by Linda Joyce

Created on: August 09, 2009   Last Updated: August 10, 2009

I have a confession to make: I'm Jewish and I'm crazy about Christmas carols. Okay, I've said it, and now I feel better.

From the time I was very young, I always loved Christmas and all the fanfare surrounding it, including the decorations, the gifts, and especially the music. I remember fourth grade and being in the Christmas pageant. I was extremely proud to play the part of Mrs. Claus, and reveled in all the Christmas music.

It's not that I didn't like Chanukkah. (It's actually a minor Jewish holiday, and people who like to compare it with Christmas are way off base.) It was okay, and we got presents, too. It just wasn't as awesomely showy as Christmas. A lot of people complain about that, deploring how commercial Christmas has become; but as for me, I love it.

Where I live, there's a radio station that starts playing Christmas carols and other songs of the season even before Thanksgiving. That gives us over a month to enjoy all those songs that take us back to the day.

Over the decades, I've collected albums (now CDs) of the best singers performing Christmas music: Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams, The Three Tenors, you name it, and there's a good chance I've got it.

It's difficult to pinpoint a favorite. I have to admit that I still get chills when I hear Johnny Mathis sing "O Holy Night." That might be the perfect Christmas carol. But then again, there's Luciano Pavarotti singing the same carol, and that's not too shabby, either.

Give me a dose of "The First Noel," The Little Drummer Boy," "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and a rousing version of "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" and I'm in heaven. The radio stays on all the time until I go to bed at night.

Then there are the songs that aren't quite carols, but they're wonderful, too. I'm talking about Mel Torme's, "The Christmas Song"; "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby; "What Child s This?" by Vanessa Williams; "My Favorite Things," by Barbra Streisand; and even "Blue Christmas," by Elvis. And there are many, many more.

As Andy Williams sang, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and I agree with him. Even if things have gone over the top commercially, most people are still attuned to the true meaning of Christmas, and all of the wonderful seasonal music helps to reinforce this most important Christian holiday of the calendar.

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