Christmas music should be a choice, not a clangor

At four years old, my favorite Christmas song was "Jingle Bells." I loved the repetition, and I could remember all the lyrics.

In elementary school, I sang in the school choir in the alto section, and I played the French horn in the school band and orchestra. During the holidays, the choir sang carols in the large department store downtown for at least one evening. I also played my horn in a brass choir at church.

Nothing about Christmas began until after Thanksgiving — stores didn't put up their Christmas decorations or play canned carols, residents refrained from decorating their homes, and the churches kept their Nativity scenes in storage until Advent began. Christmas felt like a real event, like a true celebration, and I loved singing the songs of the season.

My favorite then was "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful," but in Latin — and I loved to play Gabrieli with the brass choir.

In high school, I no longer played the French horn, and missed the brass choir experience. I caroled with friends during the two weeks before Christmas, and choir members (including me) continued to sing at the department store. I loved the caroling experience — walking through the evening snow illuminated by Christmas lights, seeing my breath in the air, going from house to house, singing songs for smiling people who opened their doors to us, gave us hot cocoa or Christmas candy. I felt that we truly were spreading the cheer of the season.

After college, I noticed a change. Of course, I was now an adult and privy to adult concerns such as Christmas shopping, holiday travel, cooking, drinking, baking, wrapping, and Alka Seltzer. The music was just as festive, but it seemed to be everywhere, all the time, over and over. Yes, Virginia, it is possible to have too much of a good thing! I avoided stores that played holiday music constantly, but then it would catch me in an office elevator. Working in advertising didn't help. The holidays are the biggest selling season of the year, and advertising is a huge part of it. Slowly, I grew to dislike the holidays because of the over-abundance of their expression everywhere.

Now, I'm no Scrooge — but I've continued to be saddened by the emphasis on consumerism at this time of year. It doesn't fit with the really beautiful holiday music. I'm especially saddened when I see advertising using Christmas songs that I loved as a child. So, I've been one of those people who has complained at times about Christmas music being everywhere without some balance with other music, or even with silence.

We've lost an appreciation for the beauty of silence. To walk on a winter's eve in the sub-freezing cold, snow crunching underfoot and our breathing the only sounds. I've had the experience as a child and cherish it. It's easier to hear myself think in silence. It's easy to drown out my thoughts and the world with technology and parties and non-stop music during the holidays.

This year, I've noticed that the Christmas music is no longer everywhere, although stores brought out their decorations before Thanksgiving. The good cheer is there, the festivities as well. I'm happy to choose when I hear Christmas music and what kind — serious, nostalgic, silly (Alvin and the Chipmunks), religious, pop, rock, or new carols. My new favorite Christmas song?

Cinda Yager writes essays, fiction, and two blogs in Minneapolis. She loves classical music and has just published an e-book novel set in the classical music world, Perceval's Secret.

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