Little Drummer Boy

At the risk of invoking the wrath of Simcha, I’m putting this song up here. This is the last day of my favorite but not most favorite Christmas song series, and this song makes me cry.

No, it really does. This song is right up there with The Clown of God for me, in terms of “getting it right” about Christmas.

Last night I was hysterical. My bread wasn’t rising. Like, not at all. I had spent about two hours making marshmallow snowmen for a hot chocolate bar. I ended up cutting out a soup from the Christmas menu because I ran out of time, and it was a soup I had been so looking forward to making. I was frantic, angry, and frustrated.

So I did what I do when I get upset and decided to clean things. I’m sorry to say that I put up the baby gate and snapped at my children to pick up the living room while I attacked the bathroom. As I was scrubbing the toilet, though, I started thinking about this song, and why I was doing all of this in the first place.

I cook on Christmas because it’s what I can do for my family. I love doing it, I do it well, and it’s my way of offering something. A sacrifice of time and sometimes sanity. It’s not much, really, not compared to what many people do at Christmas. I don’t volunteer at a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter. I don’t gather toys for orphans or sick kids. But I stay up late carefully wrapping presents for my kids, making sure the ribbons are perfect, knowing full well that they’ll just rip into them anyway. I’m a mother by vocation. My love is supposed to go to my family. And at Christmas, the best way I can show my love for and gratitude to the Christ child is to love my family well. Not to get angry over non-rising bread and imperfect whimsical snowmen, but to laugh it off and be willing to start over with grace and good humor. Taking care of my family is the way I drum. And especially at this time of the year, I should play my best for Him.

So that’s why I love this song. Now, the reason I love this particular version is because first, it’s sung by the Priests, whose voices I think are incredible, plus they’re priests, which makes them awesome. But mostly I love this version because of Shane McGowan.

Shane McGowan, singing this song, is like the old clown juggling for the statue. (If you haven’t read this book, you must.) His life has been tortured, tormented and so obviously painful. But there is such good in Shane McGowan. You can just tell. And here, at the twilight of his career, he’s left off singing about Whisky in the Jar and is singing about a little boy playing for the Christ child. It’s beautiful. Redemptive. It’s why Christ was born into this world for us…to save lost souls.

So here it is. I hope you love it. I also hope you love Shane McGowan as much as I do, or you’re gonna hate my #1 Christmas song. Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Here’s wishing you stress-free cooking, wrapping, and cleaning.