Christmas seems to be edging out Thanksgiving more and more all the time. At least the Christmas merchandising is doing that. What would happen if we start overlapping Christmas with some extra Thanksgiving?
Here's a thought. If someone says, "Oh, you don't need to get me anything for Christmas," take them at their word. Check out Heifer International where you can buy a heifer, or a flock of geese, or even a llama to give to a family in a 3rd world country so they have the resources to improve their lives. Then you can customize a gift card to the person who has everything, explaining you have made a donation in their name.
I've heard a lot of arguments about Christmas taking over Thanksgiving. Should we put up the Christmas lights while the weather is still good, or hold out for the day after Thanksgiving? Should radio stations start playing Christmas music before Thanksgiving? Should I start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving?
Part of the problem is that there is not a lot of recognizable Thanksgiving music. There are the good old hymns, like Now Thank We All Our God, that have been around forever. But most radio stations (other than BYU Radio) are not going to play old church hymns on a regular basis.
So in my campaign to keep Thanksgiving from being overshadowed, I went searching for more popular songs about thanks and gratitude. I came up with a surprisingly long list, ranging from pop to rock to gospel to country. But one of the best is found on Josh Groban's Christmas album Noel. (Go, Josh! Way to sneak one in there!) Here it is for your listening pleasure, with a really nice video by SavannahLime.com. (Keep reading below the video for the rest of my Thanksgiving song list.)
Now some of these songs on my list are religious, and some are not.
Thank You - Led Zeppelin Thank You - Sly and the Family Stone Thank You - Dido Thank You - Alanis Morisette Thank You for Being a Friend - Andrew Gold Thank You - Keith Urban I Thank You - Sam and Dave Thank You for Sending Me An Angel - Talking Heads Thank You Girl - The Beatles Thank You for the Music - ABBA Thank You Song - Linvingston Taylor Thank You Friends - Big Star I Thank You - ZZ Top Thank You - Ashanti Thank You - Boyz II Men Thank You for Loving Me - Bon Jovi Kind and Generous - Natalie Merchant Thank You - Simple Plan Thank God I Found You - Mariah Carey Thank You - Bleach Thank You - Jamelia Thank You Baby - Shania Twain Thanks for the Memories - Bob Hope Thanks for the Memories - Fall Out Boys Gratitude - Paul McCartney Thank You for Hearing Me - Sinead O'Connor Thank You - Jay Z Give Thanks and Praises - Bob Marley A Thousand suns - Hey Rosetta Be Thankful for What You've Got - William DeVaughn Let the Day Begin - The Call Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Midler Because You Loved Me - Celine Dione Thankful Man - Trace Adkins If Tomorrow Never Comes - Garth Brooks Lucky Man - Montgomery Gentry It's Good to Be Us - Bucky Covington Last Day of My Life - Phil Vassar I Hate Everything - George Straight Good to Go - Jason Aldean Blessed - Martina McBride God Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts Thank God for the Road - The Flatlanders Thank You for a Life - Kris Kristofferson Lucky Stars - J. P. McDermott Lucky - Pat Green Happy to Be Here - Todd Snyder Thanks - Chatham County Line Everything is Fine - Josh Turner But for the Grace of God - Keith Urban Thank You World - The Statler Brothers These Are the Good Old Days - Roy Rogers I'll Thank You All My Life - Jean Shepard Thanking the Good Lord - Merle Haggard Thank God for Believers - Mark Chestnut Thank God I'm A Country Boy - John Denver Unanswered Prayers - Garth Brooks It's a Great Day to Be Alive - Travis Tritt A Satisfied Mind - Vince Gill Thankful - Mary Mary Thankful - Johnny Long (with Michael McDonald) We Have Overcome - Israel Houghton and New Breed The Color Green - Rich Mullins Gratitude - Nichole Nordeman Blessed and Highly Favored - The Clark Sisters Thankful Boys and Girls - Billy Crockett A Grateful People - Watermark Thankful - Kelly Clarkson You Raise Me Up - Josh Groban For Good - Kristen Chenoweth
Here are two songs that aren't really Christmas songs, in a strict sense. But Christmas is a christian holiday. If you believe in Christ, you believe in things like prayer, faith, and miracles. So, if we are celebrating the birth of Christ, which we are, we can move past the birthday party atmosphere with the presents and decorations, and talk about deeper things like, well, prayer, faith, and miracles.
This is dedicated to the men and women serving in our armed forces. They are sacrificing so much for the cause of freedom. The United States does not mandate military service, as some other countries do. There is currently no draft, as there has been in the past. The members of our military volunteered to serve their country. They deserve our love and respect and support.
I'll Be Home For Christmas - Josh Groban
In memory of PFC Jacob Hamilton Allcott. Born July 26, 1984, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Killed in the line of duty April 22, 2006, Baghdad, Iraq.
"And now if Christ had not come into the world,...there could have been no redemption. And if Christ had not risen from the dead . . . there could have been no resurrection. But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ." (Mosiah 16:6-8)
At the end of the following video, there is an address for sending cards and letters to soldiers. Unfortunately, the U.S. Postal Service is not delivering letters sent to this address. See this news story. If you want to send a message of support to our troops, go here or here or send mail to these addresses:
Soldiers’ Angels 1792 E. Washington Blvd. Pasadena, Calif. 91104
Or
We Support You During Your Recovery! c/o American Red Cross P.O. Box 419 Savage, MD 20763-0419
I'll be posting both religious and secular Christmas music in the next few weeks, and a few things that have nothing to do with Christmas, but they're fun anyway. I hope we can all remember, though, that without Christ, there would be no Christmas.
If you couldn't tell, that was Josh Groban singing. Doesn't he have a wonderful voice? Sometimes, when the voice and the music are perfectly matched, it creates something divine.
I hope you all are enjoying this musical advent calendar. Come back tomorrow. There's more!
to give to a family in a 3rd world country so they have the resources to improve their lives. Then you can customize a gift card to the person who has everything, explaining you have made a donation in their name.
