Christmas In America

by Teresa Jennings

This tune is one of our favorites. It has an easy-going country style and is filled with words that are near and dear to our hearts. It's blatant in its praise of Christmas, but we figure some of you can use this. There isn't anything about the sacred side of the holiday, except for a minor reference to "Silent Night." But even then, we give you alternate lyrics, just in case.

There are an awful lot of nice things to be said about Christmas while keeping it secular. The whole idea of giving and sharing time with family and loved ones is becoming more and more of a universal focus for all of us, no matter what we celebrate. If you have time to bring it up for discussion with your students, do so. What is it about Christmas in America that is special to them?

The song is entirely in unison as written. If you wish, you could certainly feature a soloist or two. It lends itself well to country singers in particular. The melody is quite singable and we're pretty sure your singers will just enjoy performing it.

You will appreciate the fine performance of our guitarist, Sandy Williams, on the recording. He plays a number of guitars, including electric and acoustic. You will also notice that we chose to use jingle bells instead of a tambourine at the chorus each time. We think you'll agree that this is appropriate.

One more thing. The tempo of this song, coupled with the style, would make it excellent for line dancing. Dress your dancers in red and green country western gear, if you go this route.

Text is taken from Music K-8 magazine.