Christmas Music

I’m not ashamed to admit that my favorite Christmas album of all time is Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas. So I was thrilled when she released a sequel this year! It’s not bad, but for me it doesn’t measure up to the original.

I attempted to make an Ultimate Holiday Mix last Friday for my weekend trip to Nashville with my parents. Thanks to iTunes’ apparent inability to burn a CD that doesn’t skip, we only got to hear about five songs. But here are some of my favorite Christmas selections:

Merry Christmas Baby – Hanson
He Is Born, The Holy Child – from A VeggieTales Christmas
Jesus, What A Wonderful Child – Mariah Carey
Feliz Navidad – Jose Feliciano*
Breath of Heaven – Amy Grant
Mary, Did You Know – Clay Aiken
Winter Song – Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings – Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan
For Unto Us A Child Is Born – from Handel’s Messiah
Carol of the Bells – Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Christmastime Is Here – Vince Guaraldi and the Peanuts gang :)
How Many Kings – Downhere
The 12 Days of Christmas – Straight No Chaser
Someday At Christmas – Jack Johnson
Jesus, Born On This Day – Mariah Carey**
The Christmas Song – Hootie & The Blowfish

I must also give a shoutout to Adam Sandler’s original Hanukkah Song (I have all three versions). I’m a quarter Jewish, which is, according to the song, “not too shabby.”

What are some of your favorites? These are mostly contemporary songs. I’ll talk about hymns and carols another time. :)

* = This is a family favorite because of the time my uncle almost beat up Jose Feliciano at a Delta Airlines ticket counter in the ’60s. I am not making this up.

** = I realize that Jesus was not actually born on December 25. So what? :)