Your favorite holiday songs?  

I love the story of the Little Drummer Boy, playing for the Baby Jesus as his gift to the newborn King. It was one of my favorite songs when I was growing up. And the tale behind Silent Night - the first Christmas carol known to have been written for guitar accompaniment because the church organ was broken. As for the Chipmunks - who doesn't love "I still want a Hoooola hoop!" My kids are adults and they still sing "Please Christmas don't be late..."

My roommate in college once translated some Filipino carols for me and they were lovely. I love All I Want for Christmas is You, too - it's a great contemporary Christmas love song. Thanks for your response! What are your favorite Filipino carols?

Ang Pasko ay Sumapit and Sa Maybahay ang Aming Bati - those are standard caroling fare here, and are sure signs that Christmas is just around the corner. I also like Payapang Daigdig, it calms me and listening to it gives me a feeling that everything will be just fine. I have special memories of Heto na Naman because this was the song performed by my preschool class that one year when I tried teaching.

Oh, now that will nag at me - I can almost hear it in my head, but not quite put the words to it. I do understand about having several different versions of one song that you love and loving them all, though. For me, that song is Mary's Boy Child. I think Harry Belafonte's version may have been the first Calypso beat song I ever heard, and I fell in love with it. Thanks for sharing your Christmas memories - this discussion is really putting me in a Christmas spirit!

You know, one of my secret guilty pleasures is Wham's version of "Last Christmas". I wasn't listening to much pop music in the 80s and 90s, but that one really stuck with me. Thanks for joining in on the Christmas merriment!