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Classic Christmas Carol: “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”
Above: Pedro the Lion hear The Bells. By Joel Francis Henry Wadsworth Longfellow penned the poem “Christmas Bells” on Christmas Day, 1864. Christmas had become a bleak occasion for Longfellow. In...
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Classic Christmas Carol: “In the Bleak Midwinter”
By Joel Francis When Scribner’s Monthly asked for Christmas poem submissions in 1872, Christina Rossette wrote “In the Bleak Midwinter.” For unknown reasons, however, the poem was never sent in and...
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Classic Christmas Carol: “Fairytale of New York”
(Above: “Fairytale of New York” may be the best modern Christmas song of all time.) By Joel Francis There aren’t many Christmas songs set in jail, but dang if songwriter Shane McGowan and the Pogues...
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Classic Christmas Carol: “Jesus Christ”
By Joel Francis Big Star’s third album isn’t a happy affair. The record was delayed for four years by their label and issued in various configurations before finally being issued on CD as...
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Classic Christmas Carol: “St. Stephen’s Day Murders”
(Above: Ceoltoiri Chluain Tarbh [Clontarf] go on the wren in 2008.) By Joel Francis Information on St. Stephen is scarce. Everything known about his life is contained in two chapters in the New...
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Classic Christmas Carol: “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
(Above: It may have been the holiday season, but John Lennon wasn’t pulling any punches when he put this video together. This extended cut also includes edited interviews with Lennon.) By Joel Francis...
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