Why the Tax Man is My Santa Claus

Special to My Merry Christmas Christmas Features, Christmas Trends April 12, 2018April 11, 2018Christmas spending 0 Comment

As a high school senior I was lucky enough to enjoy a part time school schedule that allowed me to work a lot of hours. The plan was to save up as much as I could for college. It worked, too. But the biggest shock of my life came in the spring of my freshman year when it came time to do my taxes. I received what to me was a huge sum of money back from the tax man – a little more than $700. Naturally, being young and without the limits of my parents that money was goneRead more

Ending Christmas Too Soon

Jeff Westover Christmas Opinion January 4, 2018January 4, 2018Candlemas, Christmas is over, Christmas seaosn 4 Comments

In a world where “Christmas Creep” has become a thing nary a word is said about the abrupt end of Christmas. Ending Christmas each year happens without warning and absent of ceremony. I was aghast to see on Facebook a friend who had tossed their tree to the curb on the evening of December 25th. Being charitable, my first thought was “maybe it was really dry”. No. They bragged about it! “We are the first to de-Christmasify the house on our street.” they said. To them it was an accomplishment – a badge of honor, a gold star ripped from theRead more

88 Keys + 500,000 Lights + Three Ships = Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas Music December 13, 2017December 13, 2017the piano guys 0 Comment

Jon Schmidt of The Piano Guys replays an old favorite from a long ago solo-album and gives it a fresh spin with, oh, half a million Christmas lights. Take a look and a listen: I Saw Three Ships is an old English carol that makes almost no sense. How can three ships sail into Bethlehem when it is so far away from any body of water? Some believe the song is actually a nod to the Three Wisemen. Regardless, it’s a Christmas tune and it has long belonged to Jon Schmidt who takes it to bouncy new heights in thisRead more

We Three Kings

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Features, Christmas Music December 10, 2017December 10, 2017Tabernacle Organ 0 Comment

We Three Kings purports to tell the story of the Magi — perhaps one of the least understood elements of the Nativity Story. While scripture is short on detail of exactly who the Magi were that does not mean the imagination does not run wild and creative when we celebrate their role in Christmas. In this fun video the “three kings” take over the organ…and put on quite a show: The show here is the annual Christmas concert of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which always features an organ solo of some type. That small moment in the spotlight is alwaysRead more

The Story of Porky Pig, Blue Christmas and a Dude Named Seymour Swine

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Holiday Humor December 9, 2017December 9, 2017Denny Brownlee, Porky Pig, Seymour Swine 1 Comment

For many years we have been asked for the back story of Porky Pig’s Blue Christmas. In case you haven’t seen this masterpiece, here it is: Editor’s Disclaimer: It seems that no matter what we post we receive contrary opinions and plenty of emails of complaint about the politically correct this or that of Christmas. Porky Pig doing Blue Christmas is going to unleash those demons in force. For the record, we DO NOT CARE, on this one. This is just plain funny. Porky Pig, of course, is a world famous Looney Tunes character who dates to the 1930s. He’sRead more

O Holy Incredible

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Music December 8, 2017December 7, 2017O Holy Night 0 Comment

We have discussed the classic Christmas song O Holy Night before. We rarely feature it because it represents one of the most difficult of all Christmas songs to sing. It remains beyond the range of many contemporary artists. But what happens when you mash-up O Holy Night with Ave Maria? Any accomplished singer would call that a challenge. Part of that has to do with the arrangement of the song, which often soars to heights that are just out of reach for…mere humans. Even in choir settings the music is usually a challenge. O Holy Night is a sacred, emotionalRead more

Silent Night by Home Free

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Music December 7, 2017December 7, 2017 0 Comment

Silent Night is a simple song. It tells a simple story. It features a simple tune. It offers simple harmonies. That is why so many modern versions of Silent Night drive me crazy. It is just so often very over done (Look up Beyonce on YouTube — it’s an ear-bleeder). That is why I like this more subdued traditional take just released by Home Free: What I like about Home Free is that they take sacred songs seriously. There is nothing remotely secular about Silent Night. We love secular Christmas music and feature a lot of it but sacred ChristmasRead more

Carol of the Bells

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Music December 6, 2017December 6, 2017Carol of the Bells 0 Comment

The story of Carol of the Bells is hardly as well known as the song itself. It has been re-interpreted over and over by a variety of artists — most recently by Lindsey Stirling: Stirling, who seems to command you watch as much as listen, captures the original spirit of Carol of the Bells simply by making it more about the music than of Christmas. Such was the case originally with Carol of the Bells. The song was composed by Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914, who crafted the piece based on traditional Ukrainian folk chants that welcomed the NewRead more

The House of Seven Santas

Jeff Westover Christmas Features, Christmas Stories December 1, 2017December 1, 2017 0 Comment

Editor’s Note: On December 1st, 2017 seven Christmas podcasters came together to share the 1912 short story The House of Seven Santas. MyMerryChristmas.com participated by providing the concluding segment of the story as can be heard via the player below. https://mymerrychristmas.com/mlp/mlpepisode22.mp3 To start at the beginning, please visit the Christmas Past Podcast hosted by Brian Earl to hear Part 1 of the story. Then jump to the Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast with Sir Tim Babb, to hear Part 2. Part #3 belongs to the merry movie crew at Tis the Podcast — Anthony, Julia and Tom. Joseph Wade ofRead more