#12 - Top 25 Christmas Songs (According To Me!)

We are now past the halfway point in the POP CULTURE ADDICT'S ADVENT CALENDAR and I am ready to head towards what my favourite Christmas songs of all-time are.

It's Day #14 of the calendar which means that I will be posting my twelfth favourite Christmas tune.  It's a song that has been a part of my Christmas traditions for...well, since I've been born really. 

And the subject of today's song just happens to be about two dominant colours that you might see in the Christmas decor of many homes and businesses.

I know what you're thinking.  It has to be a song that features a lot of red and green, as those colours are synonymous with Christmas.  Well, while that might be true, I'm actually thinking of two different colours.  Colours that are shinier, brighter, and would be worth a fortune in the trade world.

I'm talking about silver and gold, of course.  And yes, silver and gold is definitely present at my household.  Well, okay, maybe not REAL silver and gold.  My bank account can't even afford to buy aluminum most days!  But on my tree are several silver and gold decorations of various shapes and sizes. 

After all...the gigantic snowman that sang this song proclaimed that silver and gold decorations should be on every Christmas tree!

Of course we all know the singing snowman is Burl Ives - the man who was responsible for singing a good portion of the soundtrack featured in the 1964 Christmas classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer".  And while I loved every song from that album (well, minus the rather bland "Fame and Fortune") I think that "Silver and Gold" will always be my favourite Burl Ives song.

If you stop and take a good listen to the tune, it's really well put together musically.  The instrumental backing is a beautiful melody using a wide variety of instruments, and it blends with Burl's dominant voice very well.  The inclusion of the song takes place shortly after Rudolph and Hermie meet up with Yukon Cornelius, the lovable prospector who is in search of riches. 

And what would Yukon be looking for the most?  Silver and gold!  Or, peppermint, as it turns out!

But aside from the song being a great one, it holds a few personal memories for me as well.  I mean, when I was a kid, I couldn't get through the holiday season without watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" at least once.  Hell, I'm 36 and I STILL have to watch it at least once during the holiday season.  It was, and still is a fantastic show to watch for the holidays. 

And I can definitely recall being mesmerized by silver and gold things during the Christmas season.  Whether it was the gifts underneath the tree that were wrapped in silver and gold paper, or the chocolates in my stocking that were covered in silver and gold wrappers, or the decorations that were silver and gold in colour.  To me, those two colours bring back a slew of Christmas memories and miracles from all of my Christmases combined.  Good memories.  Peaceful memories.  Memories that I think I will hold onto forever.

So, let's have a listen to "Silver and Gold" once more.

Tomorrow at #11...ring a ling a ling a ding dong ding.