Do You Hear What I Hear?

Sounds of the seasons are a gift to all

If I could credit one thing above all that fills me with the spirit of Christmas I would have to say it is the music. I love the music of the Christmas season. I can’t hear it enough. Sometimes I get it out before Thanksgiving to help lift myself myself from the hustle and bustle to moments of peace and serenity. I love all genres from Gene Autry’s Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to Handel’s Messiah, Chipmunks Christmas Song to the Mariah Carey’s Oh Holy Night, Kenny Gee’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Neil Diamond’s And So This Is Christmas (two nice Jewish boys honoring Christmas), Miley Cyrus, Brad Paisley, Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby and the list goes on and on. Whatever kind of music you enjoy there is some delightful and nostalgic Christmas music to make you smile and bring back some sweet memories or make new memories.
Growing up my parents only had about three Christmas 33 RPM LP records; Johnny Mathis, Andy Williams and the Nutcracker Ballet. These melodies bring back poignant recollections of childhood Christmases.
As wonderful as it is to listen to Christmas music it is even better to participate and become integrated in the vibrations. There are numerous opportunities to unite with others in music, the school band and choirs concerts, the community choir or volunteer to sing for the Renaissance Center. They are an appreciative audience and captive! They would give you a standing ovation if they could.
It also makes the carols more meaningful if we learn something of when and why they were written.

Pray for Peace People Everywhere
The song Do You Hear What I Hear, although it seems to have been around forever is relatively new. It was written in 1962 during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a powerful plea for peace by Noel Regney, who knew firsthand the horrors of war. Regney was French-born but during WWII was drafted into Hitler’s army. He hated the Nazis who occupied his homeland, so while still in the German army, Regney became a member of the French underground. In time he deserted the German army and lived underground with the French until the end of the war. Eventually, he made his way to Manhattan, married the pianist Gloria Shayne and became involved with the world of music, composing commercial jingles and writing for some of the early TV shows as well as composing some more serious musicals. But by far his most well known composition was the little song he wrote with his wife, Do You Hear What I Hear? It is a message of hope, a prayer for peace.
The song’s message of peace is as desperately needed today as it was then. Many of us know someone who are away from their families this Christmas season serving our country and striving to bring peace to other countries.
Said the king to the people everywhere,
“Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace, people, everywhere
Let us hope and pray that this Christmas season, this song of peace will remind us that “The Child, The Child sleeping in the night, came to bring us goodness and light, came to bring us goodness and light.”