Jolly Old Good SantaNICK upon the Rooftop Jingle All the Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay or why I hate Winter Holiday (formerly known as Christmas) programs

I am Christmased music out. I spent 25+ years as a high school choral director and presented as many winter holiday programs.  I enjoyed that experience. Rehearsal period lasted, at most, 3 weeks.  But now that I teach elementary school I have to start rehearsing concurrently with spooky Halloween music because Thanksgiving break, unplanned field trips and all sorts of other unscheduled classroom interruptions leave me with perhaps 3 rehearsals to insert the music into the children's brains, which are generally focused on other important things such as staring into space or finding new and ingenious ways to irritate each other. ( I have to give them credit on the second activity; they are super inventive in this area.)  But at least they didn''t do what they did in the art room a few days ago-- several of the more creative 5th graders tore off the metal rims on some of those old school wooden rulers and made claws out of them.  That takes a special amount of effort and determination; I just wish that sort of behavior transferred over to learning a song.

I read several blogs and take note of all the enthusiastic music teachers who can generate thousands of cute ideas and themes for each program. I think I lack the gene for cuteness.This is my eighth year of trying to do just that, and I am almost out of ideas:   Winter holidays around the world;  A Nutcracker fest replete with scarves, recorders, red and green paper plates and rhythm sticks; Ode to Snowflakes or something like that.   This year I came up with Sounds of the Season--a catchall theme that allowed me to do what I felt like doing without really having to fit my selections into any category. I chose traditional Christmas carols, which for me, a Jewish person, reminded me that, in my elementary school days, I would come home and serenade my mother with, "Christ the Savior is bo---orn" and she would tilt her head, look at me in a funny way,  and say, "Well, the melody is very nice."

I decided to pick traditional carols (and one dreydl song so I could be inclusive of all the Jewish people within a 50 mle radius: one) because my students have such a limited repertoire of known music. Two years ago I asked the ad-hoc faculty choir to sing some traditional carols in between set movements. They asked me for some suggestions and I picked out war horses like Deck the Hall  and Angels We Have Heard on High.  They shook their collective heads from side to side; they didn't know any of them.  The choir ended up singing a few gospel selections, which didn't sound particularly Christmas-y. They sang about Jesus, but I don't recall anything about His birth,  presents, on this day was born, wise men--none of the usual Christmas references. I remember my principal shaking his head and saying, "Can they sing stuff like this at a program? It's really religious."

 I can't believe this community doesn't know any of these carols.  You can't go to malls or stores or listen to the radio and not hear them.  You'd have to live in a sound proof bunker to avoid hearing Christmas carols.  I heard a story on NPR that radio stations are trying to beat each other by being the first non-stop 24 hour Christmas music stations in their area, and that these stations start earlier and earlier every year to claim this title.  I am flummoxed.

Even though I pick music that's appropriate for each age group, the kids still have a hard time memorizing more than one verse to a song.  I make sure to explain unfamiliar words like don, apparel, Yuletide, troll, I make rehearsal cds for the teachers; I bribe the kids with lollipops, but still this is how most songs sound:

First comes the stocking of mumblemuble
Oh DEAR SANTA mumble mumble
Bring mumble mumble DOLLY mumble
One mumble mumble EYES
HO HO HO HO HO HO WHO WOULDN"T KNO-OH
HO HO HO HO HO HO HO WOULDN'T KNOW-OH
Up on the housemumble click click CLICK
down from the chimney comes old/good Saint Nick
HO HO HO, HO Who Wouldn;t.....which is where I break in and say, "Children, the chorus is over, please don't sing HO HO HO any more.

 Maybe I should start teaching the songs in August.

Myra's musings:

We went to visit much younger friends last night who have a 7th grade daughter and a 1st grade son. Upon her mom's urging, the daughter dragged out her flute to show me what she played in the middle school band's Christmas program. "What should I play?" she asked her mom. "Any one of those songs that doesn't just have a rif," her mom replied. (I am flummoxed as to what she meant by riff,  unless maybe she meant a song where her daughter played the harmony instead of the melody). The daughter said, "Okay, I'll play 'Christmas Chips and Salsa' ..." She proceeded to play a very familiar melody, so I began singing along, "Here we come a-wassailing, among the leaves so green ..." The young flutist exclaimed, "You know that song? No one knew that song! That;s why the band director called it, 'Christmas Chips and Salsa'!" Her mother interjected, "Of course she knows it! She's a music teacher!" It took every once of self control I posses not to put my face in my hand and shake my head.

 

Yes, Virginia, traditional Christmas carols DO exist, in the hearts and minds of those old geezers who remember singing them as children. I guess we're going to have to add them to the list of things we need to teach these young whipper - snappers in order to keep our cultural heritage alive - sigh!