Get ready to be surprised by Christmas songs! Did you know it was a Christmas song that introduced the world to modern electronic recording? Did you have any idea that many of the greatest hits of the season were penned by Jewish songwriters? Have you ever considered how many Christmas hits do not contain a single reference to the holiday? Did you have a clue that it was a famous Christmas song that all but ruined a budding country music star’s career? Christmas songs never really leave us. Just like clockwork, they annually come back to set the holiday mood. They are less like old songs and more like familiar friends—just like the folks who sing them. Consider that without these holiday hits, entertainers like Bing Crosby and Perry Como may have faded and their songs been buried in another era. Yet now they come back to us each year with the regularity of Santa himself and make our holidays sing. A few special Christmas songs are like time machines: just hearing a few notes from our favorite holiday tunes can magically transport us to a cherished moment from our past. Ace Collins, Stories behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010). 21 Laws of Discipleship -- the book -- |