As some of you may or may not know, the ever-popular Christmas song "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has several different versions of lyrics because it's been rewritten numerous times. Maybe you've even argued with friends and family over which are the "proper" lyrics. The song was originally written for the 1944 Judy Garland musical movie Meet Me in St. Louis, and even during production, the lyrics were rewritten because they were deemed "too morbid" by members of the production team as well as Judy herself.
Then, in 1957, Frank Sinatra asked lyricist Hugh Martin to rewrite one specific line to "jolly it up" for his upcoming Christmas album. The line was "Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow" which was changed to what is now the most commonly sung version: "Hang a shining star upon the highest bough." Definitely a jollier line; I'll give Sinatra that. But I'd like to talk about the original version for a minute.
"Someday soon, we all will be together if the Fates allow. Until then, we'll have to muddle through somehow. So, have yourself a merry little Christmas now."
When COVID first appeared on the scene, none of us thought we'd still be wearing masks and social distancing at Christmas! And yet, here we are. But I think this lyric - and frankly, the entire song - is a hopeful call to arms in what has been a dumpsterfire of a year.
We must believe we'll be together soon. The Fates (God) will allow us to celebrate together all of that which we missed out on in 2020. There will be birthday parties again. There will be Christmas pageants and christenings and First Holy Communion. "Next year, all our troubles will be out of sight." "Faithful friends who were dear to us will be near to us once more." (This is another lyric that I feel often gets changed to sound...jollier.)
But until then, we'll have to muddle through. That isn't a phrase you hear too often anymore, but when you Google "muddle through," the first definition that pops up is this: "cope in a more or less satisfactory way despite lack of expertise, planning, or equipment."
Tell me this isn't what we've been doing for the past nine months. No one was ready for this. No one expected our favorite holidays, our jobs, or our lives to be so impacted by this. All of us are coping in a more or less satisfactory way.
So until God allows us to come together again, we must continue to muddle through. We must lean on our faith, on the people in our bubble to get us through this. So why not have a merry little Christmas anyway? Why not take a step back and realize it's not about the granduer of a holiday?
The first Christmas had very humble beginnings, but it was undoubtedly the most important version of Christmas. This year, we have the chance to bring back the essence of that first Christmas. No, we won't be spending it in a stable surrounded by smelly animals (unless that's your thing...) I know for my family, it's going to be very pared down. We can't afford some of the luxuries we normally could in a pre-COVID world. We won't be seeing all the aunts and uncles and cousins which is sad. But I take that as an opportunity to focus more on the true reason behind Christmas, the birth of our Savior. In terms of Christmases past, this year will be a "little Christmas" as the song lyrics suggest, but I'm determined - as the song also implores - to keep it merry.
So whatever "little Christmas" means to you - be it less "stuff" due to restrained finances or less people around the table - I sincerely wish you all a merry little Christmas. And may the joy of our Lord's birth be in the center of it.
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