Christmas music, movie scenes, and stories, are the soundtracks in the background of our lives.

Many of our memories at Christmas time are intertwined with these types of media. Whether we realize it or not.

Think about it for a moment. Maybe grab a notebook and write your favorites down.

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Music and Movies

Every holiday season we tend to play Christmas carols, hymns, popular songs or movies. We each have the ones we enjoy the most.

Personally I prefer Holiday Traditions on Sirius XM Radio or Amazon Music, over the more contemporary songs. But every once in a while I play the Holly station as well.

It is fun to watch the same Christmas movies year after year. Seeing who can quote the most lines or reenacting scenes.

I often think of A Christmas Story when the father yells “Don’t Anybody Move!” as the lights go out from all the wires plugged in.

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It’s the one season in life many people tune in to the same media at the exact same time.

We don’t really even think about it either. It just kind of happens.

You may sing along alone in the car, in your home with family, at the store, or at holiday parties.

For whatever reason “Silver and Gold” from Rudolph goes around in my head when I clean dishes (haha)

Life changes, the years go by, but the holiday favorites will always be there.

A war could occur simply on the concept of When it’s socially acceptable to begin these types of holiday activities.

Are you a person who the Christmas season kicks off once Halloween or Thanksgiving is over? Or do you wait until December 1st?

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Stories

Music and movies usually are the first to come to mind. But there are also so many stories.

I don’t mean the religious background of the holiday but more so children’s stories and traditions.

Twas The Night Before Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer are favorites of mine.

I love hearing them recited on the radio, it reminds me of the times my grandparent’s read those stories to me as a child.

Often times these stories are a special part of the celebrations.

My parents and I have a tradition of watching A White Christmas usually late on Christmas Day. The story line and musical numbers are an experience built within in our holiday.

Christmas stories can also be in the personal sense of holiday memories discussed amongst relatives each year.

Performances

What prompted me to write this article, was actually while watching The Nutcracker & The Four Realms, a Disney spin off the original ballet performance.

The Nutcracker is a story about a girl named Clara who receives a nutcracker that comes to life on Christmas Eve and takes her to a magical world. The memorable music score is created by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

As a child I took ballet classes and I have wonderful memories of my grandmother taking me to The Nutcracker performance that the dance company held every December.

Over 20 years later I am still captured by the songs, and it brings me back to the joy and excitement of seeing those dancers tell the story through music.

Journal Prompts

• What is your favorite holiday song?
• Do you have a special memory associated with the song?
• Do you prefer classic, older Christmas songs or the more modern contemporary music?
• What is your favorite Christmas movie?
• Do you have any traditions for when you watch it alone or with family and friends?
• List some of your other favorite Christmas songs or movies.
• Have you ever gone to a special performance such as The Nutcracker or The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular?
• Who did you go with, what was it like?
• What is your favorite scene from a movie or performance?
• Is there a special song lyric that resonates with you? What does it mean to you?
• What song gets stuck in your head the most?
• What special activities do you hope to enjoy this season?