Traditions of Christmas Stress

Jeff Westover Christmas Past November 21, 2019November 21, 2019Carolyn Wells, Christmas stress 0 Comment

Stress at Christmas is a fact of life. In fact, it could be called a time-honored tradition. In our ongoing exploration of Christmas past we stumbled upon this poem, titled The Christmas Nightmare, written by Carolyn Wells and published in newspapers for Christmas 1900. It could have been written today: On the night before Christmas there’s something amiss With your placid, habitual slumber; You suddenly find that your overworked mind Is harassed by cares without number. You are stirred by the thought that the gifts you have bought Are less than your friends have expected; And your heart is besetRead more

Edgar Fires Up Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas News November 15, 2019Edgar, John Lewis 0 Comment

While America debates Christmas Creep the UK celebrates with early Christmas light displays and an annual contest for the best Christmas commercial. One of the most anticipated ads every year comes from a department store chain called John Lewis, who has a history of schmaltzy yet entertaining commercials. This year’s video introduces a baby fire-breathing dragon named Edgar who has stirred up lot of attention. Take a look then read what Edgar has accomplished in the past day or two: There is no such thing as bad publicity, they say. If that’s true, the ad firm behind the creation ofRead more

Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith Make Silver Bells Sparkle with Marc Martel

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music November 15, 2019November 15, 2019Amy Grant, marc martel, Michael W. Smith, silver bells 0 Comment

What happens when you take a Christmas an old classic like Silver Bells and mix it with veteran artists? Marc Martel, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith hand us a gift with their tight harmonies and unique arrangement of this Christmas standard: The song dates back to the post-war golden era of Christmas pop. Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell featured the song in The Lemon Drop Kid but it really found popularity when Bing Crosby recorded it later that same year (1950) with Carol Richards. Like many of the classics of that time Silver Bells has been since recorded byRead more

Decorating at Home is the New Debate of Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas Decorating November 14, 2019christmas creep. christmas decorating, christmas media 0 Comment

Big in the news today, November 14th, is word of a Home Owners Association in Texas making a family remove their Christmas decorations because they are up “too early”. The letter was received by the family on November 4th. That news has kicked off a furious media rush of stories and opinions about Christmas Creep – a phenomenon of complaining about Christmas too soon. In Miami they can’t handle Christmas decorations at the mall. Rolling Stone laments the presence of Christmas music climbing their own charts. In London a news organization tried tree-shaming Christmas fans who put their trees upRead more

Dean Martin Returns in Let It Snow

Jeff Westover Christmas Music November 13, 2019November 13, 2019Dean Martin, let it snow, Universal Music Enterprises 0 Comment

Dean Martin has a new Christmas release. Well, kinda. It’s another posthumous appearance by Dino – yet another “old wine in new bottles” approach to Christmas music. This time, he’s animated. Take a peek…and a listen: This is the latest release in bringing the classics of Christmas music to a whole new generation through animated videos. Universal Music Enterprises is releasing brand-new animated videos like Dino’s to go with Frank Sinatra’s “Jingle Bells,” Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” Bobby Helms’ “Jingle Bell Rock,” the Jackson 5’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” the Supremes’ “My Favorite Things” andRead more

Thanksgiving? Not a Problem

Jeff Westover Christmas News, Thanksgiving November 12, 2019November 12, 2019Charlie Brown, history, PETA, Stan Freberg, Take an Indian to Lunch, Thanksgiving, War on Thanksgiving 0 Comment

The media is making a firestorm out of a new holiday outrage some are calling The War on Thanksgiving. Silly as it all seems the rhetoric of politics never has a down season. There are several polarizing modern talking points about Thanksgiving this year: • PETA doesn’t want you eating animals for Thanksgiving…because they are sexually assaulted. • Your carbon footprint matters. The food of Thanksgiving isn’t the problem. Travel for Thanksgiving is. • Thanksgiving is best celebrated in St. Paul, Minnesota. • Thanksgiving is a “food holiday” with a “problematic” history. • Stores being closed on Thanksgiving is somethingRead more

Rehya Stevens Returns for Noelle

Jeff Westover Christmas Music November 11, 2019November 11, 2019Disney, Noelle, Rehya Stevens 0 Comment

Rehya Stevens is back for Christmas 2019. This year her new offering is featured in the new Disney Christmas flick, Noelle. Titled Tis the Season the song has a retro-pop feel powered by Rehya’s strong vocals. The song is upbeat, traditional and Disneyesque. Rehya sparkles as a Disney princess should. Her 2018 album featured a number of original tunes that showcased Rehya’s smoky style and did far more to exhibit her range than does this new song. But we’re happy to see that Disney has recognized her talent and has utilized them for their newest Christmas film. Rehya’s single —Read more

Maybe Buble Does Own Christmas

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music November 2, 2019Michael Buble 2 Comments

On the very day that Mariah Carey declared Christmas season open and not long after Robbie Williams declared that Michael Buble should not own Christmas Michael Buble did what pros do: he showed why he’s the master of Christmas music: A classic song — done in Buble style — garnished with old-school Christmas stop-motion animation. Boom. That’s how its done kids. It probably took a little money. The video has nothing but handmade visuals, done in painstaking style. And the song is an all new version too. Michael Buble has pretty much owned Christmas music since his album release ofRead more

Things to Know About Christmas 2019

William Werner Christmas News October 30, 2019Christmas 2019, Last Christmas, Michael Buble, Pentatonix, Robbie Williams, Ryan Reynolds, Whitney Houston, Will Ferrell 2 Comments

Every holiday season brings something a little different. Here’s a quick list of things to know about Christmas 2019 – It’s going to sneak up on you. Yes, Christmas is still on December 25th, just like every year. But Thanksgiving is on November 28th. You have just four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas (if you count Thanksgiving weekend, that is). Cyber Monday is on December 2nd, fer crying out loud. The biggest trend in new inflatables for your yard this Christmas? Think Toy Story. Justin Beiber says that if his post on Instagram gets 20 million likes heRead more

Baby, It’s Criminal How They Exploit Things

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music, Christmas News October 29, 2019October 29, 2019 0 Comment

John Legend is going all-in to profit off his Christmas album from 2018, A Legendary Christmas. A deluxe version of the album is soon to be released and it is being hyped by capitalizing on the great Christmas music controversy of 2018. The song Baby, It’s Cold Outside was banned on a handful of radio stations in 2018 due to lyrics that somehow escaped the notice of the public for, oh, about 70 years. Christmas 2018 was the high-water mark in the #Me-too movement and the lyrics of Baby, It’s Cold Outside bristled the sensibilities of radio program directors stillRead more