I love love love the holidays. Don’t hate me, but I am the person who can’t wait for the Friday after Thanksgiving, not because of Black Friday shopping deals and steals, but because Oldies 103.3 starts playing holiday music (and yes, I am also one of the few folks under thirty who still listens to the radio). Marcus, my extremely patient husband, has been subjected to the HD Yule Log during dinner for the last month straight. His theory for my obsession is that because I am Jewish, I have not yet become jaded by all things holidays (this is my fourth Christmas married to a goyim and having a tree in my home, right next to the menorah).
As a self-appointed champion of the holiday spirit, here are a few recommendations:
Best Corny Christmas Carol: running favorite for the past few years is the always classy classic Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey.
Best FREE holiday concert: the Boston Pops are lovely, but tickets can easily go into the triple digits. This past Saturday I attended Trinity Church’s Candlelight Carols. The performance is free, the choirs are incredible, and the space is just gorgeous. When I arrived at 3pm for a 4pm performance, there was a line around the perimeter of Copley Plaza, easily a thousand people. The program is lovely, and ends with a tradition that moved me to tears. The choir lights candles and spreads throughout the space. Then the entire audience sings Silent Night in candlelight.
Best holiday video: Wellesley’s snowflake. I can’t stop watching it, it’s so darn adorable! If you haven’t seen it yet, you must. I happen to know May-Elise Martinsen, the student (she’s a senior!) who wrote the music that accompanied the video. The video on the site explains how May-Elise was inspired by the College’s Alma Mater to write a holiday-inspired theme and variations. It sounds like Peter and the Wolf decided to go a-caroling and happened to play the handbells. I hope I can download it as my ringtone.
Jess Wheelock, Wellesley’s amazing video content producer, showed me this picture from when she was shooting Wellesley president Kim Bottomly’s close-up.
Everyone looks so cute in those little white hats. Happy holidays everyone!!
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