Year 12 – Week 12: Taking a Break From Teaching Christmas Songs

For the first time, I'm not teaching any Holiday music this winter. We've had to make some changes to our Winter program because of COVID-19 mitigation. Instead of doing a JK-5 Winter Program for parents, we do two smaller assemblies for just the students. Because of the format of these programs, it didn't seem logical to do an assembly that featured music representing music from many different cultures, as we have done in the years past. It's a weird feeling, but it doesn't feel wrong. 

As someone who is not Christian, growing up in America, the "Holiday season," which, let's be honest, is the "Christmas season," is challenging. America started as and continues to be a Christian-centric society. As a result, overtones, implications, and direct inclusion of Christian quotes, themes, and ideas are in almost every part of our society. Add in the fact that a significant percentage of Christians flagrantly misinterpret the teachings of Jesus Christ as oppressing people, and the Christmas season is a mixed bag.

Cultural American Christmas with its mythology that has loose to no associations with the birth of Jesus Christ (e.g., Flying reindeers, elves on shelves, and Coca-Cola's Santa Claus) is really confusing. I have thoroughly enjoyed the more secular aspects of Christmas, like buying gifts for people, and the religious traditions, like singing Christmas hymns in church. But I have also felt left out and isolated during this time of year.

All of this has been with me when I've taught Christmas music to my students over the years. I have felt it was important when teaching "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" to help all students understand the origins of Santa Claus and understand the secular nature of how many people in America incorporate this myth into their Christmas celebrations. I think one way of helping students who are not Christian find something to enjoy in the Christmas season is to understand that so much of what people do in the name of "Christmas" in America isn't religious at all.

At the same time, it has always felt frustrating. We, as Americans, struggle with Holidays. We can't do Halloween without racist and sexist costumes. We can't do Thanksgiving without propagating racist colonial myths, and we can't do Valentine's Day without pushing heteronormative ideas about gender and romance. Yes, we can honor Veterans on a certain day, but we don't honor them when they need us the most in their times of need. I can't think of one Holiday which does not reveal a flaw in our culture. 

I want my students to be able to rock out to "All I Want For Christmas Is You," but it's really hard to explain how this song expresses the "Christmas spirit" featured in many places in American popular culture. Because if, from reading," the "Christmas spirit" is about giving, love, forgiveness, and community, then why does this spirit seem so lacking in a significant minority of Christians who celebrate Christmas?  And most importantly, what does it mean to a student who is not Christian to sing a song about Christmas? 

I don't have good answers for these questions, but I'm glad that I have this month ahead without teaching holiday music to reflect on the inclusion of holiday music in my curriculum. We have to embrace our culture for what it is and help our students understand it. We have to do this in a way that empowers more than confuses. I hope I've been doing that, but right now, I'm not sure.