What is your favorite Christmas song? 

To be sure, there are some great contenders: White Christmas is the best-selling Christmas single of all time. Silent Night is the most recorded. And of course, there’s, “All I want for Christmas is you…” (Note: this one is better sung than read… go for it!)

Like you, I don’t have one, but several “favorite” Christmas songs. But the word favorite doesn’t do justice to what they mean. It’s not just that the melody is enjoyable to me—it’s that the music does something within me. I’m pretty sure it’s because of what I was doing and who I was with when I heard them. For example, hearing, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, takes me back to decorating a Christmas tree with my parents and sister. Where Are You Christmas? enraptures me to the night of my engagement. And when I hear, Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, I can actually relive dancing and laughing with my family, causing me to reflexively smile.

As you think about the songs that are the most meaningful to you, where were you and who were you with as you enjoyed them? Most likely, these songs have relational connections that transcend our minds and bond our souls. They are a taste of peace and joy. 

This week, we continue our series on the Original Songs of the Season, and the transformative power of peace and joy. This week we’ll be singing (yes, singing) Simeon’s song from Luke 2:29-32.