(a Steve Orr scripture Reflection)
Once again, the airways are flooded with songs of the season. Perhaps the most played is “White Winter Hymnal” by Pentatonix. It’s a catchy little tune sung in a round. It’s been out in the world, so to speak, since Fleet Foxes released it in 2008. It’s the creation of Robin Pecknold, that band’s songwriter and vocalist. But, it really took off when Pentatonix added it to its 2014 album, That’s Christmas to Me. It’s likely you’ve seen a YouTube video of it. Starting in autumn and peaking on Christmas Eve, it gets 96 million plays on Spotify alone.
There’s something weird, though: “White Winter Hymnal” isn't about Christmas, or even about winter per se. And that’s just one weird thing about the song—there’s also the lyrics:
“I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats with scarves of red tied round their throats to keep their little heads from fallin’ in the snow, and I turned ’round and there you go, and Michael you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime.”
What in the world does “turn the white snow red as strawberries” mean? And with lyrics like that, why is this song so popular at Christmastime? Lots of people have weighed in on what the lyrics mean. But none of them actually know. In fact, the song’s creator says it doesn’t really have a meaning, that it never had a meaning. He wrote it in about 20 minutes with the goal of having something that would be fun to sing in a round—while doing dishes.
So why do we sing it? We sing it because the singing of it brings us joy. And nothing could be more appropriate for the season. Speaking of the season, I am writing this on December 24th, Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Christmas Day, and not incidentally, the First Day of Christmas. We celebrate the 12 days of Christmas not because Christmas is coming, but because Christmas has arrived. We sing and laugh, party and feast from December 25th through January 5th (Twelfth Night) because we are filled with joy.
And the songs we sing, just for the joy of it, are the perfect songs for the season. Whether they mean anything or not.
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BONUS CONTENT
An early video made to Fleet Foxes singing their song (and a positive take on the “red snow”)
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