Are sacred or secular Christmas songs more meaningful to you?

I grew uo in a family that went to church every Sunday. When we played Christmas music at home, it was always the traditional carols or sacred songs. I learned the secular tunes when I started going to school.

I'm not religious at ALL now, but as an adult, the songs that move me the most and put me in the holiday mood are the traditional carols, et al.

How about you?...

 

They're beautiful. Have you ever noticed a similarity in melody of The First Noel and Paul Simon's Wednesday Morning 3 AM?

 

I absolutely love, "O Holy Night".

 

Me too!! It's the tune that inspired this post.....

 

Impossible for me to say, but my two favorite Christmas songs are:

Dennis Wilson - Morning Christmas (vaguely sacred)
Bing Crosby - I'll Be Home For Christmas (secular)

I don't generally care for the secular "holiday cheer" songs like "Frosty The Snowman" or "Jingle Bells" though.

For sacred Christmas music I generally prefer chorals by Handel, Bach & Vivaldi, etc. to the traditional songs.

 

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without BOTH.

The religious songs, of course, announce the birth of our Savior. The secular songs give some meaning to the traditions that have been part of the celebration that's been attached to the notion of the three wise men that sought out our savior bearing gifts.

There is one secular song that needs to be heard every year, though, so that the many who've turned their backs on the true meaning of the celebration. That is Stan Freberg's "Green Christmas" that brings home the point that many profit from this event without necessarily understanding why it is.

 

I don't separate them that way in my mind. I like both equally.

I wouldn't want to live without "O, Holy Night," "Silent Night," or "Adeste Fideles," but neither could I manage if I couldn't hear the Ronettes "Frawsty the Snowmeaan," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," or "Silver Bells."

Didn't we already have this thread?

 

Depends. Having grown up with overly-pious (IMHO) grandparents practically trumpeting the singing of some hymns as if the lyrics are proof of something, I find some of my traditional musical anchors instilled in me a "meaning" that countered their original intent.

However, having the secular world (and this forum holds its' own part in this) foist Frankie and Bing on me every year as some "essential" listening over the holiday, I get the same result.

"Meaning" is a PERSONAL ascription to a memory/thought/concept that cannot be passed on if the subject is wary of the source ("the medium is the message").

Being agnostic (it's an adjective, not a religion), I'm still pulled emotionally by some appeals to my traditional upbringing. Two of my best examples are The Roches' "Star Of Wonder" from their excellent album We Three Kings, and Rob Mathes' chilling "Good News", which I discovered on a Rhino various-artist album called We Wish You A Merry Christmas (coincidentally purchased because there were Roches Christmas songs on it!). Or, two from composer/director John Rutter, "What Sweeter Music" and "There Is A Flower".

 

For me sacred Christmas songs are more meaningful but that's more through upbringing and beliefs, which I know will be different for those of you who have different beliefs.

Can I add on a cautionary note: Let's keep discussion of those beliefs well out of this thread.

 

For me, it's definitely the songs about the birth of Jesus. The White Christmas kind of songs are nice, but without Jesus, it's a nothing but a Hallmark holiday.

 

Agreed. And although my background is Christian, it should be remembered that the origins of Christmas are entirely pagan.

 

"Oh Come All Ye Faithful"

 

While I love songs from both sides of the coin, and while I am a true Beatles' fanatic, I hope to never again hear "Wonderful Christmastime."

That said, some of my favorite Christmas experiences are sacred songs sung by secular artists. Any church choir can sing the sacred stuff, but it takes something special for an artist to do so convincingly, when a secular alignment defines the better-known public persona.

- M.

 

Oh man, I'll with you on that one! :thumbsdn:

 

But a song I think that defines modern Nashville Christmas music from the 1980s on forward is "Tennessee Christmas" with the definitive version of it being the original 1983 recording by Amy Grant from this classic album.

 

I love the traditional songs "Silent Night" "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" ...... I could go on, I love those songs - they define Christmas for me.

I enjoy some of the secular ones too.

 

sacred for me

the secular ones always seem kinda kitschy and creep me out

 

Soon(tomorrow?)my work place will be inserting Christmas music into the sad mix of the same old,same old pop or country that seems to be at least two years old (there is just so much Shania Twain a human can endure,right?). Not a trace of anything religious-including instrumentals. That means some Herb Alpert "Winter Wonderland",but not "Jesu,Joy of Man's Desiring". In fact,when you take out the sacred parts,umpteen versions of "Winter Wonderland" can get pretty annoying. But it's always interesting to hear "Here Comes Santa Claus" with it's sacred message buried in the secular song. Someone just isn't listening.