It's Christmas-time again. We always called it "Christmas." We participated in Christmas programs in elementary school. We sent and received "Christmas cards," not "holiday cards." Christmas was both a religious time and a cultural time. I believed that folks that were not Christian, or not active Christians, embraced the season as part of our culture.
Perhaps I was wrong, but I stubbornly maintain my right to refer to the season as Christmas. I called it "Christmas" during years that I did not attend church. My views are somewhat left of center, but I agree with those right-of-center that we don't need to do back-flips to avoid the C-word. I feel that the PC-police and the press have stolen part of our culture. I now go to church, singing in two choirs, and travel on international mission trips, but my position on Christmas in the popular culture is that Christmas is also cultural, as well as religious.
Let's look at Christmas music (as opposed to holiday music) as it relates to the fifties. I began by recalling a list of musical numbers, then searching for Christmas music in the fifties. Whenever a hit triggered a memory, I also added it to my list if it triggered a strong memory. Some of them predated our 1956-1060 years, but saw heavy play during those years. To make my point, many of these songs are not religious, but still are culturally seasonal. Here's my list. Maybe these titles will trigger a memory or two for you also:
- 1950 - Frosty the Snowman - Gene Autry
- 1952 - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause - Jimmy Boyd
- 1953 - Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
- 1957 - Blue Christmas - Elvis Presley
- 1957 - Santa Bring My Baby Back - Elvis Presley
- 1958 - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree - Brenda Lee
- 1958 - The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late) - Ross Bagdasarian, aka David Seville
- 1958 - The Little Drummer Boy - Harry Simone
- 1958 - ¿Dónde Está Santa Claus? - Augie Rios
This month marks the end of the 2008 theme, "Music Memories." Next month we'll present a new series of stories that relate to our Rogers years of 1956-1960 in some fashion.