An exploration of all things Christmas from the Internet's longest ongoing celebration of Christmas at MyMerryChristmas.com
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20/12 2021
The Baby
The Baby of Bethlehem is the topic of this very personal episode of the Merry Little Podcast. We sing of Him in song and celebrate the Nativity as a part of every Christmas - but why? Based on this sincere question from a listener we discuss the tender mercies of Christmas and the effect it has on the living and the dead. How does one without faith makes sense of it all? Our listener celebrates the season year round, enjoys great traditions of family and joy, and yet cannot connect the merriment to the manger. He wants to understand without the preachy demands of church. So we explore why The Baby is Christmas in simple, fundamental terms of truth. We find that in these hard times The Baby is more relevant and important than ever. What fascinates the most is that they knew He was coming. His birth was anticipated like no other and that theme of anticipation has carried over to our modern celebrations of Christmas thousands of years later. But how can we celebrate Him in the shadow of Santa, Christmas trees, snowmen and stockings? We find that it is okay, that each of the elements of Christmas we cherish, even those of a secular nature, can add to the light of Christmas. This episode features more new music from The Barefoot Movement [http://www.thebarefootmovementofficial.com] with a great song titled I Just Wish It Would Snow. Please visit their YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBuoyYzXlguK3jkYjdiA7cQ [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBuoyYzXlguK3jkYjdiA7cQ] for more great music. Also featured is another great Christmas song from Angie Killian [https://www.angiekillian.com] and Shawna Edwards [https://shawnaedwardsmusic.com]. Their work - performed by children - teaches the beauty of the story of The Baby and we're grateful for it. This episode also features recent work by Santa's Sleigh [https://santassleigh.org], a merry little outreach effort of the Merry Forums of MyMerryChristmas.com [https://mymerrychristmas.com/forum] to give back each Christmas. This true story illustrates how the simple principle of anonymous giving elevates the many who focus on the one or the few.
31m
9/12 2021
Tabernacle Choir and Temple Square Christmas
The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are featured in this merry episode about Christmas in our own backyard. We are local to Salt Lake City and enjoy a wide variety of Christmas culture. This includes the magnificent downtown venue of Temple Square, home to the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Temple Square is famously decorated for Christmas and features one of the largest Christmas light displays in the world. It also has stunning Nativity displays and art. The several buildings house crowds of all sizes to accommodate performances from local artists and groups. The most famous of these groups is the Tabernacle Choir, who has called Temple Square home since the 1860s. They first performed in the still-standing Tabernacle, for which the Choir is named. In their history of touring and regular concerts no other activity by the Choir is as well known as their annual Christmas concert, which is featured on PBS in a nationally aired broadcast every holiday season. The Christmas concerts by the Tabernacle Choir [https://thetabernaclechoir.org] feature the Orchestra at Temple Square, a hand bell choir, dancers and actors from local companies. Nearly all local performers are volunteers. It is a Choir custom to invite renown guest artists to perform each year. Past performers include Broadway stars Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Angela Lansbury, Kelli O’Hara, Santino Fontana and Laura Osnes; R&B singer Gladys Knight; the late jazz singer Natalie Cole; pop singer David Archuleta; legendary newscasters Walter Cronkite and Tom Brokaw; historian David McCullough; the Muppets from “Sesame Street”; actors Jane Seymour, Hugh Bonneville, Richard Thomas, the late Ed Herrmann, John Rhys-Davies, Roma Downey, the late Peter Graves, Claire Bloom, Michael York and Martin Jarvis; opera stars Renée Fleming, Deborah Voigt, Frederica von Stade, Bryn Terfel, Nathan Gunn, Alfie Boe, Sissel, Rolando Villazón and four Metropolitan Opera soloists and the London-based a cappella group, The King’s Singers. Collectively, the featured guests have garnered 34 Grammy Awards, 19 Tony Awards, 14 Emmy Awards, 10 Golden Globe Awards, three BAFTA Awards, one Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Olivier Award. These concerts are a massive effort. In this merry episode we speak with Scott Barrick of the Tabernacle Choir about everything that goes into getting these concerts produced. This episode features a healthy dose of Tabernacle Choir music and information about a new two-hour holiday special airing on PBS before Christmas. But that's not all. In this episode we also hear from two other artists performing on Temple Square - Allie Gardner [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZm8gqqC7IbHo_gFMOF-RtA], who with Wade Farr performs a haunting version of O Come O Come Emmanuel. That song is the oldest Christmas carol on record and we tell its fascinating backstory. We also share the incredible version of The First Noel performed last Christmas by Bryson and Tierra Jones [https://www.youtube.com/user/brysondjones], a must-hear tear-jerking arrangement of the classic Christmas song by Jared Pierce.We invite you to see more images and videos of the Tabernacle Choir and Christmas on Temple Square on our website at MyMerryChristmas.com [https://mymerrychristmas.com/tabernacle-choir/]Notes:Tabernacle Choir [https://thetabernaclechoir.org] * DVD - 20 Years with the Tabernacle Choir [https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/shop/products/20-years-of-christmas-with-the-tabernacle-choir-dvd.html] * CD - Christmas Best [https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/shop/products/christmas-best-cd.html] - #1 on Billboard * Book - Keepsake Christmas Stories: Holiday Stories as Performed with the Tabernacle Choir [https://www.thetabernaclechoir.org/shop/products/keepsake-christmas-stories-book.html]
31m
12/11 2021
Christmas is Love: New Christmas Music of 2021
We are pleased to present our annual and traditional episode of new Christmas music. This is far and away our most popular episode every year and it has nothing to do with the host. These featured artists graciously offer up their music for review and allow us to include them in this special episode. Evidently you love it too. Last year’s episode has not only been listened to more than a quarter of a million times it is still going strong, drawing downloads in the thousands weekly. This episode is even better that one. With us approaching our 2nd pandemic Christmas these great Christmas creators are all conveying through their music exactly what it is that we feel, what we value in Christmas and how we want this Christmas to be. It is, at the end of the day, all about love. We did not plan for this theme (or any theme at all) for this episode it has just spontaneously happened. Please listen and enjoy, especially for those artists who took the time to talk with us to share some of the backstories of these great songs. We encourage you to visit these links below, to buy their songs and albums and to let them know through your own reviews how you feel about their music: How Christmas Was Meant to Be – Track Dogs featuring The Barefoot Movement Track Dogs Website: https://www.trackdogsmusic.com/ [https://www.trackdogsmusic.com/]The Barefoot Movement Website: http://www.thebarefootmovementofficial.com/ [http://www.thebarefootmovementofficial.com/]Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/trackdogs/how-christmas-was-meant-to-be-the-barefoot-movement-track-dogs [https://soundcloud.com/trackdogs/how-christmas-was-meant-to-be-the-barefoot-movement-track-dogs]Bandcamp: https://trackdogs.bandcamp.com/track/how-christmas-was-meant-to-be [https://trackdogs.bandcamp.com/track/how-christmas-was-meant-to-be]Wonderful One – Monica Scott and Angie Killian Angie’s Website: http://angiekillian.com [http://angiekillian.com]Monica’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/youtube.com/c/MonicaScottMusic [https://www.youtube.com/youtube.com/c/MonicaScottMusic]Angie’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/youtube.com/angiekillianmusic [https://www.youtube.com/youtube.com/angiekillianmusic]Love is Christmas – Jesse Terry Website: https://www.jesseterrymusic.com [https://www.jesseterrymusic.com]That Old Red Sleigh – Rehya Stevens Website: https://rehyastevens.com [https://rehyastevens.com]Lonely Christmas – Wallis Wallis’ Website: https://iamwallis.com [https://iamwallis.com]More Links: https://linktr.ee/I_am_Wallis [https://linktr.ee/I_am_Wallis]Quarantine Christmas – Mike Mentz Website: https://mikementz.com [https://mikementz.com]Featured at: https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12 [https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12]Christmas Time – The Farleys Website: http://www.thefarleyssing.com/ [http://www.thefarleyssing.com/]Featured at: https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12 [https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12]The After Christmas Song – Bob Malone Website: https://www.bobmalone.com [https://www.bobmalone.com]Featured at: https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12 [https://songwhip.com/various-artists/a-rock-by-the-sea-christmas-vol-12]Official Bob Malone Store: https://bob-malone.myshopify.com/collections/releases/products/the-christmas-collection [https://bob-malone.myshopify.com/collections/releases/products/the-christmas-collection]iTunes:https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-christmas-collection/1441853252 [https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-christmas-collection/1441853252]Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/album/5Q47lvDWlJBEcvInkj68kn?si=Osp9qC4DTfugVblvvcpAqQ [https://open.spotify.com/album/5Q47lvDWlJBEcvInkj68kn?si=Osp9qC4DTfugVblvvcpAqQ]Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Collection-Bob-Malone/dp/B07JZRC96X [https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Collection-Bob-Malone/dp/B07JZRC96X]
41m