Christmas Music As Tradition

EVERY YEAR, when December rolls around, then mid December, and the Christmas music starts to awaken, the thought crosses my mind that Christmas music, by and large, is very old. Starting with the ultimate Christmas music, which is really Easter music, Handel's "Messiah", which is about three hundred years old, Christmas music never seems to be any younger than World War Two, which has receded into the historical distance. Anything new since "White Christmas"? Most major recording artists over the past fifty years have recorded at least one Christmas album, so beloved is Christmas music, but these usually consist of traditional tunes, with snazzy new and innovative instrumentation, orchestrations, and vocals. Much of it really doesn't sound very good. There is a limit to the appeal on "Silent Night" on electric slide guitar. I heard people talking about Christmas music on a Christmas music radio show, and somebody expressed the wish that somebody, maybe more than one somebody, would start writing some new Christmas music, to compliment the old. To me, this is a very dubious proposition. New Christmas musi? Well, yes, O.K. Fine. But we must bear in mind that Christmas, and the music associated with it, is nothing but pure tradition. An accumulated, highly evolved set of beliefs, rituals, and practices which we have labored centuries to produce. As we continue to evolve, continue to add to Christmas traditions, we will do so slowly, and new Christmas music will make its way into our collection on its own merits, but slowly, over time. No sudden, drastic output of new Christmas music will do. It would never stick. Such is the nature of tradition; one is stuck, for the time being, with what one already has.