Everything Is Beautiful (In Its Own Way)

Sunday was the first day of Advent, otherwise known as the second busiest time of the year for us church musicians.  The busiest is Easter, what with Holy Week (I have another name for it, but I'd like to keep my job, so I'll keep it to myself) and all, but Advent is a close second.  My choir is working hard on some absolutely gorgeous music for the season, and I've already been assigned the first of my Midnight Mass solos.  With that somewhat taken care of, I turned my attention to the music I'm supposed to sing for my little informal charity concert.  In going through the karaoke tracks (eew.  I'm an accompaniment snob, I guess, but seriously...ewww), I learned a few things:

1.  Carols like to repeat themselves.  "White Christmas" is sung through in its entirety twice.  "Christmastime Is Here" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" are almost completely repeated.  "Let It Snow" is the worst of the culprits:  it just repeats random verses at will.  Awesome. 

2.  Over the past ten years, I have performed "O Holy Night" no fewer than nine times.  In all that time, I have never learned the second verse.  Period.  I have absolutely no clue how it goes.  I'll probably have to turn in my chorister's robe for this grievous oversight.

3.  "Santa Baby" latches onto your brain like a howler monkey.  I can not shake it, no matter how hard I try, and after a while, it ceases to be cute.

I will say, though, that all this holiday music has really gotten me into the Christmas spirit.  But I also realize that not everyone observes Christmas.  Some people have Kwanzaa, some have Hanukkah.  Heck, a few of my friends observe Festivus ("for the rest of us!"), and others are excited for the Winter Solstice.  To each their own.  So, in the spirit of wintertime celebration unity, here's the first of a series of posts with treats for holidays other than Christmas.  Today, I have a list of some interesting Menorahs.  Some are stunningly beautiful, and others (like the one below)...well, there's something for everyone.

 

Photo Credit:  NY Daily News

Yep.  Hannukah:  There's an App For That!  Actually, this is kind of a neat little app.  It automatically lights the correct number of candles, and the "wax" melts over time.  You can also light the candles manually by tapping, and bask in the warm glow of the season as beautiful Hebrew blessings play.  Best of all, a portion of proceeds from the app will be donated to the San Francisco Jewish Community Center.