Christmas Song Bracket Challenge

   And the winner of the 2024 Christmas Song Bracket Challenge is.... Silent Night!! When I started doing this bracket challenge, one of my biggest worries was that the same song would win every year and it would get stale.  I can't tell you how much I love that we've done this four times and have yet to have the same winner twice.   This year I was not in a great place mentally when it came time to do the grunt work needed to get things prepared.  I considered just letting the whole thing go.  But reading everyone's comments and seeing such great participation absolutely brought a smile to my face and helped me find some of the joy I had been missing.  Several people in the comments thanked me for doing the bracket again this year - but this wouldn't be what it is without you  taking part and giving it life.   I look forward to spending this time with you all again next year.   I would be remiss to not include the followi...

 The Fifth Round is now closed!  We are down to the final matchup.. Take a look at the results below.  Link to vote in the finals is also below. Up until the last couple days, Have Yourself was in the lead.  Whoever our late voters were, you pushed Silent Night into the final round.   Carol of the Bells had no need for such late vote heroics, winning comfortably. So here we are.  After a month of debates and decisions, it comes down to two classics once again.  Sacred vs secular.  A potential repeat champion vs a newcomer.  Major vs minor.  Frantic vs serene.  Not sure you could find two more different choices.   And now it's up to you.  Thank you for participating this year - more people were involved this year than ever before - we consistently had 60 voters in the last few rounds.  I loved reading your comments.  Every year I am self-conscious about restarting this silly activity because it sounds so...

 Click here to vote in Round 5 The 5th round is underway!  Click below to cast your vote  for the best Christmas song in each matchup. If you don't know one of the choices, we encourage you to look it up! This round will close on Saturday, December 21 at 8pm EST .  Results will be announced shortly after, and the final round will begin.   Please share this link and encourage others to do the same!!!   Click here to vote in Round  5

The Fourth Round is now closed!  We are down to the Final Four. Carol of the Bells is still on a mission to become the bracket's first two-time winner.  But the rest of the songs in the Final Four are hungry for their first championship.   Take a look at the results below, and check back soon for the release of Semifinal voting. OK everyone - I did a little research here.  Apparently, the original lyrics (never actually recorded) to HYaMLC were...rather   depressing. Forget our little jokes about passive-aggression...this truly puts the song in a new light.  Have yourself a merry little Christmas. It may be your last. Next year we may all be living in the past. Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Pop that champagne cork. Next year we may all be living in New York. No good times like the olden days. Happy golden days of yore. Faithful friends who were dear to us. Will be near to us no more. But at least we all will be together. If the Lord allows. ...

Click here to vote in Round 4 The 4th round is underway!  Click below to cast your vote  for the best Christmas song in each matchup. If you don't know one of the choices, we encourage you to look it up! This round will close on  Tuesday, December 18 at 8pm EST .  Results will be announced shortly after, and the new round will begin.   Please share this link and encourage others to do the same!!!   We're down to some epic matchups in the bracket - O Come All Ye Faithful vs Silent Night ; O Come O Come Emmanuel vs Carol of the Bells .  But also, the upstart Feliz Navidad is looking to defy all the odds and reach its first Final Four.  And lastly, a classic sacred/secular battle between O Holy Night and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas . Click here to vote in Round  4

The Third Round is now closed!  The Elite Eight is set in stone like Scrooge's name on his grave.  Results and commentary are below.  Thanks to everyone for participating.   Round 4 will be released soon - check back soon for some truly epic matchups... Greensleeves didn't survive the Black Death to be knocked out now. Sorry, anonymous commenter - O Holy Night just did what it always does. Fall on your knees indeed.  Have Yourself with the runaway win, setting up a classic sacred/secular showdown in the next round.  There's nothing little about this one. I would vote for Away in a Manger, but since the tune wasn't clarified, I have to go with Silent Night. You're right, I didn't specify the tune.  Pretty sure it wouldn't have made a difference. Competitive matchup but Christmas in Mordor continues.  The Fellowship of the Five Golden Rings. The new Sleigh Ride or Die This is the right descending major scale carol. Joy to the World - this song...

  Click here to vote in Round 3 The 3rd round is underway!  Click below to cast your vote  for the best Christmas song in each matchup. If you don't know one of the choices, we encourage you to look it up! This round will close on  Friday, December 13 at 8am EST .  Results will be announced shortly after, and the new round will begin.   Please share this link and encourage others to do the same!!!   Interesting matchups in Round 3: Manger Mayhem: Away in a Manger vs Silent Night Minor Meltdown: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen vs I Wonder as I Wander Cuisine Wars Continued : Wassail vs Feliz Navidad Click here to vote in Round 3

The Second Round is now closed!  The Sweet 16 is set -  Results and (some really great) commentary are below.  Thanks to everyone for participating.   Round 3 will be released soon - check back soon for some fascinating matchups... Too much snow here in Northeast Ohio since Thanksgiving to tempt fate. If you don't know by now (What Child is This?), you're missing the point. And the best comment of the year thus far: Secular and legendary.  Cynical if you think about it.  One must imagine Sisyphus letting it snow. Actually in the era of AI, we don't need to imagine it: Multiple comments this round on "Jingle Bells" not actually being a Christmas song.  Yes, people.  Yes, you are correct.  Feel better now?  I bet you're all a lot of fun at parties.  Another comment: I'll take my chances on "bad performances" over "can't jingle on beat" every time.   Strong disagree from me on this one.  The jingling just becomes ba...

 Click here to vote in Round 2 The second round is underway!  Click below to cast your vote  for the best Christmas song in each matchup. If you don't know one of the choices, we encourage you to look it up! This round will close on  Monday, December 9 at 8am EST .  Results will be announced shortly after, and the new round will begin.   Please share this link and encourage others to do the same!!!   Interesting matchups in Round 2: Battle of 1943:  I'll Be Home for Christmas vs. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Sound and Silence:  Little Drummer Boy vs Silent Night Click here to vote in Round 2

 The First Round is now closed!  Results and commentary are below.   But first, my yearly disclaimer:  I am an unabashed music snob.  I may trash-talk one of your favorites.  But this is all in good fun, so  please  fire back at me.  There's no banter like music geek banter.   Round 2 matchups will be posted soon!  Vote and share!      One participant commented: " This one is tough, this vote depends on which day I answer it. And if I'm having tamales!"  And I agree.  Troika is wonderful, but it feels right to advance Feliz Navidad on cuisine alone.    Our first of two ties in the opening round.  By rule, ties are broken by a cancer survivor. Steph says "Holly and Ivy" moves on.  You can't argue with a survivor. This one kind of surprised me.  And one participant said they didn't realize "Linus and Lucy" was a Christmas song.  Which, I guess there is a discussion to be...