Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Christmas Carols Explained, #24

Published in 1944, this Christmas classic is another wartime gem, which explains its melancholy overtones and its general sense of “right now sucks but we’re getting through it.” Judy Garland performed the first version, and later on Frank Sinatra adjusted the lyrics to emphasize the optimism.

In the postwar, post-baby boom, post-90s glory days of America, I think it still works as a blend of positivity and admission that the holidays can be hard. We have plenty to be thankful for, the difficulties are just new and kind of unique to our time and our generation. “But Graham, nothing is new under the sun! Everybody’s had it as hard as we have in the past!” Pipe down, Straw Man.

Our technology is unprecedented, and so is the impact it has on the world. We can communicate instantly with anyone we want to, and it’s easy to purchase cheap gifts and have them sent without us even leaving the house. The commercial side of Christmas is easy to satisfy—what’s hard is navigating the social landscape of a polarized society, where people embrace new and exciting ways of isolating themselves from their fellow man and their communities.

The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made it a point in their annual Christmas message this year to reach out to people who are alone at Christmas. I don’t think that’s an accident. The solitude is a new phenomenon at this scale. Think about those people, reach out to the ones you know, and have yourself a merry little Christmas.

Here’s a short film for you to appreciate, featuring the late great Jimmy Stewart. Merry Christmas, you guys.