by Music Director David Brown
I confuse a lot of people around the holidays. “So . . . you celebrate Hanukkah?” And then they see the interior of my house that, throughout December, looks like a Christmas wonderland. “Why do you celebrate anything?” my cynical contacts in the secular humanism world ask. Or my favorite: “And what on earth do UUs celebrate?” Of course, being a Jewish atheist Unitarian Universalist married to a devout Christian has its perks: I celebrate everything! And to exactly nobody’s surprise, it’s the music that is most central to my conception of the Holiday Season. I love Christmas carols. And also, it’s a lot of Jesus. I mean . . . that’s kind of the point, right? Make no mistake: The 20th century, secular, pop/jazz songs are great. “White Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” . . . It’s not the season without them. But give me the ancient mystique, awe, and splendor of Christ the Newborn King; the Angel Gabriel coming down from heaven; and salvation from “Satan’s pow’r when we were gone astray.” How does this not make my atheist brain explode?
For starters, I have always loved the melodies. If a tune is good enough, I’ll gladly sing about mayonnaise or tax returns. Its overt Christianity notwithstanding, “The First Nowell” represents some of the worst text-setting I’ve ever heard, between its simplistic rhymes and awkwardly mismatched meter. And also, I love it, and it brings me to tears. For this reason, my family has played and sung Christmas carols—despite their dissonance with our background and ideology—since before I could form memories. But then, 12 years ago this month, I married an actual Christian. To experience life and worship with Kaitlyn and her family offered me a new perspective on the profundity of a sacred Christmas. To me, Jesus—if he was indeed a singular figure who lived and died in some of the ways represented in the Bible—was a young, Jewish, Early Roman Empire Bernie Sanders—progressive type who promoted love, forgiveness, and sticking it to the wealthy elite. Great guy; 10/10 would hang out. But to Kaitlyn, he is the literal Messiah—the Alpha and the Omega, the savior of humanity. Christmas caroling takes on an entirely new gravitas.
So, whether you love the vicarious or inherent spirituality, melodies, culture, or nostalgia, we welcome you to join us for our annual Christmas Caroling Party this Saturday evening, Dec. 13, at 7 p.m. in the Main Meeting Room. Bring an instrument if you are comfortable improvising, and warm up your singing voice for an evening of traditional carols, led by the Jewish-atheist-UU Brown Family musicians, including my mom, Jodie—the founder of our tradition—on piano, my sister, Carolyn, on flute, my wife, Kaitlyn, (our token Christian) song leading, and yours truly on the violin. The very next morning, we carry the party forward to our Sunday service with songs for the season, Christmas, and Hanukkah to celebrate the Holiday Workshop. Together we will sing “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” hymns #222: “Mi Y’Malel,” #225: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and #245: “Joy to the World!”
And if that wasn’t enough music to launch you into the holiday spirit, our Holiday Workshop will continue its long tradition of a rich tapestry of MLUC musical acts to accompany your crafting and revelry starting at 10:45 after the service. Heralding the festivities, listen for the bagpipes of Pastimes—Kerstin Potter and Bob Purrenhage—MLUC’s in-house early music duo, along with their menagerie of Medieval and Renaissance instruments. Old-time duo Jansen Wendell and Elisa Lang return as Meadowlark for a children’s sing-along of popular Christmas songs. For a healthy infusion of Hanukkah cheer, Jodie and I will play Klezmer dance music for violin and piano. And for our grand finale, led by members of the MLUC Choir, we will carol together back in the Main Meeting Room.
It’s going to be an exciting weekend for music at MLUC. I look forward to seeing you there!