Today is December 22, or just three days before Christmas Day, December 25.
This is a wonderful time of the year.
First we had Hanukkah, and now we have Christmas, with New Year's just a few days away.
And yes, Kwaanza is on December 26, which just happens to be my sister's birthday.
I won't tell you how old she is, but yes, she is older than the celebration of Kwaanza.
But back to Christmas ...
Over the years of this blog, I have put up several Christmas-oriented Rants, some directly about the holiday, others sort of on the periphery of this great day.
I am American, December 25 is a day off for me, but let's be honest about it, I don't get the full Christmas thrust because, well, I am Jewish.
I enjoy the holiday as much as the next guy, but I can't possibly get into it as much as those who celebrate the day, because quite frankly, it is not my day to celebrate.
So often, I am on the outside looking in, and some of my Rants for the day have reflected it.
Take this one, which was originally posted as Rant No. 643 from December 22, 2011. I have edited it a bit, but it kind of reflects how I can talk about the special day without really talking about the special day directly.
Here it is:
"A three-day-early Merry Christmas to all who celebrate this special time of year.
Even though I am Jewish, I still occasionally get caught up in the frenzy of the Christmas holiday season.
And part of that frenzy is the music, more to the point, the contemporary music celebrating the holiday.
While there is scant little for Hanukkah—more than you might think if you want to look for it, but still not that much—for Christmas, of course, there is plenty.
Some radio stations jump onto this point with a loud crash, playing Christmas music—and nothing but Christmas music—from like September on.
Other stations mix it in with their usual fare, but during the week prior to Christmas, they mix it in ad nauseum.
But I’m one to talk. I have so many Christmas recordings that you might think I am a good goy, as in gentile. But I’m not, of course. I just have lots of Christmas recordings in my collection.
What’s my favorite Christmas record? Or more to the point, what's the favorite Christmas record of this Jewish guy (not goy)?
A year ago, I told you it was "Riu Chiu" by the Monkees, which really isn't directly a Christmas song, per se, but a Spanish folk song dating from the 1500s that the Monkees used on their Christmas episode. Thus, for the past 44 years, it has morphed into a Christmas recording.
And if there is a No. 2, it most definitely has to be "Snoopy’s Christmas”/”It Kinda Looks Like Christmas” by the Royal Guardsmen. Yes, the entire 45 that was released in 1967.
Both songs--and the Monkees recording--bring me back to a different time, so they are both nostalgic and Christmasy at the same time.
Although on their Christmas episode, "Riu Chiu" was never officially released until many years later. I will bet that if it was released in 1967, it would have been a huge holiday hit.
The Royal Guardsmen tunes are another thing altogether.
Dating from the same period as the Monkees’ tune, the A side of the single is simply a continuance of the band’s “Snoopy” saga, which would encompass at least four singles: “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” “The Return of the Red Baron,” “Snoopy’s Christmas,” and “Snoopy For President.”
(And I found two more: "The Smallest Astronaut" and the Royal Guardsmen reunion-related "Snoopy vs. Osama.")
It kind of blends bubblegum with the holidays, and it works to perfection.
It did not chart on the Hot 100 of the time, although it did chart on Billboard's Christmas chart. It has been a favorite for the past 44 years, and you regularly hear it during this time of year.
The B side is basically a standard Christmas song, but it works wonderfully with the more popular A side.
It's very light and fluffy, almost like aural snow.
The Royal Guardsmen kind of got pigeonholed into the Snoopy thing, and they aren't remembered for much else. But they did have several other terrific singles, including my favorite "Behind Enemy Lines."
But they will always be remembered for those Snoopy records, and I will always love "Snoopy's Christmas."
I still have the original single that I bought in late 1967 in my collection, and it still plays well.
So have a Merry Christmas everyone. I will take a few days off, and be back ready to look at the New Year on Tuesday.
"Christmas bells, those Christmas bells, ringing out from the land ... "
Say what you want, but this was my reflection on Christmas five years ago, and it still holds up today.
Whenever I hear "Snoopy's Christmas," I know that we are in a real special time of the year.
Speak to you again on Tuesday. Have a wonderful weekend and a fantastic Christmas.
Whenever I hear "Snoopy's Christmas," I know that we are in a real special time of the year.
Speak to you again on Tuesday. Have a wonderful weekend and a fantastic Christmas.
You know that your congratulations a few days ago were a bit premature. Trump is going to blame Netanyahu for the debacle, the bromance is over, and Israel is in the crossfire again. https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/.premium-1.830533
ReplyDeleteWhat debacle? Trump said he would do this, and he did. We now know who supports terrorism and who doesn't. Those 128 countries that voted against this, they are now branded forever as supporters of terrorism. There is no other solution in that region. Other presidents, including the one you said was "so charming" have tiptoed around this subject for years, and now we finally have a president who has firmly put the ball in the Palestinians' court, where they will continue to double dribble because they don't want to negotiate, they want to annihilate. And if that is what you, as a supposedly proud Jew, is happy with, then you are also a supporter or terrorism, a supporter of terrorism against your fellow Jews. Yes, sometimes the biggest anti-semites are the Jews themselves, and if you think I like to admit that, you are wrong, but it is oh, so true.
ReplyDeleteTrump can either change the balance of power by withholding aid ...making Russia and China more powerful ...or he can show himself as the paper tiger he really is. And then poor Bibi gets the blame. I would not want to be in Bibi’s shoes right now. The US is no longer in a position to broker a peace agreement, the Palestinians will be emboldened by this latest vote, and the next Intifada is surely coming. There is a reason Clinton, Bush and Obama refrained from moving the embassy, and the reason is that the move does nothing to benefit Israel or the US. But go ahead and crow about this Pyrrhic victory while the likes of Germany, France, the UK, Mexico and Canada desert us.
ReplyDeleteSometimes, one has to stand alone in the light, and in this case, the U.S. did something so obvious that it should have been done years ago. Israel and the U.S. stand together here, and if that is the way it has to be, then fine, These other countries are so scared that if they take the side of these two countries, that they, themselves, will be on the firing line. The fact of the matter is that they are on the firing line anyway, regardless of which way they go. This lack of support of this agreement is once again demonstrating that the world is not ready for an all-out attack on terrorism, so it will continue. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and if the Palestinians would simply recognize Israel, the process would begin in earnest. That will never happen, the aftermath of this agreement demonstrates that, and once again shows that the Palestinians are nothing but thugs, barbarians and people who have absolutely no sense of being. And what is even more disturbing is that as usual, the Jews are divided on this subject. We should all be rejoicing that we finally have a President who has the guts to do something about what is going on in that region; instead, we argue about its worthiness. The world sees that, and is empowered itself to show its true colors. I wonder what the true colors are of those Jews who oppose this: is it the actual opposition to Jerusalem being the capital, or is it tacit opposition to our president, the refusal to acknowledge that he did something good? I think it is the latter, and that should pain everyone the most.
ReplyDelete