Things I love Thursdays! [ Christmas Music ]

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way...

Joy to the World!

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.

Oh Holy Night

Frosty the Snowman                  Carol of the Bells

Silent night, holy night. All is calm, all is bright... Christ the Savior is born!

Let it snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

I just love Christmas music! Our tradition at home is not to listen to any Christmas music until the end of the Macy's Parade on Thanksgiving, and often, the last few days of waiting are a bit painful as my anticipation for this incredible music grows. As soon as Santa ushers in the holiday season, my Christmas playlist is on shuffle and non-stop repeat for the entire month of December. This time of year always brings back my childhood dream of becoming a singer (and sometimes, when I'm driving home in my car, singing carols at the top of my lungs, I pretend that I am!). 

I love all the old classics- Bing Crosby singing White Christmas, Nat King Cole and The Christmas Song, Burl Ives and his version of Holly Jolly Christmas, Andy Williams belting out It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year... 

Of course, discovering original Christmas songs each year is amazing as well. It's kind of like early Christmas presents! I'm also a huge sucker for Christmas love songs! Who doesn't say "Awwwwww!" when they see a holiday Kay's commercial with one of those sappy love songs playing in the background. Gotta love it. 

 What I absolutely love about Christmas songs is that it doesn't matter if you sing them traditionally, or put a little twist on them- they're great no matter what. 

This year, I have a few recommendations for your festive listening pleasure:

1. Michael Buble's newest CD Christmas is simply f.a.b.u.l.o.u.s! The CD opens up with a rich, smooth version of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas which will pretty much melt the icicles on any grinch-y heart that's not completely into the season. Also, Michael's rendition of Jingle Bells, featuring the Puppini Sisters is absolutely incredible! Listening to this song makes you want to stop whatever you're doing, grab the nearest person for your dance partner, and break into a little West Coast Swing or Jitterbug. It's just delightful! White Christmas, Blue Christmas, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas... this CD is a great collection of anything Christmas. If you haven't heard it yet- find yourself a copy. I promise it will be a great addition to your collection, and will keep you humming, whistling, and maybe even dancing all season long! 

2. Jack Johnson's version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is adorable. Not a new song, but I just discovered it the other day, and I love it! The traditional version of this song has always bothered me a bit. Poor Rudolph! Ridiculed and harassed for his shiny little nose. And then- only when he was useful to them, did the other reindeer welcome him back into the fold. Reindeer can be so cruel. The injustice of this song always piqued me. It never seemed fair that Rudolph didn't receive so much as an apology from this snide little pack of caribou. Well thanks to Mr. Johnson, this issue has been resolved in my mind. In his version, not only is Rudolph not duped by the other reindeer's duplicity, but in the end, an apology is issued along with a promise to try and change. Now isn't that the way it should be? 

3. I believe I included this video in one of last year's posts, but I think it's good enough to repost. Jason Mraz's take on Winter Wonderland is one of my favorites. I especially love his live version. 

I do believe that I could go on and on for a long time talking about Christmas songs and my favorite recommendations. I just love them! Perhaps we'll revisit this subject later this season... 

For now, I hope you're enjoying your own set of holiday songs and that they're making your days pass in a melody of happiness. And after this post, maybe you will have one or two more to add to your playlist. 

Happy Thursday, all!

~Jasmine

Luminaries... not quite!

Last night in my home town was one of my favorites of the New Mexico holiday season. Time again for those lovely little paper lanterns called luminaries! For weeks now, I've been looking forward to bundling up in my coat, boots, and scarf and wandering through the magical maze of these twinkling lights. However, Mr. Snow Miser had a different idea last night and decided to douse our lights with snow and slush, forcing this annual tradition to be cancelled. 

Sad times! I was so looking forward to photographing this enchanting part of the New Mexican holidays. (I'm not going to complain too much though, because despite the loss of my luminaries, the weather we've been having this weekend has me absolutely giddy. More on that later.)

So rather than post new photos as I had hoped, I decided to dig through the blog archives and re-post some pictures and thoughts from last year. Enjoy!

~Jasmine

Originally posted on December 14, 2010.

On the 2nd day of Christmas... there were luminaries! It's one of the traditions at my house every year to get together with friends, get all bundled up and go to our local college to walk through the thousands of luminaries they have spread out all over the campus. I'm not sure how widespread the practice of putting up luminaries is, but explaining what they are to someone who's never seen one usually results in a perplexed look. What are luminaries you ask? They're paper lunch bags filled with dirt with a candle inside. Yep. That's all they are. And one may wonder just what it is that's so wonderful about them. Honestly, I don't know. I think it's one of those things that's special because it's attached to so many good memories- not because it's necessarily spectacular. For me, there's something peaceful about getting all wrapped up in my coat and scarf and wandering around the college at night amongst the flickering lights of a thousand New Mexican paper lanterns. The dark of the winter night is contrasted by the glow of the candles, and somewhere in the distance, Christmas carols can be heard. Sometimes there's so much comfort in the simplest of traditions. Sometimes, the things we love don't have to make sense to anyone else.

Take time to enjoy the simple things that are special just to you.

~Jazzy