Christmas-time is here.

[BullyforBronto]

Xmas time is great. Food, alcohol, family. To me it has nothing to do with the baby Jesus.

And, for all of you Xmas music haters, Irving Berlin was a genius. If you're a songwriter, you have to respect him. I am convinced that most of the early Beatles songs were influenced by his chord progressions.

Oh, and you can't beat The Pougues' "Fairy Tale of New York." The best Xmas song ever written.

[MinnesotaMike]

I hate Christmas music. With a fiery passion.

^This, and the oft repeated question "why aren't we this nice all throughout the year?"

I have a hard time compiling a list of 'good gift ideas' (apparently essentials don't count lol), and a harder time coming up with the money for others. But the food... lefse, pierogies, sausage, pickled herring... worth it. My family makes an annual run into Minneapolis to get legitimate Swedish and Polish food every year. The tradition is great, and when you're away at college it's nice to see family again.
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And, for all of you Xmas music haters, Irving Berlin was a genius. If you're a songwriter, you have to respect him. I am convinced that most of the early Beatles songs were influenced by his chord progressions.

Oh, and you can't beat The Pougues' "Fairy Tale of New York." The best Xmas song ever written.

Perhaps you have a different selection in other countries, because we have to deal with stuff like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhg33LNL2ts
But it's not just one version. I hear about three new ones every year, and I avoid Christmas music as much as possible. Up until tonight, I had never heard "Fairy Tale of New York" either.

[Tank]

The thing is, I don't love the songs.  Every year, it's the same annoying stock collection of songs, and the new ones that seem to get added to the list are the ones that I didn't like from the get go. 

I love the songs, both secular and religious, for about a week or 2 and after that I just want to take a gun to the radio.  I can stand to hear about some mutant reindeer and his shallow reindeer pals only so many times, and even the little drummer boy gets annoying after the 1,136,678,395th time I've heard about him.  Unfortunately, some stations start playing Xmas music before Thanksgiving which seems to me really overdoing it.

I do miss Christmas carols, in particular 'Once in Royal David's City' I could sing that really well (IMHO) when I was a kid. And where else do you get to do communal singing except at church?

[The Magic Pudding]

Oh, and you can't beat The Pougues' "Fairy Tale of New York." The best Xmas song ever written.

I do like that one, and the John Lennon song.

Another one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwikfLtjfHQ

[Stevil]

Christmas carols ACDC style

[Buddy]

I hate Christmas music. With a fiery passion.

^This, and the oft repeated question "why aren't we this nice all throughout the year?"

I have a hard time compiling a list of 'good gift ideas' (apparently essentials don't count lol), and a harder time coming up with the money for others. But the food... lefse, pierogies, sausage, pickled herring... worth it. My family makes an annual run into Minneapolis to get legitimate Swedish and Polish food every year. The tradition is great, and when you're away at college it's nice to see family again.

Pickled herring= Best food. Ever.

[Sandra Craft]

I do miss Christmas carols, in particular 'Once in Royal David's City' I could sing that really well (IMHO) when I was a kid. And where else do you get to do communal singing except at church?

They just don't have those wandering choruses anymore.  Here's a non-Xmas song I wouldn't mind hearing carolers sing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3woM079L_4&list=PLD6D8E84BFF9FFC9F&index=15&feature=plpp_video

but this traditional Xmas classic can't be beat either:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUZsYRjg378&list=PLD6D8E84BFF9FFC9F&index=17&feature=plpp_video

[OldGit]

Don't forget the poor old reindeer!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIWHWjddGsQ&feature=related

[xSilverPhinx]

I love how this thread turned into how people say they hate Christmas carols to 'which carols do you like?'

[Asmodean]

I love how this thread turned into how people say they hate Christmas carols to 'which carols do you like?'

Well then, here is some more appropriate input. Asmo style.

Carols I like: none

[Sandra Craft]

I love how this thread turned into how people say they hate Christmas carols to 'which carols do you like?'

Thread drift, it's inevitable.  Maybe a separate thread should be started for holiday frou-frou we love.

[xSilverPhinx]

I'm not criticising it anything, I just find it humourous how it all changed

Carry on, by all means, maybe good carols really do exist

[OldGit]

For me, there are few good carol texts, but many superb tunes.

My favourite is Auf, Tochter Zion, schmücke Dich, also O Little Town, Silent Night, Tannenbaum ....

[Tristan Jay]

I do like "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" when done in a traditional way (as opposed to a modern pop rendition), I find the melody to be haunting in a pleasingly melancholy way.

I also like "Hark! Hear the Bells" as it's used in the first Home Alone movie; when the kid realizes that he has to get back home to wage war on the burglars; it's cool how as he runs along, the house lights start springing on as he passes, heralding the battle to come...

It's the simple, random things in life sometimes...

[Sweetdeath]

I like Futurama's xmas best.

Anyway, I don't celebrate it. It's not religious, but a consumer holiday, where stupid people buy crappy gifts they can't really afford, or else they feel left out.

The streets and shops are crowded til mid January, which annoys me. And I sympathize greatly with those who have to work black friday.
Xmas is meaningless to me; religious aspects aside.