We all have those holiday songs where just hearing the first few notes is enough to fill our souls with a unique sense of joy that you don’t get at any other time of the year. Mariah Carey’s iconic song “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” Andy Williams’ “It’s the most wonderful time of the year ” and even ‘NSYNC’s “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays” are my personal favorites.
But when it comes to entire albums that fill me with Christmas joy, Henson’s album is hard to beat heavy snowfall.
Yes, I’m referring to the 1997 album that featured the very young Hanson brothers (Zac, Taylor and Issac) at the height of their “MMMBop” fame. Zach and Tyler have lovely high notes, and they both have their famous shoulder-length hair. Say what you will about these three boys, but they are all talented musicians and they rock this Christmas album.
i once loved heavy snowfall I was a teenager and the band’s primary listener since its original release. I listen to it every holiday season and have been quietly pushing it to become my family’s go-to Christmas album. To my delight, it seems to be working.
As soon as November 1st arrives, my kids, husband, and I switch from the spooky season to Christmas, and with it, holiday music. Without a doubt, the first song we sang was Henson’s “Silent Night Medley,” a wonderful mashup of “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night,” and “All’s Wish You.” It’s three classic Christmas songs rolled into one, sung with beautiful harmonies and just the right amount of instrumental flair. From that point on, we let the rest of the album play with my daughters, completely unaware that the album was released decades before they were born, and my husband, who is generally a bit of a snob when it comes to pop music Man, can’t help but raise it and soak in the sound.
When I was growing up, my family also had a Christmas album – “The Carpenters” Christmas portraitwhich was released in 1978, long before my sister and I were born. Like my kids today, we had no idea we were listening to “Old Man” music at the time; we just got excited hearing Karen Carpenter’s voice singing the opening notes of “Sleigh Ride.” We listened to this album when we drove around looking at the lights, when we hung ornaments on the tree in the living room, and in the background of every holiday party our parents threw.
Many years later, I heard the song Christmas portrait Still reminds me of snowy December days with my parents and sister. I’ve been methodically trying to create that same connection between my kids and me heavy snowfall.
I can admit there’s a degree of selfishness here, as I’m trying to get them to like the same album I’ve liked for almost 30 years, but it’s not about the band itself, it’s about the music.
All three kids were impressive musicians for their time, and they found a way to make classic songs more interesting. Their version of “What Christmas Means to Me” always gets me and my girls dancing, and their “Rock the Christmas Tree” sure rocks. Also, I really like “White Christmas” because it was recorded with “pop” and sounds like it would be on vinyl (since it was released in the CD era). At the end of the song, there’s a little joke about record players – a technology that seemed ancient to us in the late 90s but is very common in today’s households (including mine).
There are so many incredible Christmas songs out there today, and more and more are coming out every year. Still, I’ve yet to find an album that I love so much heavy snowfallespecially now that it has become my family’s go-to Christmas songbook. I think there’s no point in trying to find something more modern to replace it. For me there is nothing better than Hansen heavy snowfall.
Ashley Ziegler is a freelance writer who lives outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, with her two young daughters and husband. She has written on a range of topics throughout her career, but particularly enjoys covering all things pregnancy, parenting, lifestyle, advocacy and maternal health.
