12-20-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 20, 2023
Guest Writer: James Seymour, Incoming Elder Chair
“For We Need a Little Christmas” 
From Mame 

​“For I've grown a little leaner,
Grown a little colder,
Grown a little sadder,
Grown a little older,
And I need a little angel
Sitting on my shoulder,
Need a little Christmas now.” 

By my reckoning, pretty much every verse from the Bible that involves the Christmas story has become a Christmas carol.  We will sing most of them throughout the Advent and Christmas seasons, to celebrate those themes.  But this Broadway ditty from the musical Mame tells me about the true meaning of Christmas.  

Christmas is a feeling, a place of comfort, a sense of joy and wonder, that takes place despite the world being meaner, colder, sadder, and older.  The song recognizes the negative parts, as the events are set during the early years of the Great Depression.  And yet, the lyrics celebrate the positivity of the holly, the tree, the lights, and the stocking.  Let that little angel sit on our shoulder as we need a little Christmas right now.  

“For we need a little music,
Need a little laughter,
Need a little singing
Ringing through the rafter,
And we need a little snappy
"Happy ever after,"
Need a little Christmas now.
Need a little Christmas now.”