Merry and Bright

As I was listening to Roger Whitaker soulfully croon White Christmas the other day the words ‘Merry and Bright’ stood out to me for the first time. I’ve noticed Merry and Bright on everything these  past few years.  Sweatshirts, coffee mugs,  cushion covers, ornaments. And I thought it was just a kitschy new commercialized slogan to make money.  (Or course, it actually is ).

But Roger sang that song like a prayer and as he was casting a blessing on the listeners, he sings ‘May your days be merry and bright’. We’ve sung those words a million times.  Bing and Dean and Perry and Mel and Ella and Frank and Michael but they’ve never really pulled on the heart strings until I heard Roger’s sincerity sing them.

May your days be Merry and Bright and may all your Christmases be white. I’m signing my Christmas cards with those words now that the postal strike is over.  Having a white Christmas is obviously the quintessential Christmas wish. Christmases are supposed to be white.  That’s the standard. Amy Grant sings ‘I know there’s more snow up in Colorado than my roof will ever see but a tender Tennessee Christmas is the only Christmas for me’. That may be so but seriously, is there anything that makes one’s heart leap for joy more than when it starts snowing on Christmas Eve?  And you wake up Christmas morning to a pristine blanket of white over the earth. (At least on the earth in your vision.)

I mean, my sister who lives in New Zealand,  tries to tell me there’s nothing better than spending Christmas on the beach with the sand and the waves and a BBQ’d turkey but I’m not buying what she’s selling.  This scenario definitely can find a place in my life. By all means…. But not at Christmas.

May your days be Merry and Bright and May all your Christmases be white.  Truly.