Mel Tormé was the co-writer of one of my favorite Christmas songs. Called simply “The Christmas Song”, it’s probably better known by its opening line: “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire”. Mark Evanier has a great Mel Tormé story on his blog that you really ought to check out, just click on that link. I can wait until you get back.

There are versions aplenty available on Youtube, but why not try this one by Tormé himself:

The other song that I like was introduced by Judy Garland in the movie Meet Me In St. Louis. Did you know that Garland actually refused to sing it when it was first played for her? The situation in the movie is that the family is moving to New York and Garland’s younger sister is upset, so Garland sings the song to calm her down. The original opening lyrics were:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas.
It may be your last.
Next year we may all be living in the past.

Garland thought the sentiment was too downbeat and not the kind of thing that would calm down a young girl who was worried about the move. So new lyrics were devised, and Garland happily sang them:

Much better, I think we can all agree.

So have yourself a merry little Christmas, if that’s your thing. Sorry that I missed the start of Hanukkah, but I hope you’re having a happy one, if that’s your thing. Or if you celebrate something else, have a happy one of those. And in any case, everybody have a happy New Year. Or just Happy Holidays to all!