Spirit of Christmas is what’s important

I am a Rotarian. In compliance with COVID demands, we now hold weekly Zoom meetings and not meetings in person.

At our last meeting before Christmas, I had the honour to lead the club in a Zoom-style Christmas sing-a-long. Since then, I have reflected on the Christmas songs that Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra used to sing.

Let me focus on three songs: “White Christmas”— written in 1942; “I’ll be home for Christmas”— written in 1943; and “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas”— written in 1951. Indulge me.

The first two are wartime songs, the third was written a few years after the war. These songs don’t celebrate expensive possessions. In “It’s beginning to look. . ,” the singer’s most treasured ornament is a sprig of holly on his front door. Searching for signs of Christmas, the singer doesn’t go to

Tiffany’s. He looks at the 5 and 10 — the bargain store of its day.

The Crosby-Sinatra songs don’t celebrate Christmas gatherings. They celebrate the feeling of Christmas — a feeling of closeness and comfort. “I’ll be home for Christmas” starts with “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can plan on me.” But it ends, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.”

During and after the Second World War, many people were part of the military and couldn’t get leave to go home. Many other people were broke and couldn’t afford to go home. People had to take comfort in memories of the Christmas they knew in less devastating times. This is where Bing and Frank came in. Their songs strengthened and enriched the memories.

The year 2020 is a time of warfare against a devastating virus. Maybe we can share the feelings that people felt during an earlier world conflict. Like us, these people were often far from home at Christmas. But they found comfort and joy. And we can too.

Gary Willis, Kelowna