Every year Christmas seems to come just a bit earlier. I always get a nostalgic feeling when I hear the first awfully tinny sounding Christmas carols blare from the shopping malls. Without fail it would be either We Wish You a Merry Christmas or Jingle Bells, or both at the same time blaring from three different stores.Christmas always spells holiday in capital letters. In the southern hemisphere it means sun, fun, sea and sand and endless long drawn out piping hot days spent on the beach. In the northern hemisphere it generally means cold and/or wet weather, sometimes gently  falling snowflakes descending from up high, a much more rustic and calm Christmas experience.

But wherever you are in the world, Christmas does seem to come earlier and earlier each year as retailers try to squeeze just a few more pennies from your pocket, and this year was no different. I heard my first tinny carol at a supermarket in Italy mid October which I felt was way too early. There should be an international law against playing Christmas carols before 1 December… But that’s just me.

Be as it may, I love Christmas carols at this time of year as much as the next person. In my music collection I have a fair number of such and in December I would digitally dust off some of those and give them a once-over, just to get into holiday mode. But, like everyone else, I do have my favourites…

It was mid December many years ago, holiday was palpable in my veins and in the streets, I was on my way to do Christmas shopping. On the radio played Silent Night, and I went silent; I had never heard it sung like this before. Stevie Nicks was instantly recognisable with that deep throaty voice, with Peabo Bryson’s high pitched voice interspersed at the perfect points. After a stormy search on Amazon I found this particular version on an album called A Very Special Christmas… It arrived in time for Christmas.

Put the volume way up high, press play, sit back and close your eyes until the last strains of the song disappears into the mists of you mind… Stunning.

I once bought an album called If I Was… The Very Best Of Midge Ure. Now you’d be forgiven if you did not recognise Midge Ure immediately, but if I tell you that he was the main force behind the band Ultravox with amazing songs such as Vienna and Reap The Wild Wind, and you still did not know who he was, well then I give up. Believe me, there are some amazing songs on this album but I found an unexpected nugget, a song that I had never heard before called Do They Know It’s Christmas. Midge Ure and Bob Geldof wrote this song back in 1984 and performed it together with a host of other performers who called themselves Band aid.

The song was written and performed to raise money specifically for anti-famine efforts in Ethiopia, but I guess also to raise awareness to the pleas of the greater African continent. Being back in Africa this Christmas I can certainly see that the pleas from this continent continues unabated… when will it get better? The song is sad, essentially asking the question whether the people of Africa – suffering through their on-going hardships – even know that it is Christmastime. A soulfully sad song with words that tear at your heart… Read it and listen to it and know how lucky we are.

It’s Christmastime, there’s no need to be afraid
At Christmastime, we let in light and we banish shade
And in our world of plenty we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world at Christmastime
But say a prayer, pray for the other ones
At Christmastime it’s hard, but when you’re having fun
There’s a world outside your window
And it’s a world of dread and fear
Where the only water flowing
Is the bitter sting of tears
And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank God it’s them instead of you
And there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmastime
The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life
Where nothing ever grows
No rain nor rivers flow
Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?
Here’s to you
Raise a glass for everyone
Here’s to them
Underneath that burning sun
Do they know it’s Christmastime at all?

Take a listen to it below…

I used to love watching the sitcom Benson, if you don’t know it, you’re missing out. One year they had a Christmas special which was really special. The whole cast gathered around the piano and each one got to sing a carol of some sorts. The last to sing was Benson (Robert Guillaume) and they certainly left the best for last. He sang a version of Oh Holy Night which speaks to your soul, simply amazing. Take a listen to it below…

And with that, Adri and I wish you all a merry Christmas… and a happy new year…! Have fun everyone!

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