And now we’re less than two weeks away from the big celebration and all the signs confirm this – the weather is taking an upturn and if that means no White Christmas then it also means lower spend on fuel and a concurrent positive effect for carbon release. Alongside this there’s the nagging doubts that it is too late to get that one extra present – well, maybe turn that gift that will probably be a “meh” anyway into a shared festive experience – like taking in a gig, we all like music, am I right? Can I get an “oh yeah“? No? Oh, please yourselves then. Make that ‘phone call, send that card, drink that gin – it’s all part of the rich traditions of Winterval. A bit like Jingle Bells Friday.
Melissa Carper is someone who knows all about this, as she shows on her Christmas song ‘Made With Love‘ where she celebrates “the joy it brings/ to make the things/ that make your loved ones smile“. It’s taken from her new album “A Very Carper Christmas“.
Melissa Carper has explained how she came up with the song: “Brennen Leigh and Kevin Skrla, who gifted me a big, delicious jar of homemade granola. On the jar it said ‘Made with Love.’ Homemade food and gifts are always the best, and I decided I had to write a song about it. When I walked my dog, Georgia Peach, down the street that day, I started in on the song. I then thought of my friend, collaborator, and crochet queen, Gina Gallina, with the second verse: No there ain’t nothing better / Than a hand-crocheted sweater / Made with love / One stitch at a time / When the gift that you’re giving / Has your heart woven in.”
Not everyone, though, has such a positive view of the upcoming Winterval festivities. For example, White Rose Motor Oil who, on what must be Christamas Eve finds them not hanging up their stockings but rather feeling that the big day will be “A Hard Candy Christmas” with the likely experience being “barely getting through tomorrow“. There are options though – the time could be spent learning to sew, or hitting the bars, or…if the worst comes to the worst settling down – or leave town.
And if the song sounds familiar well, it was a single by Dolly Parton in 1982 released as part of the soundtrack for the movie “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.”
‘Santa Take Me Home‘ is, you’ll be glad to know, Kathleen MacInnes
‘ wish to hitch a lift on the sleigh in order to get back to the lands “that mean so much to me”. That’s a relief, we were a bit worried that we were taking something of an “ooh, no, missus” turn. That fate safely avoided. But – back story fans, there is a back story to this song which was written in 2023 when MacInnes was in Macbeth with David Tennant (Who?). When the show finished on Christmas Eve, the Scottish cast and band faced a desperate, chaotic rush to get home, battling heavy snow, ice, flight cancellations and even a London cab strike. What began as a stressful dash north became the unexpected inspiration for her new single. And so MacInnes fantasised a song into existence that saw her helped out by a traveller in both time and space. Or Santa, as he’s sometimes known.
We were going to introduce the next song with a flippant comment or two – as we are wont to do – but Swedish folksinger Sofia Talvik‘s ‘Let Peace Be The Song‘ is a little too serious for that. Talvik takes a long hard look at the world and doesn’t like a lot of what she sees – a world spiralling into a climate crisis, where justice is not equally available, and where presents should be exchanged for freedom for those imprisoned without charges or faced with state brutality.
And maybe, between all the eggnog and the cheese and crackers, there should be a moment within the coming Saturnalia to reflect on where the world is going and what might be better in a future year, say 2026, why not? Act local, think global.
This is all well and good, we hear you say, but where amongst all the peace and goodwill is that other strain of Christmas – the drunken brawl. Now, to be totally honest with you, we’ve always thought that the whole festive period has gone better if knuckles never crunch against chin – but we recognise that other views are available and Joanne Shaw Taylor finds on ‘Irish Christmas In New York‘ that she is pining for Ireland and takes comfort in sharing time with a group that promises “Guinness and Wine and maybe a fight – so good Irish Christmas in New York tonight“. And like all good songs this one has a kernel of truth, as Joanne Shaw Taylor explains: “My travel plans home to London for Christmas one year got canceled so I ended up going to New York City to spend the holidays with my best friend who was also unable to travel home to MI. We went to an old Irish pub on Christmas Eve in the village and what was meant to be a quick drink ended up with us spending two days there. We have always called it our Irish Christmas in New York and I thought writing a Christmas song would be a nice tribute to a lovely memory and the kind people that were willing to make us feel at home when we couldn’t be.”
And we can only apologise now for the continued absence of solstice-banjo, it’s almost like the instrument has gone out of fashion. How could that be? Anyway, we’ll leave you this week with one more song to send you on your way to the finger-buffet and the complimentary glass of wine (hey – it’s not too late to get that flu-jab, should you be worried about coughing Ken from accounts) and this comes from our old friends Wild Mountain Mystics who reflect that when ‘It’s Christmas Time‘ the vibe should really be to love one another, be kind and unjudgemental and, you know, and just “love one another and be helpful to those in need, whenever, and wherever we can.” Is it a dream? We could all try dreaming the same dream.
