Saturday 9: The Christmas Song

Good morning! Can you believe it's only 11 days until Christmas??? This season is flying by so quickly. It's my weekend off and I hope to get a good bit done, but we will see as today is our little grandson's birthday party and tomorrow is my Bible study group's Christmas party. Hubby and I are going out to do a little bit of shopping as soon as it gets light out, so until then let's have a little Saturday 9 fun! Feel free to join in and link up if you enjoy the questions.

Saturday 9: The Christmas Song (1961)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The lyrics mention "chestnuts roasting on an open fire." Do you often eat chestnuts?  I never eat chestnuts. Or any other nuts. I hate nuts. I think it's a texture thing.

2) There's a reference to Jack Frost, too. Does cold weather help you get into the holiday spirit?  Nope. Having spent a Christmas or two in Florida, I can state with confidence that I can feel just as Christmassy when it's sunny and 80 degrees out. Take me there and I'll prove it. Really. Please, take me where it's warm!

3) Nat sings that turkey helps to make the season bright. We just had it last month for Thanksgiving. Do you enjoy turkey all year around? Or do you consider it primarily a holiday dish?  I like it any time of year, but it does tend to be a bit expensive except when they put it on sale for the holidays. I usually buy an extra when they are on sale and keep it in the freezer, so we have turkey once or twice a year other than on holidays.

4) This song was published as "The Christmas Song," but people often refer to it as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or "Merry Christmas to You." When you think of this song, which title comes to mind?  The Christmas Song. 

5) Nat King Cole had a big hit in the 1950s with "Mona Lisa." The ballad compares an enigmatic woman to the da Vinci painting, which hangs in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa has been called the most instantly identifiable painting in the world. Can you think of another famous painting that you recognize on sight? (Extra points if you include a picture!)  The first one that came to mind was "The Scream" by Edvard Munch.

6) Best remembered today as a singer, Cole was also an accomplished composer and jazz pianist. Do you like jazz?  It's not my first choice, but I have moods when jazz is what I want to listen to and my favorite Christmas album is the soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Very jazzy stuff.

7) The only Christmas card Sam has received so far this year is from her dentist. She never sees Dr. Douglas socially. In fact, she hasn't seen him since her annual check-up last March. Have you received many cards this year?  No, only about 6, I think. The number has been shrinking yearly. People just don't do that much any more in these days of instant communication...and I am as guilty as the rest. I have cards and there is a small handful of people I send cards to no matter what, but the rest are for the surprise cards we receive that I feel obligated to send one back.

8) When did/will you start holiday shopping this year: Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving/Black Friday, Halloween? Earlier than that?  I think I started sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving, but the bulk of it has been done since Thanksgiving. I so love online shopping. FedEx, UPS, and the USPS are becoming quite well acquainted with my address this year.

9) This time of year is big for charitable fundraising. Here's your chance to plug a cause or organization that's near and dear to you.  It's a nationwide program, but I love to support my local law enforcement agencies in the Shop with a Cop program. It's such a great idea. Needy kids get things they need and/or want for Christmas, they get positive attention from an adult role model, and they learn that cops are not the bad guys....and it probably has taught some cops to view those they deal with in their work a bit differently, too.