Francesca over at ‘Diary of a Twenty Something’ dreamt up the idea of #BLOGMAS, a challenge for bloggers to share writing on a daily Christmas topic. Discovering this, “What a great idea!” and “That sounds a bit scary” simultaneously popped into my head.  But hey, it’s meant to be a challenge, so it’s perfectly natural to feel a little uncomfortable, right?

Why not join me, just for fun? It’s up to you if you share what you write with your family, the whole world or absolutely no-one. The point is to write and hopefully the topics will awaken some happy memories of Christmas Past. (You can find the rules and topic list at the end of this post.)

#BLOGMAS day 1: My Favourite Christmas Songs

My number one Christmas song has to be Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? I’m talking the original version here and well and truly showing my age. I was an ’80s teenager and this song was incredibly influential. For Christmas 1984, I was 13 years old and loved singing along to the song on the radio before receiving the 7” single for Christmas. The little record was nearly worn out, as it was played over and over again on the family’s lounge room record player. My siblings and I loved listening for our favourite artists, calling out their names and singing their lines at full volume. Sometimes we role-played different parts, miming long before we ever heard of karaoke. Of course, we knew the lyrics by heart and didn’t need them played on a screen in front of us. We watched the video on Saturday morning music shows and never got sick of it. Watching it back on YouTube tonight, I am reminded of how the artists put aside their egos for a short time to join together for a common cause and I love that, although it probably escaped the 13 year-old version of me. The concerts that followed the single were a phenomenon and our eyes were opened to the horrific living conditions of millions, as images of famine, disease and death filled our TV screens for the first time. Although horrific and depressing, I was also filled with hope, as I discovered the difference that can be made when individuals band together for a common cause to help others.

My other favourite Christmas song appeals to my mother heart and is every bit as Christian as the first song is secular. Mary, did you know? asks Mary, the new mother of baby Jesus, if she knows what her baby boy will achieve and the influence he will have, “That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters? That your baby boy has come to make you new? This child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you.” Lovingly cradling my own newborn babies, gazing into their deep blue eyes, kissing their downy hair, caressing their velvety smooth skin, of course I wondered what would become of them. All mothers do and we don’t stop doing it. Eighteen and twenty one years later, I still wonder what my children will become and what influence they will have during their lifetimes. I’ll never know the whole story but try make the most of what I can see and share. Although my children are far from divine, I can very much relate to new mum Mary. This song shows Mary as a very human young mother and makes me think about what she had ahead of her. Her faith, trust and courage can still provide inspiration to ordinary mothers today.  “Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb? This sleeping child you’re holding is the Great I Am. Oh Mary did you know?” It’s a beautiful song. If you haven’t heard it, why not spend a few moments listening to it now?

Mary, did you know?

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with His hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the Lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding
Is the Great I Am

Oh Mary did you know?

lyrics by Mark Lowry, music by Buddy Greene, 1991.

https://genius.com/Christmas-songs-mary-did-you-know-lyrics 

Happy Christmas writing!

Anna xo