Christmas Music History

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One of the biggest and warmest holidays of the United States, Thanksgiving has its history and origin way back in centuries. There are various instances of thanksgiving observances in history, all of which bear resemblance to the modern celebrations of Thanksgiving; but the generally accepted and circulated view is that the modern day American Thanksgiving has its origin in 1621, when the Pilgrims, or the English settlers and the Native Americans celebrated a three-day long feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts. But quite contrary to this popular belief, the Pilgrims were never the first to have a Thanksgiving feast. Feasts celebrating a good harvest existed well before the Pilgrims or the settlers arrived. Nevertheless, it’s true that these Pilgrims held a Thanksgiving feast (more aptly, a feast to say ‘thanks’) in the first year of their survival in America

Following this Pilgrim’s 1621 Thanksgiving observance, began the Thanksgiving tradition of holding feasts after a good harvest. People usually celebrate Thanksgiving to mark the Autumn harvest and make merry in the plentiful yield. There is, however, a long tradition of celebrating the harvest throughout history. It might interest you to know that even the ancient Greeks and Romans had their respective harvest celebrations with music, parades and feasts quite like today’s Thanksgiving celebrations. People in ancient China also had their harvest festival with families feasting together on ‘moon cakes’ (round yellowish cakes). This was to celebrate the full moon and, as a matter of fact, the Chinese still celebrate this as their Moon Festival with much hype and hoopla ! Then again, there’s the harvest festival of the Jews. The Jewish harvest fest, Sukkot, is celebrated for eight days and is an occasion to catch up with the family on feasts and to be thankful for a good year. The British Isles too has a harvest festival called the Lammas, which marks the beginning of the harvest season.

Now, whatever the history and origin, Thanksgiving today is primarily a day set aside in the most part of North America to show gratitude and be thankful to God. Feasts and family reunions are a regular trend for Thanksgiving in North America. In the United States, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year. But in Canada, the harvest season ends a little earlier in the year. Hence in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October. The Canadians have a three-day long Thanksgiving weekend and the holiday is not as significantly hyped here as in the United States. The Canadians also do not get enough time for a convenient homecoming. So they reserve the family reunions for the Christmas holiday.

The Thanksgiving holiday has serious religious shades for the Roman Catholic Quebecers, who call it l’Action de Grâce. Thanksgiving has a long-standing history in Europe; it is associated with the harvest festivals held there.

So then, as you see, celebrating harvest is quite old. And so is the thanksgiving act–to thank the Almighty for all the good things He has given us ! And all these harvest festivities, although having cultural differences, are common in spirit to the modern American Thanksgiving.

Sean Carter writes on holidays, thanksgiving and celebrations around the world. He also writes on family, relationships,womens issues birthdays, inspiration, religion, love and friendship. He is a writer with special interest in ecard industry. He writes for 123greetings.com

Is I’ll Be Home for Christmas a patriotic song?

For my History of American Music class I have to analyze why I think the song I’ll be home for Christmas is patriotic. Any ideas.
Thanks for your help

Yes, in a sense it is part of the patriotism of the Second World War. It is a heartfelt recognition that millions of young men were overseas or a long way away from home in the service. It is a heart-wrenching recognition of the memory of Christmas from another part of the world. (Like I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas’, sung by soldiers and sailors far from any snow in some tropical or desert climate.) The lyrics were written for an entire nation who understood the loneliness it was trying to convey.

Here is some information for you:

On October 4, 1943, Crosby recorded “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” with the John Scott Trotter Orchestra for Decca Records. Within about a month of Kent and Gannon’s copyright the song hit the music charts and remained there for eleven weeks, peaking at number three. The following year, the song reached number nineteen on the charts. It touched a tender place in the hearts of Americans, both soldiers and civilians, who were then in the depths of World War II, and it earned Crosby his fifth gold record. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” became the most requested song at Christmas U.S.O. shows in both Europe and the Pacific and Yank, the GI magazine, said Crosby accomplished more for military morale than anyone else of that era.

The lyrics (with the seldom-sung verse before the song,) point out the feelings of the singer:

“I’m dreamin’ tonight of a place I love
Even more then I usually do
And although I know it’s a long road back
I promise you

I’ll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light beams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light beams
I’ll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams”

In December 1965, having completed the first U.S. space rendezvous and set a record for the longest flight in the U.S. space program, the astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell hurtled back to earth aboard their Gemini 7 spacecraft. Asked by NASA communication personnel if they wanted any particular music piped up to them, the crew requested Bing Crosby’s recording of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Another great place to shop for Christmas Music History products is Amazon. They have more than just books!

Children Carolling Photo Mugs Four children sing carols by moonlight, accompanying themselves on music instruments ….

Choir singing in a Protestant church Photo Mugs Old-time church choir singing. Hand-colored woodcut of a 19th-century E.A. Abbey illustration….

Christmas / Xmas Photo Mugs Christmas / Xmas illustration with Biblical references wandering shepherd / Christ figure, with halo, in woodland scene, with German Christmas hymn. 19th century woodcut by Franz Pocci, 1842…..

Portrait of a Legend 1951-1964 $8.04 No Description Available.Genre: Popular MusicMedia Format: Compact DiskRating: Release Date: 17-JUN-2003…

Songs in French for Children $2.54 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed….

Joyeux Noel (Widescreen) $6.59 Based on a true event that occurred on the Western Front during World War I, German, French, and Scottish soldiers call an unauthorized truce on Christmas Eve, meeting each other in No Man’s Land to peacefully celebrate.Genre: Foreign Film – FrenchRating: PG13Release Date: 3-APR-2007Media Type: DVD…

Veggietales: An Easter Carol $2.99 …

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus [VHS] $14.98 “Mama, when was Santa Claus born? Why doesn’t he ever die?” Based on the popular children’s book by L. Frank Baum (author of The Wizard of Oz), this 75-minute animated version of The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus provides answers to these and other pressing questions from the 3- to 8-year-old set. As in Baum’s book, the quiet, moderately paced video steers clear of Christian references, focus…

Miracle on 34th Street (Special Edition) $4.71 Features include: •MPAA Rating: NR•Format: DVD•Runtime: 96 minutes…

Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Vol. 5 $19.87 Whether it’s wabbit season or duck season, you’ll get a bang out of this collection of 60 Warner Bros. cartoon classics! The four-disc set boasts salutes to Bugs and Daffy (“Ali Baba Bunny,” “Buccaneer Bunny,” “Stupor Duck,” and more), “Fairy Tales” (“Paying the Piper,” “Foney Fables,” “Red Riding Hoodwinked,” and more), director Bob Clampett (“Hare Ribbin’,” “The Bashful Buzzard,” “The Daffy Doc,…