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The real meaning of Christmas songs

WhistlingBadger

WhistlingBadger

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Singing some Christmas songs with my kids this week. We stick with the non-religious ones because it's public school, and sometimes I'm struck by how hilariously weird or even disturbing some of these songs are. What were songwriters thinking???
For example:

Rudolf: We love you...as long as you're useful to us.
Frosty the Snowman: Pondering thorny issues of mortality and reincarnation on an unseasonably warm day.
Santa Claus is Coming to Town: I'm filing for a restraining order.
The Twelve Days of Christmas: My true love needs to quit putting peyote in the eggnog. Also: Slavery?
Jingle Bells: The most popular Christmas song doesn't have anything to do with Christmas.
Mr. Grinch: Because we want middle school boys to like Christmas songs, too.
Good King Wenceslas: You can buy a random peasant food and wine and firewood, but you can't afford a decent pair of boots and snow pants for your kid?
O Christmas Tree: It's OK that no one actually knows the lyrics; you can sing the whole song with just the title.
Christmas Time is Here: The sound of fingernails on a chalkboard + Nostalgia for simpler times + a smooth jazz backing track = Christmas classic!
The Little Drummer Boy: How to really NOT bless the mother of a newborn.
We Wish You A Merry Christmas: We ain't leavin' until you fork over the sweets, grandma!

I'm sure there are others, but that's enough to go on for now...
 
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My favourite is "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". I love the tune and it gets into my head, but what a self satisfied smug Victorian the writer of that one must have been.

My nephew used to earnestly sing Silent Night about "Cheesies, Lord at thy birth", and the same song produced, in 'Olive the Other Reindeer', an xmas special character named "Round John Virgin".

I'm not sure anyone really listens to the lyrics in Christmas songs, even as they sing them. When I was a kid I wondered what a "one horse soaping sleigh" could be. I'm much more concerned about the horrible versions I hear in retail stores. Who are these singers, and who is paying them money to kill tunes like that????
 
The Christmas song I like was the theme of a cartoon I was watched on Boomerang.

Sadly it hasn't been on tv since.


Grandma got run over by a reindeer.
 
GaryE said:
This is a pretty dead thread, given the season. I'm surprised to see it revived at the end of January.
Click to expand...
LOL! Since it was revived....

The 12 Days Of Christmas is actually an interesting song with an interesting beginning... Hope that this is not too religious for these forums...

The Catholic Mass became illegal in England in 1559, under Queen Elizabeth I's Act of Uniformity. Thereafter Catholic observance became a furtive and dangerous affair, with heavy penalties levied on those, known as recusants, who refused to attend Anglican church services.
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The song 12 Days of Christmas was actually a code to teach what was considered important. The present for each day had significance.

  1. Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ
  2. 2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
  3. 3 French Hens = Faith, Hope, and Charity, the Theological Virtues
  4. 4 Calling Birds = The Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
  5. 5 Golden Rings = The Pentateuch, the first Five Books of the Old Testament
  6. 6 Geese A-laying = The six days of creation
  7. 7 Swans A-swimming = The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
  8. 8 Maids A-milking = The eight beatitudes
  9. 9 Ladies Dancing = The nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
  10. 10 Lords A-leaping = The ten commandments
  11. 11 Pipers Piping = The eleven faithful apostles
  12. 12 Drummers Drumming = The twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle’s Creed

The Catholic Meaning of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas': The Secret Code Explained – EWTN Great Britain

ewtn.co.uk ewtn.co.uk
 
Coded songs are always fascinating - a lot of the symbolism in Irish folk songs has meanings that aren't that important to modern people, but that carried a lot of weight in their time.

Sometimes when I have stood in front of artworks, I know I am blind to symbols and meanings that were as clear as could be to people hundreds of years ago. A renaissance peasant would have been nodding and saying a version of "oh wow" while modern me is standing like an idiot admiring the colours.

I got to wander through a Moorish/Islamic palace in Spain with a guide who loved the old symbolism and shared it well. I would look at an intricate carving and think of how it was done, and she'd read a story of why.
 
LOL! Thinking of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer the names are all wrong being what seems male names. Santa's sleigh would have to have been pulled by female reindeer as only female reindeer keep their antlers during the winter.
 
GaryE said:
With climate change, we're seeing some wild southern weather creeping up, and it isn't easy to deal with. But the weather event I fear is an icestorm. I've seen those all my life, as opposed to those newfangled hurricanes and tornadoes, and icestorms are to be respected.
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BanjoFish said:
I like a bit of history myself.

Did you know the Humpty Dumpty from the nursery rhyme was the name of a cannon used during the English Civil War?
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Interesting. Never thought about it but my first guess would probably have been depicting a fractured society. At the time nursery rhymes were not always for kids. I THINK some nursery rhymes were like the 12 Days Of Christmas; a way to say something without getting any repercussion.

Some of the history of such things are interesting. Take the song Silent Night which also has a rich history. It was basically composed for guitar as the church's organ was damaged by a flood.
en.wikipedia.org

Silent Night - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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jaylach said:
LOL! Thinking of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer the names are all wrong being what seems male names. Santa's sleigh would have to have been pulled by female reindeer as only female reindeer keep their antlers during the winter.
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Either:
a) the rules are different for flying reindeer;
b) the song/story was written by guys who couldn't imagine women being anything but Rudolph's Mom or girlfriend.

That whole Santa thing seems like a questionable operation. Flying deer, jolly old elves and large scale manufacturing that gives away the toys at no profit... meanwhile, we have songs about Santa where he's watching kids and keeping lists of who's naughty or nice. Sketchy.
 
GaryE said:
Either:
a) the rules are different for flying reindeer;
b) the song/story was written by guys who couldn't imagine women being anything but Rudolph's Mom or girlfriend.

That whole Santa thing seems like a questionable operation. Flying deer, jolly old elves and large scale manufacturing that gives away the toys at no profit... meanwhile, we have songs about Santa where he's watching kids and keeping lists of who's naughty or nice. Sketchy.
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LOL! I think think Santa is/was a pedophile.

Actually there is also some history as to the origin of the fabled Santa that is interesting but I can't currently specify as I've been up pretty much all night and am too tired to search it out even though I don't feel tired...

OK, broke down and searched a history. It is rather interesting. There are probably better examples but this article I quickly found interesting.

The Ancient Origins of Santa Claus | Ancient Origins

There was a real man who inspired the Santa Claus story – Saint Nicholas.
www.ancient-origins.net www.ancient-origins.net

Personally I don't even really do Christmas anymore as it has just, now, become too much commercial while losing all real meaning. Shoot, Christmas really has nothing to do with what we think. Its origin was actually established during the early stages of the propagation of the Christians. It was established to appease pagan believers. It was initially a pagan celebration to celibate the Winter equinox.
 
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