Monday, December 8: “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
It’s not too crazy of an argument to say that no other Christmas song captures the classical, magical feel of Christmas quite like “White Christmas.”
It’s a simple song, composed of two alternating verses, but the sleepy, slow melody and the nostalgic pining for a snow-filled Christmas are enough to make even a Hawaiian local wish for a soft, white blanket on December 25th.
While the song itself is relatively simple, it has some deeper lore. It was actually a showtune, written for the 1942 film Holiday Inn (where it won an Oscar for Best Original Song) and, perhaps more famously, later included in the movie White Christmas.
The latter film is a loose remake of Holiday Inn and is very focused on the fallout of the Second World War. What does longing for a white Christmas “just like the ones I used to know” mean for someone grappling with the greatest loss of human life the world had (and still has) ever seen?
While “White Christmas” (the song and movie) doesn’t actually mention Jesus at all, it does remind us of the promise of Christmas put forth by the prophet Isaiah and the angels on that holy night in Bethlehem. That Jesus would be a “prince of peace” and that his arrival means “[Peace on earth] to those on whom his favor rests.” It’s the hope that even as the world around us may rage, we have a hope for a peace that rests in an all-powerful God, who, sometimes, gives us peaceful snow on Christmas too.
Conversation Starter:
“What do you think the perfect Christmas would look like?”
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