www.karatetraining.org

I’ve concluded there are many depressed people in the world.

Even at Christmas, a time of the year that is supposed to be merry and bright, there are enough dismal songs to make anyone blue.

I was listening to Christmas music on the radio last night while wrapping the last of my gifts when “Same Old Lang Syne” by Dan Fogelberg came on. My sister, Alyssa, commented that it was the first time she had heard the song this Christmas season. But I’ve heard it many times.

The song is a good one and it’s even quite catchy. But it’s so…depressing. It temporarily brought my festive mood down.

Alyssa says when she was younger she asked my mom what the song meant. My mother explained it to her. Fogelberg runs into his old girlfriend in the supermarket on Christmas Eve. But now they are both older and different – he’s famous and she has since married and divorced. The two try to hang out but realize they have nothing in common anymore and can’t seem to reconnect.

“We drank a toast to innocence, we drank a toast to now
And tried to reach beyond the emptiness but neither one knew how.”

I mentioned to Alyssa that the song makes me sad and she commented that “Last Christmas” by Wham! is also a gloomy Christmas song. You know that one. It goes like this:

“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away.
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special.”

Let’s not forget the other lost love songs: “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley, “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Charles Brown (re-released by the Eagles), and “Merry Christmas Darling” by the Carpenters.

There are two other very popular, sad Christmas songs. “Where are you Christmas?” by Cindy Lou Who is about a grown woman who can no longer find the joys in Christmas. And “Christmas Shoes” by NewSong tells the story of a young boy who buys shoes for his dying mother.

Do these songs make depressed people feel better on Christmas, or do they bring them down even more and allow them to wallow in their troubles? I’m all for freedom of speech, but sad Christmas songs should just be banned.

So on this Christmas Eve, I beg you to listen to and sing happy Christmas songs. “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night,” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” should all do the trick. And no matter what your problems may be, please put them aside just for one day and remember the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

http://commons.wikimedia.org

The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center will be lit at 8:58 p.m. tonight and I’ll be watching at home. There’s just something about lighting a gigantic tree that gets me in the mood for Christmas.

This year’s entertainment lineup includes Beyonce, the Jonas Brothers, David Cook, Faith Hill, Jamie Foxx, Tony Bennett and Harry Connick Jr. Not bad, but I don’t know if they can top Nick Lachey (a heartthrob of mine as a teenager) and Celine Dion at the 2007 ceremony.

Last year I was putting up lights in the front window when the hour long tree lighting festivities took place on TV. I kept stopping to watch and frantically called my friend Brian when I learned Celine Dion would sing after the commercial break. Brian loves Celine Dion.

I only saw the tree in person once – when I was on a school trip to New York City with the Coughlin German Club in the ninth-grade. Even at 14, I was able to appreciate how majestic it was. I remember seeing people of many races and ethnicities all enjoying the tree. A large group of Chinese people asked my friend Brian (from above) to take their photo on one of their cameras. I also snapped a photo of them which I still have. A special thanks to Herr Lloyd for taking us there.

This weekend, I’ll be returning to New York City to visit the Christmas tree at Rockefeller once again. I’m even thinking about ice skating at The Rink at Rockefeller Center below the tree. Sigh.

I also plan to visit Times Square, the Fifth Avenue Shopping District, The Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Odditorium New York, St. Peter’s Cathedral and construction on the new Freedom Tower at the site of the World Trade Center.

When I come back, I’ll work on getting my own Christmas tree up. It won’t look like the one at Rockefeller, but it will still be special.
 

About the Author

Rebecca Bria has been reporting for The Dallas Post since June of 2007. She is a 2007 graduate of Wilkes University and previously interned with the company at The Weekender and The Times Leader.

Categories

Archives

• September 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008