Jimbo's Jots

Over my years of living, there is a love hate relationship with Christmas carols. Most of us know about the one radio station that starts playing Christmas music the week after Halloween. Most of my friends know that I will start listening to Christmas music around mid-September.

There are some of my friends that love Christmas music as much as I do. What I love about Christmas music is over the years, we have expanded our own tastes when it comes to Christmas music. For example, my friend and fellow pastor, Jordan Baker, has created several Spotify channels of varying styles of Christmas music so that, in his words, “you don’t have to listen to the same ten songs on loop.” Follow his playlists on Spotify here.

Here is the other thing that I love about the music this time of year. It is that I get introduced to other renditions of the “most” of the same songs. I did a quick poll on Facebook asking people to identify their favorite arrangement of a Christmas song. As I stated in my post, my favorite arrangement currently is Joy to the World by Whitney Houston from the soundtrack of the movie, The Preacher’s Wife.

Here are some of the songs and artists my friends recommended to me. Some I have and listen to regularly, noted with a *:

• Noel (He is born) – Stanaj
• O Holy Night – SVRCINA & Tauren Wells
• Mary, Did You Know – Pentatonix*
• O Come, All Ye Faithful – Pentatonix*
• Baby, It’s Cold Outside – The Buddy and Jovie version
• Silent Night – Boyz II Men or The Temptations or BeBe and CeCe Winans
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen – 98 degrees
• Here with Us (Joy Williams – The Zoe Group*
• O Come O Come Emmanuel – Skilliet
• Little Drummer Boy – King and Country*
• It’s About the Cross – Go Fish*
• O What a Glorious Night – Sidewalk Prophets*
• Hope Was Born This Night – Sidewalk Prophets*
• How Many Kings – Downhere
• O Come All Ye Faithful – dutifully sung in Latin (kind of a family thing!)
• 12 Days of Christmas – Straight No Chaser

We all have a favorite soundtrack of Christmas! Maybe you’d like to share some of yours with me! I’d love to add to my library! Just Christmas music I have downloaded on Apple Music totals to several days of listening without repeats and most of them you will not hear on the radio. Hence the reason to start early!

So sit down! Find the Christmas music you love and have a listen! Oh, and if you get the chance, let me know what you’re listening to – maybe I’d like to hear it too! Now, pardon me – there are some songs on this list I may have to check out!

Blessings as you Christmas carol! Blessings to others as you sing!