It’s no secret I grew up surrounded by music. My parents made sure we all took piano lessons. My dad played the guitar and would serenade us to sleep in the evenings. It was his way to relax after a stressful day but it was also wonderful for us. We loved to sing together. I have memories of sitting on my parents bed with my siblings as my dad tried to teach us harmony to various songs.
The Christmas season was especially music filled. My aunt sang in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and made sure we had the latest Christmas tapes (and later CDs) to listen to. We loved to gather around the piano and sing Christmas hymns or sprawl out on the floor and couches while my dad and when they got older, my brothers, accompanied us on the guitar.
Every Christmas Day we would go caroling at the local nursing home. My dad and brothers would bring their guitars and we would walk the halls stopping at each doorway to visit those whose families for some reason or other could not be there with them on Christmas Day. We would sing the traditional Christmas carols but we would also sing other non-traditional songs like Children Go Where I Send Thee, and Light One Candle (which is actually for Hanukkah). My dad loved Peter, Paul, and Mary and we would learn their arrangements for those songs. (All those links are youtube videos of Peter, Paul and Mary) One song in particular I can still remember because it was so sad to me, Christmas Dinner. We didn’t sing that one at the nursing home but we did sing it at home.
As a result of these memories I have a vast collection of Christmas music of all kinds. I probably have every single Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas CD. We have Christmas music from Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Celtic Women and yes, even a Peter, Paul and Mary Holiday Celebration
One of my newest buys this year is a group that reminds me of those joyful guitar and singing days of my youth where family and friends would gather around and sing and clap and harmonize. If you aren’t used to that type of music it might seem odd to you at first but to me, it feels like home.
I’m talking about The Lower Lights Come Let Us Adore Him album. There are guitars, pianos, banjos and hand-clapping and even bells to accompany the sixteen musicians who make up the group. I just love it! My dad purchased his own copy too. We were talking about it the other day and both agreed they did a pretty good job, except when you get to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” which is the second to last song of the album you can tell they are getting tired, maybe a little worn out, from their four day recording session. You can listen to clips of the songs at the link above as well as read the stories behind the songs at The Lower Lights Blog. And if that’s not enough to whet your appetite here’s a video about their recording session.
GIVEAWAY: Thanks to Positive Music Downloads and Your LDS Radio I have TWO Come Let Us Adore Him albums to give away!
To enter:
1. Leave a comment telling me about one of your Christmas Traditions.
2. An extra five entries if you write a blog post and link it to the blog hop!
Giveaway will end Friday, December 16 at 5pm PST.
Join us for Wordfull Wednesday! Write a post about a favorite Christmas tradition (or two or three) and link it up here.
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oh, what a lovely giveaway! 🙂
A fav. tradition of mine for my kids is to bring out the ‘little people’ nativity which they can play with to their hearts’ content all season. They love it & I love that it can’t get broken- and that they’re focusing on the real meaning of Christmas 🙂
I love watching the First Presidency Christmas devotional. I actually wish this year’s had had more music. 🙂
Merry Christmas! Thanks again for WW.
Fun giveaway! One of our favorite traditions is writing secret notes to each other during the month of December and putting them in each others stockings to read on Christmas morning.
My favorite tradition growing up was going on drives to see the neighborhood Christmas light competitions. We would turn the music on and take turns saying “Wow, look at that!” the whole time. My husband and I started this tradition with our own children when they were just a month old. Going on drives was the only safe place we could take them as tiny newborns. 2 Christmas’ later and I delight to hear them say, “Oh wow, wow!!” as we go on our frequent trips through our neighborhoods.
I’ve never heard of this group… but because of your post I really enjoy their music. 🙂
One of our favorite traditions is a HUGE Christmas Eve dinner. (I like this tradition because there are always leftovers for Christmas Day and I don’t have to be in the kitchen at all during Christmas day! 🙂
As a kid, we used to always make candy trains. There were a few years we missed (it can get expensive to do with 9 kids around) but we always loved it! One of my favorite memories as a missionary was going to a members home for dinner, and making candy trains! It was such a fun suprise and reminded me oh home.
Our most constant Christmas traditions have involved listening to Christmas music while we put up the tree (I like Carpenters and Nat King Cole) and going on drives to look at Christmas lights. These two have survived flu at Christmas, pregnancy, post partum, moves to different parts of the country, tight finances, and can be done with our own family at our convenience with very little pressure or stress.
I love the Lower Lights first album, so I’m sure I’d “adore” their Christmas album!
One of our traditions comes from my mom’s family. Every Christmas morning we have fried bread (scones for those in Utah!) for breakfast.
We also pick a day to go caroling to friends, neighbors, and to some nursing homes, too. A week or two in advance we call to some of the local nursing homes to set up a time that works for them. We’ve also gone to hospitals to carol. It’s amazing how appreciative people are, and our kids get excited about it!
This is a great give away! Some of our favorite Christmas family traditions are sharing Christmas stories throughout the month, having the same menu for Christmas eve and Christmas day, and lots of games.
We always listened from Mel Torme to Mariah Carey to Amy Grant. I love Christmas music also. We always made several yummy cookies, and treats to take to neighbors and friends.
I love Lower Lights! We listen to them every sunday. Can’t wait to hear the Christmas Album!
Love it!!!
Our traditions seem to change every year– does that still make them “traditions?” LOL!
Something we DO keep consistent is our Christmas morning ritual. My husband and I like to set out some of the presents unwrapped, and then we “wrap” the doorway to the room with wrapping paper. Our kids line up in order, and then they all break through the paper. We look at the unwrapped gifts first, and go through our stockings, and then we take turns, youngest to oldest, unwrapping the presents under the tree. We call grandparents and aunts and uncles, and spend the day watching uplifting movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
This year, we are inviting a single gentleman my husband home teaches to join us after our church meeting. That will be a fun, new tradition! 🙂
We love driving around and looking at the Christmas light displays. Some people in our small town are sooo creative and do wonderful displays, plus the town does a big one in one of the parks with Santa available and hot chocolate for those who need it.
I wrote a few tradtions posts last year and this year I am going with 12 days of gratitude. (so I didn’t think it was fair to link an old one to your linky :D)
My favorite tradtion is the eating of our traditonal Christmas breakfast. My Dad comes from Scotland and he has passed on his love for traditional Scottish food. Our Breakfast is Scottish Dumpling every Christmas morning. I was super lucky to marry a man who wants me to make it for breakfast as well, we found out the hard way that not everyone likes our favorite breakfast treat! 🙂
In my family growing up, Christmas Eve was the big deal. We all had to dress up in nice clothes and take family pictures in front of the Christmas tree, then we would open all our gifts one at a time, and then end the night feasting on yummy appetizers and snacks. It was always so fun and magical and the more people that joined us, the better it was!
Making & decorating sugar cookies, reading the birth of the Savior in Luke 2 & the Book of Mormon. My favorite, my hubby reading “The Littlest Angel”
I love our scripture tree. One Sunday before christmas, we decorate a small tree with simple ornaments I made that have a name for the Savior on one side and the reference on the other.
I also help my kids make gifts for each other. It’s so much fun.
We started a tradition last year of “Special Mom and Dad” days in December with our oldest. This year his little brother (2 1/2) gets his own days too. He had his day out with his dad yesterday, and you could tell he was on cloud 9. This is one tradition we’ll definitely try to keep.
Every year we add another nativity set to our collection. We also teach the kids (who are still young) one or two Christmas hymns.
Music that uplifts is awesome! Thanks.
So far it seems that for our family the tradition is travelling at Christmas and even on Christmas day. That’s the only thing that’s been a constant in our five years of Christmas’s together.
Love the Lower Lights, even if I don’t win I’ll probably get a copy of this CD. 🙂
I love The Lower Lights, listen to the church album on the way to church every sunday and even during the week. Got the Christmas one and love it too. Thanks to you for telling us about Lower Lights.
Merry Christmas and keep blogging.
Claudia
Wow! That was an inspiring video. I love cutting out snowflakes. We have dozens of new ones every year and little paper bits all over the place. I also love the lighting of the tree. The peaceful glow is wonderful.
We make gingerbread cookies to hang on our tree each year.
My favorite tradition is our family reunion each year at Christmas. There is no better or more meaningful way to celebrate for me!
Music is 75% of Christmas to me. Every single year, the entire family gets sick with some virus that keeps us from being able to sing (how’s that for tradition?:P). And we miss it desperately until we get it back. This year’s bug kept us from the Messiah sing-along on Sunday:( but it seems that we’ll all be well enough to sing soon!
One of our favorite Christmas traditions is reading each night from our Christmas book and finishing on Christmas Eve with the scriptural account of the Saviors birth.
Our favorite traditions is the 25 days of Christmas Fun and Service!
Reading a Christmas story each night is one of my favorite traditions.
I love going to New York City the first Saturday in December. I went this year and it was really fun. I love the lights, decorations, and hustle & bustle of the city.
We loved making “Gingerbread” houses as kids out of graham crackers and all sorts of treats. It was fun because everyone was together laughing and talking and in the same room while we worked on our houses:-)
Traditions include cookie baking, advents, looking at lights, reading Christmas story together…
Great giveaway!
I was raised with Peter Paul and Mary, too! My dad, sister and I would harmonize those songs to death. My mom just got to listen! We never let her sing – it was better for all that way.
Thanks for the link.
Deirdre,
Our Mom wasn’t allowed to sing either! 🙂
We always sing songs from the new christy minstrels albums. Very fun songs!
One of my favorite Christmas Traditions is to tell the Christmas Story while we set up the nativity each year. We do it on the first FHE after Thanksgiving.
One of our favorite traditions is a hay ride caroling family night. We borrow a hay truck and invite our friends and do some caroling. We then come back to our house for a Christmas story and hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls.
We buy a new Christmas book every year. We are in the military so we move a lot. We try to choose a book related to where we are. This year it was “The Hawaii Snowman.”
Great music!
Wow! i missed another great give away–BUT I went over to the music link and downloaded the lowerlights christmas album anyway. Totally worth the money. Thanks for introducing us! I