What is your reaction to hearing Christmas carols?

or all the other Christmas 'music' they play on the radio and in stores?

if its Jingle Bells...I turn sour, immediately...

I know almost all 400 in the Oxford Book of Carols.

But, I vomit when I hear McCartney's "Simply HaaAAAving a Wonderful Christmastime."

I love Anonymous Four and Piffaro and the Kings Singers.

But I also like Peggy Lee and Eartha Kitt and Louie Armstrong.


It's the carols with synthezizers or people who really can't sing, or the flavor of the month actress/actors - that make me want to shoot at the radio.

I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day

Climb into my machine so we can cruise on out
I know a swingin' little joint where we can jump and shout
It's not too far back off the highway, not so long a ride
You park your car out in the open, you can walk inside
A little cutie takes your hat and you can thank her, ma'am
Every time you make the scene you find the joint is jammed

Oh Carol, don't let him steal your heart away
I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day

And if you wanna hear some music like the boys are playin'
Hold tight, pat your foot, don't let 'em carry it away
Don't let the heat overcome you when they play so loud
Oh, don't the music intrigue you when they get a crowd
You can't dance, I know you wish you could
I got my eyes on you baby, 'cause you dance so good

Oh Carol, don't let him steal your heart away
I'm gonna learn to dance if it takes me all night and day

Don't let him steal your heart away
I've got to learn to dance if it takes you all night and day
Oh Carol

- Chuck Berry

especially not for an entire month before Christmas. This is the one area where I'm at odds with my dear husband, who absolutely LOVES Christmas songs and thinks we should have Mannheimer Steamroller playing 24-7. Ack... I've sent him to his room with his own little radio.

In general, I had a happy childhood. Oh, I pitched a few tantrums as a toddler, did the usual teenaged spats with the parental units, and grew to be almost 20 before I could appreciate what treasures lay hidden inside the oafs who are my brothers. But in general it was a fine time being young me.

Most of the Christmas carols and celebrational song devoted to Advent and Christmas are things that bring back rather warm and pleasant memories of my childhood and my mum, who is now passed.

The goofy songs, like 'Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer' and it's elk ilk, tend to make me laugh because I work with goobers and geeks who like to clown around to such songs and I think about their antics even if they're not currently engaged in unabashed silliness.

And one or two very special ones make me cry with some bittersweet joy or pain or something that defies easy description within the constraints of human language.

Things were going really well until my one co-worker, who insists singing carols every year (with handouts), started the caroling. I haven't seen cockroaches scatter as fast.