My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #4: Blue, Blue, Blue Christmas

Can you go a Christmas season without hearing “Blue Christmas” at least once? I say you cannot! This is one of those songs that grows on you over the years.

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #3: A Cappella Fun

The first time I heard this arrangement of “The 12 Days of Christmas”, I knew that I had to go out and buy this group’s album:
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I liked their music so much that I bought copies as Christmas presents for our church choir director and organist (and the organist’s son loved it so much that he insisted on listening to the CD at bedtime every night!).

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #2: Longing for Home


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I have to admit, when I was a kid, I didn’t care for this song at all – I think it’s only as we grow up and leave home that we are able to appreciate the bittersweet sentiment of this song.  It wasn’t until I was older that I learned the story of this song – and that has made it one of my favorites as an adult:

In 1943, this song joined “White Christmas” to become one of America’s most popular Christmas songs. The recording by Bing Crosby shot to the top ten of the record charts that year and became a holiday musical tradition in the United States. The idea of being home for Christmas originated in World War II when soldiers at first thought that the war would be quick and they would return by Christmas time. This inevitably did not happen, hence the line “if only in my dreams”.

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My Advent Calendar of Music – Day #1: Anticipation

Back in 2011, I got an idea for something to do for the days leading up to Christmas – I LOVE Christmas music, both sacred and secular, so I thought it might be nice to post some of my favorites. People seemed to like it, so I’m just re-posting what I did last year (which is why you may see comments from last year).

The thing is, I have LOTS of favorites – too many for just one post – so I decided to do a musical version of an Advent calendar, and count down the days until that most joyous day which celebrates Christ’s birth. Whenever possible, I have included links where you can purchase your own copy of each day’s selections.

I hope you enjoy my selections – some days there may be just one song; other days, I may do both a “church” and a popular song (both “classics” and contemporary); some days I may post different versions of the same song.  I’m just winging it, so bear with me!

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The Angel Tree (a heartwarming Koch family Christmas tale)

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Every family has their own “family lore” – stories handed down from generation to generation.  These are generally told around the campfire, on the front porch, or around the dining room table.  The good ones are side-splittingly funny; the really great ones are the ones which manage to embarass one or more family members.

Every year, Paul or I will drag out this old chestnut – it never fails to leave friends and family rolling in the aisles:

When Rebecca was a baby, Paul would oftentimes get Sarah and Michelle ready for school in the mornings.  Since they were ages 9 and 10 at the time, this consisted of waking them up. telling them to get dressed/ready, and driving them 3 blocks to the school.

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A Thanksgiving Classic

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From 1978, this classic clip from the sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati” never fails to leave me in stitches:

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Turkey Day’s comin’!
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Crockpot Chicken and Dumplings

chicken and dumplings ladle
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Yield: serves 4-6
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8.5 hours

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“Somewhere in Time” Theme – Maxsim Mrvica

Sometimes when you start exploring YouTube on a cold, rainy Sunday afternoon, you stumble across the most beautiful things:

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The gentleman playing this gorgeous arrangement of the theme from one of my all-time favorite movies is a young man from Croatia named Maxsim Mrvica. I had never heard of him before yesterday, but I’m now his newest fan…

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“Come Ye Thankful People”

Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving

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Whenever I think of Thanksgiving, this is the song that comes to mind – and this is a beautiful arrangement sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir:
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The Gettysburg Address – 150 Years Later

Gettysburg Memorial.

Today marks the 150th anniversary of a most solemn occasion:

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