Celebrities and record companies know it. Each year the market is flooded with B-grade albums, hastily smashed together to get some easy holiday sales.

Gwen Stefani has recently released "You Make It Feel Like Christmas," Sia has "Everyday It's Christmas" and Hanson, yes Hanson are back with "Finally, It's Christmas." Even Elvis and Frank Sinatra have released new albums this year!

But behind the grab for cash is a real connection;
melodies and memories,
harmonies and happy holidays.

Photo by Ryan Holloway on Unsplash

Songs capture our imaginations, our hearts;
expressing the inexpressible, giving voice to our joys and longings;
they speak to us and speak for us.

Shops are playing them.
Suburbs gather for carols by candlelight.
Some streets even have the old tradition of caroling.

You might love carols, you might hate them, but either way you know what they signify.

This connection between singing and Christmas isn't new, it's been there since the beginning.

Mary, on hearing that she would give birth to the saviour, sings a song [Luke 1:46-55].
Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, bursts out in praise [Luke 1:68-79].
The angels, who appeared to the shepherds, declared the good news [Luke 2:14].

It's a song that captures hearts,
expresses our deepest desires,
and speaks to our souls.

It's the song that we still sing today.