By Susan Parcheta
“In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas…”
The song was playing Thanksgiving weekend on a radio station
that seems to have a tradition of playing Christmas music for weeks ahead. I
happened on the station accidentally one day, way before Thanksgiving. Then
that weekend, this one captured my thoughts.
While the words kept playing in my head, I began also to
wonder why they strike our imagination. What is the feeling of Christmas, anyway?
What is the power in these words? Why do I STOP what I’m
doing when I hear them? And why do I feel like dancing?!
Could be I grew up listening to Bing Crosby sing “Silver
Bells”; could be all the Christmas memories traversing down the years in that moment; or maybe it’s
the warmth and love the music and lyrics express.
“Children laughing, people passing, meeting smile after
smile…”
