The Meaning of Christmas [Single], by Tenneson

The Meaning of Christmas [Single]

by Tenneson

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	1.	The Meaning of Christmas 03:54	lyrics	buy track
	"The Meaning of Christmas" By Michael Tenneson There seems to be some confusion About a day that draws near A day for great celebration For love, forgiveness, and cheer It's not about presents that soon become old It's not about candies and cakes It's not about anything other than Jesus Christ who died for our sake Let's lift our hands now Reach for the heavens and call out Thanks to our savior and show all A love to each other Let's praise our father above Sometimes our best gift Is simply a smile or walking A slow country mile with someone Who just needs a good friend to wipe a tear from their eye Christmas is not about money Nor fat men in little red suits It's not about colored lights hung up in trees It's not about baskets of fruit And Christmas is not about snowmen and sleighs Nor mistletoe eggnog and pies It's all about loving our lord god above and loving our neighbor besides Let's lift our hands now Reach for the heavens and call out A thanks to our savior and show all A love to each other, let's praise our father above Sometimes our best gift Simply a smile or walking A slow country mile with someone Who just needs a good friend to wipe a tear from their eye Christmas is not just a day in December Nor something we do once a year It's all about Jesus each day of our lives And that is the reason we're here Let's lift our hands now Reach for the heavens I love you I'm glad that you're with us to worship The love of our father Let's share this time now as friends Turn to your neighbor And hold out your hand as you rise up Let's all make a stand to remember That Christmas is not just a day that comes once a year Now I wish all you A great merry Christmas I love you I'm glad that you're with us to worship The love of our father Let's share this time now as friends Turn to your neighbor And hold out your hand as you rise up Let's all make a stand to remember That Christmas is not just a day that comes once a year Christmas is not just a day in December Or something we do once a year It's all about Jesus and love each day And that is the reason we're here

about

Some words on "The Meaning of Christmas" from Michael Tenneson. Lightly edited for clarity.

"This song was originally written at Territorial [a prison in Cañon City, Colorado] a few years ago. I was on the worship team at that facility and we had a Christmas concert coming up. The chaplain asked me if we would do a few songs:

'You can’t sing anything about Jesus Christ or any religious connotations,' he says.
'Well then it’s not gonna be a Christmas concert. What do you want me to do, Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer?'
'Basically.'
'Well, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to decline. I’m not gonna sell myself out for political correctness, and this is something that’s really dear to my heart.'
'I’m sorry you feel that way, you know they’ll probably not let you play at any of these functions anymore.'
I says, 'Well if that’s the cost, that’s the cost.'

So I went back that night, I sat back, and I was mad about it at first. i thought about it, I prayed about it, and then I started putting my thoughts on paper. Next thing you know I found out I had a song in front me. I was like, 'Oh my god, check this out.' Next day I went over to the gym and played it on the guitar, and basically that’s what you hear. That’s what came from that, that’s really what it is.

It’s not about Santa Claus — Christmas has become so commercialized over the years. I remember when I was a child — I seen Santa Clause and all of that, I’d go sit on his lap; four, five years old... and I was excited, I believed in magic, I believed in all the little things that boys and girls believe in. Then I went to a Catholic school and Christmas took on an even deeper meaning. I started to realize the spiritual value of the holiday itself and what it really meant — the true connotation of what Christmas means, how it’s the birth of Christ and the celebration of that. That’s something I’ve always been conflicted with, with all the commercialism that happens around the holidays — these hoarders running around and pushing people out of the way trying to get into stores — just the way we treat each other. And then some people, they treat homeless people so wonderful [on Christmas], and we make such a big deal about feeding homeless people for the day. Why don't we do that all year long? And that's really the inspiration for the song, it's that simple."

credits

released December 23, 2020

Composition, lyrics, vocals, and acoustic guitar by Tenneson
Electric guitar, trumpet, Wurlitzer, tambourine, and drums by Grant Bloom
Background vocals by Brianna Ibarra
Produced by Grant Bloom
Executive Producer: Fury Young

Tenneson's vocal and guitar recorded by dr. Israel at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility (Cañon City, CO).
Grant's instrumentation recorded at home studio (Boston, MA)
Brianna's vocals recorded at home studio (Los Angeles, CA).
Mixed and Mastered by Matthew Cullen at The Cat Ranch (Catskill, NY).

Cover art by Fury Young

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about

Territorial Cañon City, Colorado

Territorial is a group of seven incarcerated musicians at Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility:

Kevin Woodley: voice, lyric
Michael Tenneson: voice, lyric, keys, bass, guitar
Dane “Zealot” Newton: voice, lyric, acoustic guitar
Phillip “Archi” Archuleta: voice, percussion
Gilbert “Lefty” Pacheco: voice, percussion
Jose “8Bizz” Talamantes: voice, lyric
Frankie Domenico: voice, violin ... more

diejimcrow.com

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