Good tidings

Pondering Christmas Carols with Rick Brookhiser. I have my own carol ponerings. "The Carol of the Bells" is haunting, almost sinister, to me and makes me want to look over my shoulder. It seems impossible to me to know the words to "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" even though I do, in fact, know the words. Lately, it seems like people only sing the first verse of "Joy to the World" -- even when they singe the third verse, they just sing the first one twice in a row before moving on. I know it has a second verse. I have sung it myself, but not lately. And all of those old forties songs -- "Walking in a Winter Wonderland," "The Christmas Song," "Let It Snow," "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" -- seem like children's songs to me, and I love singing them, but they're not real Christmas songs, they're just preparation.