My Favorite Christmas Songs...

Disclaimer: This is my list, though not in order, and some of you may have never even heard of some of the songs on it although I'm confident you have. Your list will differ so let me know how.

The Littlest Christmas Tree - Red Skelton

This is not really a song but a spoken tale. Listening to this with my brothers and sister is one of my fondest Christmas memories. Surprise, surprise we can all still quote many lines form this "song". I guess the only reason Iconsider it a song is because it was on an LP, 33 1/3. Those were the days.

"The time...Christmas Eve. The place...this room."

It is a story about a little tree in some family's home who is wondering about his purpose for being there. In the forest, the birds would build homes in his branches and the wind would blow making music along with the chirping birds. They were the sounds of the earth. A symphony unwritten.

Santa comes and explains to him he is making music now with the laughter of the children. Little did we know when we listened to this as children there was quite an anti-communist propaganda agenda going on here. I have to say it worked. The reindeer being knocked out cold, "No. Yes.". No Christmas trees to help light Santa's way. The swelling music.

"Daddy, what's a ration card?"

It's all good.

Now, some may have a tendency in this PC age to dismiss this song. Not me. I say good for Red. In the early 50's when this story was told, there was no greater threat to the American way of life than communism. I like to think Ronald Reagan and this song were ultimately responsible for the collapse of the Iron Curtain.

The end of this story still makes me mist up. With the tree saying Merry Christmas while Santa fly's away. The music swells to it's climax while the tree seems to be fading into the background. Well done production for 1951.

I love this story.

Without further ado...The Littlest Christmas tree.