Now it’s my turn to say something about the “War on Christmas,” and by this I’m not referencing the use of spiritually-neutral seasonal greetings such as “Happy Holidays” (I’m content anytime anyone says anything nice to me), and this isn’t a rant against the commercialization of the season (now that Thanksgiving has come and gone I’m thrilled to see shops and streets decked with boughs of holly; besides I love getting and giving gifts as much as the next guy). Nor is this a complaint about all the ways Santa has replaced Jesus (every society needs its mythical beings, its saints and avatars and, for better or for worse, we’re stuck with Santa; besides I’m kind of glad our society has trivialized Saint Nicholas and spared Jesus); and with one exception I’m not going to protest secular popular songs, but that one musical exception will be the focus of my rhetorical wrath for the next few paragraphs.
I am pained every time I hear the commonly-used lyric modification of the holiday classic, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” When the song first appeared in the 1944 movie “Meet Me In Saint Louis,” it was a song of hope sung in a moment of sadness. A family was leaving their community and circle of friends St. Louis to move to New York, and the sadness of that parting resonated with the millions of Americans who had experienced separations–both temporary and permanent–that had been caused by World War II.
But after World War II, the lyrics seemed too dark. Frank Sinatra insisted on a new set of verses for his 1957 album “A Jolly Christmas” and so the song that once longed for a better tomorrow, became a celebration of a happy now.
For example, in the movie, Judy Garland sings:
Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow
Until then we’ll just have to muddle through somehow
And then Frank Sinatra insisted on:
From now on we all will be together if the fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And Sinatra’s version has dominated recordings of the song ever since, which is a shame. The joy of Christmas is a great gift of grace, and part of what makes the happiness of this season so wonderful is that it is complex. It doesn’t just celebrate today (after all today isn’t always so great), it hopes for a better tomorrow. Light shines in the darkness of the night, but we cannot appreciate the light if we do not also become acquainted with the night.
The change of lyrics in “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is typical of an American tendency to pretend everything is good and everyone is happy. This reflects a heartfelt and even healthy longing for things to be good, but that desire cannot ignore the reality that for many people and in many places, life is hard and sad. Light and comfort and hope are needed.
It is essential that churches be communities where people don’t have to pretend they are happy or that everything is going swimmingly. Advent is a season when we prepare for Christmas and anticipate the joy of Jesus’ arrival, but we do so as people waiting in darkness, acquainted with all of the ways we need to find healing, and all of the obstacles we yet shall overcome.
So dearly beloved, muddle through Advent and then have yourself a merry little Christmas. And here’s a link to the scene where Judy Garland sings the original version in Meet Me In St. Louis.
Peace,
Ben