A professor in religious studies explores the melancholy side of Christmas music
The following article, written by David W. Stowe, Michigan State University originally appeared on The Conversation and is published here with permission:
I’ve been writing about the role that music plays in social life for most of my career as a religion scholar. And each November, when Christmas music starts its multi-week marathon, I’m especially sensitive to the songs that go off script – the songs that recognize how the “most wonderful time of the year” can actually feel far from it.
Sometimes called Longest Night services, this tradition is partly inspired by the winter solstice – the longest night of the year. It’s also a reminder that seasonal affective disorder might have something to do with people’s melancholy. It’s no wonder that Romans, pagans and others around the world celebrated the winter solstice with bonfires. Today, many people light small paper lanterns called luminaria, a custom that developed in the southern U.S. borderlands.
The opening verse refers to the inhabitants of ancient Jerusalem, conquered by Babylon and mourning in “lonely exile” there. Awaiting a messiah or “Immanuel,” meaning “God with us,” predicted by the prophet Isaiah, they yearn for him to “disperse the gloomy clouds of night/ And death’s dark shadows put to flight.”
“I’ll be home for Christmas,” he sings in his rich baritone, describing snow and mistletoe he’s hoping for – before listeners realize he may be home “only in my dreams.”
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