Featured Essay: I Dream Of Christmas

by Eliel Lucero

In 1647 a puritanical English Parliament passed an ordinance abolishing Christmas. That ban lasted until 1660 when King Charles II returned to power and saved Christmas. The holiday was outlawed in Boston MA between 1659 and 1681, and In 1928, after a radio broadcast and an article in the Golden Age (currently Awake!) uncovering pagan beginnings, Jehovah Witnesses banned Christmas.

I grew up in that latter ban, which made me want Christmas even more. I don’t believe in celebrating the birth of Christ, but I have nothing against JC, I just don’t worship him. Maybe if I grew up with Christmas, I’d have different feelings about it. No matter what the rules of religion and home were, I grew up in NYC and come November, the city is completely wrapped in tinsel and Douglas fir. Media was even worse! Everything was Christmas, and it was delightful and glorious, and I was told no. I was told there was no Santa Clause and the whole thing was fake, just don’t go telling your classmates, let their parents tell them when they’re ready. So I got to watch those classmates parade their toys and outfits, while I watched Christmas episodes of tv shows in the dark with the volume down. While I sang every Christmas song under my breath.

Representation is something we’ve been advocating for as a society for over a decade now. One of the reasons is the idea that if you can identify yourself on the screen, doing something you didn’t know you could do, it opens up possibilities. Hunger Games for instance inspired so many young girls to take up archery. It was the great Billie Jean King who said “And if you can see it, you can be it.” For me, it’s been the small representations that have greatly impacted my psyche. When the tv show Community dropped in 2009, I was a big fan. It was a great sitcom without a laugh track, or documentary style confessionals, that introduced me to Ludwig Göransson, the Russo brothers and on the tenth episode of their second season, “Mixology Certification”, the character Troy Barnes, played by Donald Glover came out as Jehovah Witness. The study group wanted to take Troy out for his 21st birthday, but Troy was conflicted with celebrating his birthday because of his JW upbringing. I’ve felt that conflict so many times in the years following my expulsion. Suddenly I felt less alone in the world. I felt less like a discarded outcast, and I realized that there were many of us outcasts, trying to find our way in a world we were taught to be separate from. Glover himself was raised in the religion, and he’s out here doing Community, performing stand up, writing on 30 Rock, becoming Childish Gambino, creating Atlanta, and playing Simba on the weird “live action” Lion King. For a while he was an example of what I could become.

Over the next few seasons Troy’s religion would only come a handful of times, none more important than in season 3’s Christmas Special “Regional Holiday Music”, where Abed enlists Troy to join the glee club, with the song Christmas Infiltration, where Troy becomes Jehovah’s most secret witness, in order to infiltrate Santa’s operation. I think I felt more connected to Christmas after that episode. I watch it every single year, and the fun part is that this isn’t even my favorite song in the episode. It gave me a new permission, which I was already taking in guilt, but after that song my imposter feelings began to shed a bit and I embraced Christmas with my whole heart. Check out the song before we continue.

And why don’t you listen to my favorite song of the episode too. It features the comedic stylings of the great Alison Brie.

Music is one of the ways we all connect to Christmas. No matter what religion we are or what we celebrate, we can’t escape knowing all the lyrics to “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town.” The Christmas industrial complex has been diabolically brilliant about spreading Christmas music out of every speaker for a few weeks out of every year. The songs become ear worms that burrow deep into our consciousness and incept themselves in our waking dreams. Whether we hate them or love them, the reach of holiday music is inescapable. So much so that we’ve invented ‘Whamageddon’, a game whose point is to see who can make it the longest without listening to “Last Christmas”.

I love Christmas songs old and new. The big day is less than two weeks away, and I’m all wrapped up in golden garland, waiting for Santa’s visit. On this Sunday morning I want to share one of my new favorite Christmas albums by a returning champion to Sunday Morning Records. Norah Jones’ I Dream Of Christmas was released on October 15, 2021 to a world that was still learning how to go back outside. As a Norah Jones fan I ordered it immediately and have kept it on heavy rotation every Holiday Season since. I’ve wrote about my love of Norah back in March when Cowboy Carter dropped, in “The Road To Jolene”. She’s a big deal to me.

I buy one or two Christmas albums every year. Some of my favorites are by; Bad Religion, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, The Chipmunks, Motown’s compilation, Mariah Carey, Nat King Cole, Johnny Cash, and Destiny’s Child. I’m always open to new ones, so leave a comment and let me know what I should listen to. There are so many more Christmas songs that I love whose album either doesn’t exist, or I can’t find on vinyl. I’ll still play the Apple Music video playlist on the TV and just get reacclimated to Pentatonix and many more favorites and new discoveries. There are many singers who I didn’t warm up to, until I listened to their Christmas song and/or watched their video. Lil’ Nas X was charming with old town road, but I didn’t listen to Montero until I heard “Holiday”.

The first time this year I listened to Fairytale Of New York by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl my tears came right down remembering that we’re spending another Christmas without Shane MacGowan. Makes me happy to know that his voice will visit with us for at least one season a year.

Whatever it is, I love it all. I love Christmas and I love Christmas songs. I’m all about the cheer. But come January 1st, I’m really over it. I go hard during the season and get the illest holiday hangover. Thank goodness it’s only for one season a year.

Back to Norah, she’s the best! Her album, like any great Christmas album, has seven classic covers and six original songs. The hope for every artist making a Christmas album is to hit holiday gold with a banger that makes you into your own Christmas industry like Mariah. I mean her career is massive and has multitudes, but at this point in time she is the Queen of Christmas. But then you can get years like 2023 when Brenda Lee’s Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, 65 years after its original release. Brenda Lee was 13 years old when she recorded that song, and 65 years later it hit number 1. That right there is a Christmas Miracle. Maybe we can all work together to get Norah to numero uno. Let’s at least give it a shot.

The Spotify track listing and the record track list are different because the streaming version is “Deluxe”, and the record is only 13 songs. I’m going to go by the record, so you might have to skip around to follow along. It’ll be fun.

Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones) Opens the album with an original song written by Norah herself. It’s become such a standard for me over the last few years, that I honestly wasn’t sure if it was original or cover. This song, like most of the album, showcases the sexy cool jazz singing that got Norah all those statues for her debut album. At some point her voice is Jazz. The song is all about making yourself Jolly despite what you might be feeling. The holidays are a perfect habitat for loneliness and sometimes we just need to sing real loud, and spread some cheer to ourselves.

Christmas Don’t Be Late was created by Ross Bagdasarian under the stage name David Seville as a Chipmunks’ song. I never imagined this song could be made so sultry. That’s what Norah does, she takes a child song we all remember from high pitched voices asking for a hula hoop, and it couldn’t be cuter and funnier. In Norah’s voice the hula hoop becomes the sexiest toy ever made. The horns are playing to her as in a burlesque strip tease. This might be my favorite song on the album, or even of the season.

Christmas Glow Is a catchy original by Norah, that has a bit of an earworm quality to it. It wasn’t my favorite on first listen, but it quickly grew on me and now I’m all about that glow.

White Christmas An essential standard for any Christmas album or performance. She jazzes the heck out of this song. This feels very lounge lizard, very Times Square cabaret, very dark smokey club full of the best spirits and tunes you can possibly consume. When she breaks down “When your days, when your day when your days” I’m in a black and white NY Christmas film about to swoon over the protagonist.

Christmastime Written by Norah Jones and Leon Michels is an original gospel hymn of a Christmas song. It’s probably one of the more technically brilliant songs of the album, filled with smooth jazz piano, Norah’s voice and what feels like a chorus standing a few feet behind her. “Rejoice/ The precious spirit I see/ Has brought all of the love”. That’s exactly what this holiday means to me.

Blue Christmas Some might believe it to be sacrilege but I prefer this to the popular Elvis version. Norah just Jazzes everything so good.

It’s Only Christmas Once A Year Another Norah Jones original, is full of genuine cheer! Sure there’s longing and sadness but the point of it is cheer. We might get that cheer from one person to another, but that’s how cheer works. It’s a righteous infection that one spreads another and another and to all that’ll receive it. This song feels so personal, it feels like it’s about me, or you or us. Let’s flip that record now.

You’re Not Alone Written by Norah Jones and Leon Michels is an original song that starts feeling like Blues but opens up into another Gospel like Hymn. I used to not like Christmas songs that mentioned Jesus. I got over that. Here she mentions Jesus and I can feel the worship and hope within it. I don’t know how religious Norah is nor do I really care. When she says “Jesus was born/ On Christmas Day/ Gave us his love/ To make our own way” I feel it in every bit of me. The power of a praise song, isn’t always the faith. Sometimes it creates its own faith. I’m here to testify.

Winter Wonderland Is a childhood favorite of mine, because I used it as a loophole. If you look at the lyrics you might realize that it never mentions Christmas or the holidays, so I would always argue that it was just a Winter song and not a Christmas song. Just like Jingle Bells. Growing up JW was all around finding loopholes. That’s when you know, you’re probably not in it for the right reasons. Or when you realize Santa might be more important than your religion.

A Holiday With You Is another Norah original ditty. Very Jazzy, very charming, very mellow.

Run Rudolph Run Is my favorite Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer song. Both were written by Johnny Marks, who was a Christmas song factory. He might’ve written your favorite modern standard Norah makes this rockin’ song so much fun, but turning the tempo down but keeping the rock vibe through a piano and maybe an organ. She got this one way right.

Christmas Time Is Here AKA the “A Charlie Brown Christmas” song, is so smooth here. It still has that melancholy to it, but Norah fills it with hope and romance. Christmas is a very romantic time of year and Norah brings that side of it to the forefront.

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve? Is the only standard on this album that I had no connection to. It’s great for the last song, as the ushering in of New Years Eve is one of Christmas’ most important jobs. Take us out of the year with a bang, before the dread of January begins. Great song, great vibe, great way to end a perfect album. What are you all doing on New Year’s Eve?

Thanks so much for joining me on this very special Christmas edition of Sunday Morning Records.

Eliel Lucero is a native NY poet, writer and DJ. Their work appears in various journals and compilations. Eliel has DJed for thirty years with a focus on global dance music on vinyl. They live in Brooklyn with their wife and two dogs.