It’s a week away! I’m scheduling this in advance, but I know that as December gets deeper and darker and somehow the light that we hope for from Christmas seems as elusive as ever, this is about when I get contemplative about it all. Christmas is a search for certainty, in a way–and if you’re in particular religious traditions, Christmas is about the arrival of the great certainty of all–but it’s also a time of memories and sadnesses for those who aren’t with us this year and for thoughts of what is to come.
Here are two songs that capture the sadder, more introspective, and less certain aspects of Christmas for me. And in the case of this first selection, I’ll skip the business about the incorrect version of the lyrics that everyone else sings.
