Dust off the fairy lights, warm up the toddy; Christmas time is here again

When does Christmas actually begin? You may remember, back as we started a new year and the last embers of the Christmas fire smoldered in the fireplace, that we’ve already a

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Saint Canute’s Day, A Traditional End of Christmas, and Our Seasonal End As Well

When does Christmas actually end? For a lot of commercial Christmas radio stations, the end of the Christmas period is as early as the evening of Christmas day! While people are pl

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Mae West – Wild Christmas

When was the last time you heard a Christmas album that was actually fun? I don’t mean funny, in the sense of being a humorous novelty or something awful that a more maliciou

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Sammy Kaye – Christmas Serenade

What’s the first Christmas album? Well, of course, this would have been before the vinyl record was invented in the late 1940s.

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Mighty Sparrow – Christmas With Sparrow

By pure sales figures alone, the traditional pop crooner, softly singing into electrified microphones, is the king of Christmas music.

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The Playlist: Christmas in the African Diaspora

British cultural theorist Paul Gilroy famously concieved of the African Diaspora as the Black Atlantic, emphasising the connection between artists and traditions in Africa itself,

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June Christy – This Time Of Year

Christmas, even to those who despise it, is a singularly meaningful holiday.

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Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas

Ella Fitgerald, jazz critic Frank Rich wrote in a reflection published after her death, “is American song”.

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Willie Colón – Asalto Navideño

Sometimes, the world of Christmas records can seem pretty isolated from the rest of music.

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Mahalia Jackson – Silent Night: Songs for Christmas

Sometimes, it’s not about the notes someone sings, about their purity and quality and intrinsic meaningfulness. Sometimes, it’s about the pauses.

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