just stuck in the old Currier and Ives period. I feel a little like Charlie Brown going to the mailbox to send his greetings.
That brings me to the other topic of this column – Christmas carols. I know that several Florida radio stations play holiday selections throughout the season. It seems they start playing holiday tunes around the Fourth of July, but it couldn’t be that long. But I must admit, I have heard Brenda Lee singing “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” about 47 times, and my patience is being tested.
I do wonder where the legendary songs of the future will come from. There are already so many carols that define the Christmas season: Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” Nat Cole’s “The Christmas Song” and Gene Autry’s “Here Comes Santa Claus.”
I must admit, I’m amused by Madonna’s “Santa Baby,” and “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” is just plain silly – something that might have come up on “Hee Haw.”
I was surprised to learn the other day that the Number 1 seller of holiday music is Manheim Steamroller. A radio personality said the syntho-pop/rock group led by Chip Davis had even outsold Elvis, the Number 2 holiday sales setter.
Through all of this, I still stick to a decision I made more than 30 years ago that the funkiest Christmas song ever made is the Bing Crosby – David Bowie rendition of “Little Drummer Boy.” Bing is crooning away about the little kid with the drum while Bowie, in his best Ziggy Stardust way, is semi-singing about ending war.
Oh, yeah, one last thing. I was recalling the first time I ever heard Bobby Helms’ song, “Jingle Bell Rock.” I was 10 years old and getting a haircut at Rocco’s Barber Shop when it was played on the radio.
My wife wonders why I remember these things and forget what I did five minutes ago.
The holiday spirit
Speaking of the little woman, we took in a couple of shows to get into the spirit.
We saw “The Nutcracker” at the Kravis Center. Great performance by the Miami City Ballet. It has made a ballet fan out of me, though I get pains in my toes just watching them dance en pointe.
Also, and this is not necessarily holiday oriented, we took in a performance of “Nabucco,” also at the Kravis.
It tells the story of the power-hungry King of Babylon who provokes the wrath of God in a battle for the throne with his daughters. It was Verdi’s first operatic success, the program said.
It gave us an opportunity to see several stars of the Metropolitan Opera: Sebastian Catana (Nabucco), Laura Vlasak Nolen (Fenena), Adam Diegel (Ismaele) and Harold Wilson (High Priest of Baal). All great.
And speaking of great, have a great Christmas!
