“The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) by Michael Bublé, Wednesday, December 21, 2022

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas today. The first snow of the season fell in the city where I live, though it fell the first weekend of the month when I was up in Seoul. Starting at 7 a.m. and continuing until about 11, thick flakes descended covering the ground, making the morning commute a little more perilous than the usual idiots, though my carpool driver is skilled in New England winter driving. School started a little late with some traffic preventing the buses from being on time, and when they got in, the students played in the snow, coming late to class--good for them!

THEY KNOW THAT SANTA'S ON HIS WAY. I talked to my parents this morning when I couldn't sleep. It was hot in my place, and I went to bed early for two nights before that, so my body felt caught up on sleep. Nothing urgent at home, just mom wanting to make plans for when I go next month near the end of the month. I got to see the Christmas tree, and my mom dressed up in a Santa hat and some red and white blanket. She said that the family would save Christmas for me. She said it would be a simple time--just a time to share a meal together and open a few presents. She doesn't want to get me anything that is too much because of weight restrictions. Of course, no one believes or remembers when I tell them that in South Korea, workers just get one day off for Christmas, and then it's back to work, or in my case school. It's okay, though, this year because my school finishes three days after Christmas and we're off until March 2nd. Christmas in my family has had to be a carefully- coordinated event, since my mom, and later my sister, became a nurse and my youngest sister works for a news station. I've missed a lot of Christmases because of Korea. But somehow, Christmas never loses its magic. And every year, it's less and less about the things you get but the magic that happens when loved ones are together. 

FOR KIDS FROM ONE TO NINETY-TWO. "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) was written by The Velvet Fog, Mel Tormé, but we probably know Nat King Cole's version best. It's been covered by everyone, and today's version by Michael Bublé is a good one. In the days of the crooners, the songs were passed around and Bublé keeps that crooner tradition alive today. I don't have a favorite version of this one like I do other carols, but Bublé's crisp vocals felt like a good fit today. I don't like the taste of chestnuts. Maybe "Eskimos" is not politically correct these days. I'd prefer to have lasagna on Christmas because if you have turkey on Christmas and Thanksgiving, the bird gets old. I was never taught about Santa Claus other than that some children actually believed in him. Nat King Cole's version, in particular, makes me sleepy. And yet this sleepy song puts me in the mood for holiday cheer. Although so many elements of Christmas songs feel so irrelevant to us, they create magical moments unique to us. Perhaps you're celebrating Christmas in California, Hawaii, Florida, or another tropical area where the seasons don't change. "Let It Snow" might not be for you, but maybe it is. I don't know much about "The Feast of Stephen" or who "Good King Wenceslas" was, but the melody, sung right, makes me feel a Christmas sensation. I've been teaching my students a lot of Christmas vocabulary. In South Korea, Christmas is a couple's day mostly, something not alien to the US with Hallmark movies and Wham's "Last Christmas" or Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You."  Some of them have experienced a non-Korean Christmas, but many have not. And while they're not so young, I feel like there's still a magic to teach kids about Christmas--a feeling of deep appreciation for friends and family and building memories together. And that's what The Christmas magic is all about.

Read the Nat King Cole version on Genius.

Nat King Cole version:

Mel Tormé version: 

Michael Bublé version: