Christmas, as we all know, is that celebration in which the Son of God becomes man. It is a wonderful event for those who have faith and it should be experienced precisely from a perspective of faith. But let's not fool ourselves, the Christmas promoted by capitalism also exists, that Christmas which is now predominant in more and more places.
What is a very important element of this Christmas? Christmas music. American Christmas songs play a predominant role in it. I have traveled a lot, China, Japan, Europe, the United States, Australia... when I happened to experience Christmas in Rome or other places, there are songs that always come back outside of liturgical celebrations. Among those with a religious connotation I must say that Adeste Fideles and Silent Night (often in an instrumental form) resist.
But in reality there are others, often if not always produced in the United States, which contribute to glorifying the atmosphere of Christmas but completely missing its essence which is religious. Here are some examples.
Let's look in the 19th century for one of the best-known Christmas songs, Jingle Bells, written by James Pierpont not for Christmas but for Thanksgiving. And in fact the song, with its cheerful and carefree flow, but which has nothing to do with Christmas, as the author of the song lets us know how pleasant it is to go around with a sleigh on horseback but any reference to religious fact is completely absent. It is curious that in the Italian version references are made to "Holy Christmas" and to the name of the person we are celebrating, that is, Jesus, but obviously not many know this version?
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