Here in the U.S., there are a bunch of songs that are only played at Christmas but have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas. Mostly, they’re songs with some sort of winter theme. Some examples are “Jingle Bells,” “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” and “Sleigh Ride.”
Are there seasonal songs about summer that are only played at Christmas in your neck of the woods? Or does “Jingle Bells” have as much a place in your Christmas music as traditional carols like “In the Bleak Midwinter”?
I grew up in Australia, and i now live in the United States.
In terms of the songs you hear on TV, or piping through the speakers at the mall and in the stores, there is essentially no difference between the two countries. I grew up watching Frosty the Snowman and all the other Christmas cartoons, and singing all the same carols as Americans do.
Despite Johnny L.A.‘s reference, i really don’t recall any specifically Australian or summer-themed songs. While i had heard of Rolf Harris’ Six White Boomers, no-one ever actually sang or played it IME.
It’s regularly quoted as some sort of Australian ‘classic’. But I agree with mhendo. I’ve never heard it performed by any ordinary choir or group.
On the other hand, the Christmas carols of the Australian composer William James are a fixed part of the repertoire: The Three Drovers; Christmas Day; the Carol of the Birds. We sang a couple of them before Midnight Mass last night.
Well, i guess it depends what sort of cultural events one is exposed to. I’ve never heard of any of those pieces either. But i may be an atypical example, as i hate Christmas music with a passion, and avoid it like the plague; i only hear what gets inflicted on me in the shops and in TV advertising.
http://www.squidoo.com/aussiechristmascarols http://silver-mg.com/Xmas/Aussie_Christmas.htm
Aussie Christmas songs probably didn’t get much airplay in the past but I’m quite certain that every kid from my generation onwards knows all the words to six white boomers and more recent generation know all the words to Aussie jingle bells (dashing thu the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute etc…) The less serious songs are probably more popular than the serious ones (ie carol of the birds, the north wind etc…) but they can still be heard at Carols by Candlelight, on the telly and on the radio (and most definitely in our car as we travel on Christmas morning)
