Do You Hear What I Hear?

Said the little lamb to the Shepard boy.
Do you hear what I hear?

That song is full of the most beautiful words.

I'm a Christmas song geek. But I admit it with pride. I just love them. Since the day after Thanksgiving, my computer has been eternally fixed on my favorite Itunes Christmas station, Heavenly Christmas. There is something about the songs of the season that help me remember the reason we are celebrating. And my love of this music, as for many of us, goes back to childhood.

My dad is a mailman, and for anyone who has ever been in the delivery service, knows that the fun only gets better as Christmas approaches (just kidding). My dad would come home late every Christmas Eve, exhausted from his duties of making certain that every package and card was safely delivered before quittin' time. Once home, he'd kick off his black boots, jump in a hot bath and my sister and I would be giddy with excitement (In my family, we opened half of our presents on the night before Christmas).

I always remember my parents turning on the festive sounds of Nat King Cole. Hearing that smooth voice fill our little house as we enjoyed sparkling cider in my mom's holiday glasses is a memory I will never forget. And dressed in his jammies, my dad would emerge, refreshed and ready to share some Christmas joy with his girls.

Although I have a love for Christmas music, I'm not real big on the hits you hear on the radio (ok, that was an understatement). In truth, I have an embarrassingly large stack of Celtic Christmas Cd's and a few Bluegrass ones that are pretty fun.

But my husband is not a huge fan of Christmas music. Not because he lacks holiday cheer. I mean, the guy is certainly festive. He hung a nice display of Christmas lights on our house (granted he got to use his staple gun which is practically a power tool) and he always sets up my village for me. But he grew up on a Christmas tree lot and the day after Thanksgiving meant getting his hands dirty, strapping trees to minivans and enduring six weeks of Santa Baby. So I can't blame the guy. Although to his credit, whenever he hears the stations shift into Christmas mode he calls me up from work and tells me the stations. (Definite brownie points.) Then again, the other day he told me he liked a Christmas song. Springsteen's Santa Claus is Coming to Town. I nearly fainted with shock.

I have a lot of favorite songs--Oh Holy Night and The Holly and the Ivy, pretty much take the cake. But recently, while enjoying my new found radio station, I kept hearing music by an artist that plays the most beautiful songs on the piano. His name is Tim Neumark and after hearing several of his arrangements, I immediately went to the ITunes store to download the entire CD. But I only had $1.04 in my account, and after fighting the urge to throw a minor tantrum, chose my favorite one, its a variation on "Do You Hear What I hear?"


It's hands down, one of the most beautiful Christmas songs I've ever heard. I highly recommend giving it a listen as it reminds us that the true meaning of Christmas, is what was lying beneath the bright and shining star all those years in Bethlehem; the child who has brought us goodness and light.

I'd love to hear what your favorites songs and carols are...

(Directions to my favorite station: Itunes Radio-Ambient-Got Radio, Heavenly Christmas)

For more on Tim Neumark and his music, visit Tim's Website