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Chasing the ghosts of Christmases Past.....
A recent XKCD cartoon showed the creation dates of the 20 most popular Christmas songs, based on airplay. Most of them were first released in the 1950s. And the caption makes the observation that the baby boomers are trying to recapture the Christmases of their youth.
I came to being either after the Baby Boomer era, or between the Boomers and Generation X. And what holiday songs do I fondly remember? The ones from the Christmas holiday specials that were developed and aired in the 1960s -- A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
And then it hit me. While I was sipping coffee at a Tim Horton's and hearing holiday tunes from these specials. Why would Boomers -- and I -- want to go back to the Christmases of our past? Because it was a much simpler time for us. As children, we didn't have to worry about paying the mortgage, utility bills, the value of our 401(k) accounts, fighting the crowds in the department stores, or getting up to go to work. All we had to worry about was getting good grades in school, getting our homework done, learning the music for the holiday concert, and wondering what Santa was going to bring us. And snow? We didn't have to worry about driving in snow. We walked through snow, played in snow, and dealt with it. December wasn't stressful, it was hopeful.
I really do miss those days.
I rarely see my relatives these days. That was one of the things my family did at Christmas time -- get the extended family -- my father and his 3 sisters -- together for a meal and conversation. Now the families have all grown up, and grown apart. And I'm feeling all alone during this season.
I may not be able to travel back in time to go back to those days. But I can remember them. And try to make the season as joyful as possible for my daughter.
I came to being either after the Baby Boomer era, or between the Boomers and Generation X. And what holiday songs do I fondly remember? The ones from the Christmas holiday specials that were developed and aired in the 1960s -- A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
And then it hit me. While I was sipping coffee at a Tim Horton's and hearing holiday tunes from these specials. Why would Boomers -- and I -- want to go back to the Christmases of our past? Because it was a much simpler time for us. As children, we didn't have to worry about paying the mortgage, utility bills, the value of our 401(k) accounts, fighting the crowds in the department stores, or getting up to go to work. All we had to worry about was getting good grades in school, getting our homework done, learning the music for the holiday concert, and wondering what Santa was going to bring us. And snow? We didn't have to worry about driving in snow. We walked through snow, played in snow, and dealt with it. December wasn't stressful, it was hopeful.
I really do miss those days.
I rarely see my relatives these days. That was one of the things my family did at Christmas time -- get the extended family -- my father and his 3 sisters -- together for a meal and conversation. Now the families have all grown up, and grown apart. And I'm feeling all alone during this season.
I may not be able to travel back in time to go back to those days. But I can remember them. And try to make the season as joyful as possible for my daughter.
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