Whether it’s in a majestic cathedral, a school auditorium or a shopping mall, there’s nothing like a familiar Christmas melody to put a person in the holiday spirit. It’s amazing how the familiar strains of “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World” create feelings of joy, hope and peace.

Why does Christmas music evoke such strong emotions? Music educators and Bible scholars at Northwestern College in Saint Paul, Minn., cite childhood memories, the character of the music, and the histories of the songs themselves as reasons for Christmas music’s emotional appeal.

“During the Christmas season we look for familiar, comforting sounds of traditional, timeless music and theology. We are willing to suspend our need for what is novel, exciting or cutting-edge,” explains Timothy Sawyer, director of choral activities. “Christmas carols provide a familiar, comforting presence to which we can return year after year. This is perhaps one reason why, since its composition in 1742, Handel’s “The Messiah” has remained so popular during the holiday season.”

“People have powerful childhood and family memories built around the Christmas season, which to a large extent is defined by its music,” says Dr. Philip Norris, professor of music. “We simply can’t think of Christmas without music. Even in secular settings the Christmas story and its music are part of the aura.”

Dr. Ardel Caneday, professor of Bible understands the impact of childhood memories. “When I was in high school, the men’s octet would join the women’s sextet to sing ‘Silent Night’ a cappella. I fondly remember singing second tenor in the men’s octet. The crisp harmony was deeply stirring. It was a joy to contribute to the beautiful sounds of a favorite and cherished Christmas carol.”

From their humble beginnings in the 4th century, Christmas songs focused on the supernatural aspects of Christmas. One of the earliest songs was “Jesus refulsit omnium” (Jesus, light of all the nations) composed by St. Hilary of Poitiers, a prolific writer of hymns.

St. Francis of Assisi formally introduced Christmas carols to church services during the 12th century. A patron of the arts, he inspired composers and poets to deliver Christmas music. The lighter, joyous Christmas songs were introduced during the 1400s in Renaissance Italy. From Italy they passed to France and Germany, and eventually England where they retained simplicity, fervor and mirthfulness.

“The musical character of Christmas songs reflects the season’s themes: mother and child (Mary & Jesus), joy, hope, peace,” Dr. Norris explains. “The melodies, harmonies and rhythms created for the songs reflect those themes.”

For example, he explains, “Joy to the World” has a lively rhythm that begins on and repeats its highest note seven times. “Every phrase of the music follows the biological, physical shape of ‘joy’ -- a sudden rising to a high pitch with a subsiding direction immediately following.”

Dr. Mark Muska, chair of Northwestern’s Bible department, says Christmas music brings the focus back on the spiritual meaning. “The music helps people get back to the real meaning of Christmas,” he says. “Sometimes we get caught up in the commercialism, but the music helps us focus on the Lord’s birth.”

“The distinctive and joyful sound of Christmas music inspires reflection upon the incarnation of God’s Son and the hope of peace and salvation that He brings,” adds Dr. Caneday.

The stories of Christmas hymns and carols also contribute to the season’s musical aura. “One of my favorite Christmas carols is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s ‘I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,’” Dr. Caneday says. “It’s particularly stirring for me because of its historical setting against the backdrop of the American Civil War.”

Longfellow’s words reflect grief over the death of his wife, his bitter opposition to the war, and the sorrow of his son gravely injured in the war.

The history of “Silent Night” continues to inspire people. It was written in Bavaria on Christmas Eve 1818 when the church organ was broken and the town was snowbound. Church vicar Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics on the spot then handed them to organist Franz Gruber, who composed the original melody with guitar accompaniment just in time for midnight mass.

The origins of Christmas songs reflect history, religions attitudes and world cultures.

* Handel’s “The Messiah,” originally had nothing to do with Christmas. Its premiere in Dublin was a benefit for prisoners jailed for debt. Enough money was raised to free 142 debtors.

* “O Holy Night” was written by Adolphe Charles Adam, the French composer best known for his ballet, “Giselle.” Church authorities that denounced its lack of musical taste and “total absence of the spirit of religion” frowned upon the song.

* “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” was written in 1849 by Edmund Hamilton Sears who expressed a longing for peace. It was penned after the Mexican-American War when skirmishes between settlers and Indians and slavery supporters and abolitionists were igniting across the frontier.

* “O Little Town of Bethlehem” came out of the Civil War and was written by Phillips Brooks, a Philadelphia pastor who ministered to Union soldiers. Theories of the poem’s meaning vary. One theory explains the stillness in Bethlehem mirrors the stillness in Philadelphia where a generation of young men had been wiped out. The other theory is he wrote the text during a Christmas trip to the Holy Land and was describing Bethlehem.

Northwestern College, Saint Paul, MN, is a nondenominational Christian college that offers 45 majors in the Bible, arts, sciences and professional education to over 2,500 traditional and alternative education students. For more information, log onto www.nwc.edu or call (651) 631-5100 or (800)692-4020.

In our multi-cultural societies today the run up to Christmas is experienced in many different ways. The commercial version pioneered by Coca Cola's magazine advertisements which established the red suited Santa Claus image, washes over us all through the TV advertisements and the decorations in the High Streets and shopping Malls. They built on and reinforced the Victorian version of Christmas celebrations which was dramatised by Charles Dickens in 'A Christmas Carol' which established many of the associated food and garland rituals in the public imagination - and helped Coca Cola promote their winter beverage sales. Much of this is accompanied by 'seasonal' music in the form of carols and hymns - often coral arrangements but sometimes instrumental - especially brass bands and the dreaded sentimental Christmas pop songs.

Music is often a subtle way of getting under the radar and evoking emotional responses from our subconscious. The commercial focus on Christmas seeks to convert these feelings into purchases - sometimes in crude direct appeals to consume but often in a more indirect atmospheric ways. While the committed Christians concentrate on re-telling the Christmas story through as many media as possible, including music - using the Advent season to recharge their spiritual batteries and encourage others to join them. Their tunes and some times even the words are often hijacked by those who wish to evoke a warm hearted relaxed atmosphere for the sale of their particular goods.

Much of this activity assumes a common Christian heritage and must strike those who do not share that background very oddly, not to mention the truly seasonal issues for those in the Southern Hemisphere who celebrate Christmas in mid summer rather than the deep mid winter. There is also the rival celebration of New Year which is a predominantly secular affair with a very limited musical repertoire - mostly of Scottish origin for some reason and this eclipses Christmas in many countries. Christians adopted the pagan Winter Solstice celebrations as part of their missionary progress but those ties were loosened by the reformation and the French, American and Russian Revolutions amongst others.

The seasonal hit at Download2MP3.com is Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite with its Sugar Plum Fairy which fits neatly into the Victorian Christmas story telling context. While Debussy's Children's Corner with it's 'The Snow is Dancing' (Northern Hemisphere Christmas/Mid Winter associations) is another favourite and forms the backbone of our Children's Classics Collection which includes several of our shorter and lower priced recordings. Other beneficaiaries include our instrumental versions of the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel's Messiah and Gounod's Ave Maria

Recordings like these are an ideal way to personalize those iPod or MP3 player gifts for a few dollars more - perhaps introducing children to the classics in an accessible, amusing and memorable way.

Decorating, cooking, cleaning and more. When it comes to preparing for a picture perfect holiday season, there is one holiday elf that’s busy at work -- Mom. According to the KidzEyes Holiday Wish List and Habits survey, 64 percent of kids say that their moms bear the brunt of responsibility for making sure the Christmas season is bright versus a mere 1 percent who say dad does his fair share.

While the stress associated with the multitude of seasonal tasks could easily turn mothers into Grinches, 50 percent of kids say their moms handle the holidays like snow angels. Girls are a little tougher on mom with 52 percent claiming mom is a little crankier during the hustle of the holiday season (less than 50 percent of boys say so).

This year’s KidzEyes Holiday Wish List & Habits survey -- conducted annually by KidzEyes, a specialized youth market research division of C&R Research -- uncovers how (and if) families share holiday-related responsibilities, what’s hot and what’s not on kids’ wish lists this year, whether kids really believe in the jolly man in red and what they believe is the true meaning of Christmas.

“Our annual Holiday Wish List and Habits survey has become a recognized vehicle that gets at the heart of what kids are thinking about, doing and wishing for during the holidays,” said Robbin Jaklin, president, C&R Research. “The results provide a glimpse into what is undoubtedly kids’ favorite time of year.”

As the primary holiday gift buyer, what should moms be shopping for to give their little angels? It is certainly not clothes, which again appears at the very bottom of kids’ wish lists. Electronics continue to take the top spot (37 percent) followed by hard, cold cash (30 percent) and toys (21 percent). Boys tend to want electronics more than girls, helping to vault them to the top spot among kids.

This year kids have gift giving ideas of their own. When asked what they would give their parents if they could give them just one “big” gift, 45 percent said a vacation, 27 percent said house cleaning assistance, 16 percent said money and 12 percent said time off work. Here are some of the other things kids are saying about the holidays this year:

Holiday Hustle -- Mom versus Dad

* Where is Your Father? . . . According to the KidzEyes survey there is nothing on the family holiday to-do list that mom doesn’t do. Twenty-five percent of kids say their moms are responsible for buying the presents and decorating the house. According to kids, dad does not offer much of a helping hand with either holiday chore -- only 1 percent and 3 percent respectively.

* A Woman’s Work is Never Done . . . More than half (54 percent) of kids say that moms are the chief holiday cook. Only 4 percent say dad dons an apron. And, moms (47 percent) not dads (one percent) clean the house in preparation for the big day.

* It’s a Guy Thing . . . Dad’s domain seems to be the tree with nearly one-quarter of kids saying that putting up the tree is their dad’s main job. But, the truth is, dad puts his little elves to work as 50 percent of kids say it’s really a job the whole family shares.

* It’s a Family Affair . . . Eight out of 10 kids (87 percent) say that decorating the tree is a family tradition -- something they do together. Nearly two-thirds say the whole family pitches in when it comes to decking the halls.

* Shopping Styles -- Mom versus Dad . . . According to kids, 25 percent of dads shop for their wives the week before Christmas, while another 13 percent say their dads are scouring the stores on Christmas Eve. In sharp contrast, 55 percent of kids say their moms shop for their loving husbands a month before the big day, with only 5 percent who say that their moms wait until one week before Christmas. Less than a percent say their moms are out shopping frantically on Christmas Eve.

The True Meaning of Christmas

* Christmas Spirit . . . Even kids as young as 6 years old have a solid idea of the “true meaning of Christmas.” According to 70 percent of kids, the true meaning is celebrating the birth of Christ. Another 39 percent say it is being thankful and 37 percent say it is spending time with family. Surprisingly, only 13 percent say the true meaning is about receiving gifts.

* Charitable Hearts . . . Nearly half of kids think of others during the holidays; 48 percent say they would ask their parents to donate some of their allocated “gift” money to charity. Of all kids surveyed, girls between the ages of 6 and 8 are the most likely to give up their presents (60 percent -- 13 percent more than boys the same age). Gifts . . . What’s Hot and What’s Not

* Stop the Music! . . . Along with clothes (7 percent), kids don’t want to see music and videos (6 percent) in their heaping pile of gifts this year.

* Electronics are Tops . . . According to the survey, the best gifts are electronics (37 percent), with video game systems or handheld video games leading the category (57 percent). Those were closely followed by computers and software (53 percent), cellular telephones (38 percent), CD players (32 percent) and DVD players (31 percent).

* Boys and Machines . . . Fifty-three percent of boys age 6 to 11 want electronics versus only 18 percent of girls the same age. Conversely, girls that age wish for toys nearly twice as much as boys (39 percent versus 20 percent).

To request more information about KidzEyes call (800) KidzEyes (543-9393) or visit www.crresearch.com or www.kidzeyesomnibus.com.