Should We Be Singing This Christmas Song?

I've been listening to hours of Christmas music already and we still have a couple of weeks until that holiday. Today, while trying to sing one of my favorite songs in a high, squeaky soprano voice, I gave up and just listened to the words. The more I listened, the more unrealistic the song sounded.

Think about this - as the story goes, Mary had to give birth in a barn without even room for a cradle. We know she had an immaculate conception but I have never read that the birth was done the same way. I'm pretty sure she gave birth just like the rest of us women. So, she's cold, tired, and in a barn with farm animals. I think Joseph must have been outside directing traffic to the new baby.

Then, along comes a boy with a drum! Really, is that what Mary wants to hear just after giving birth? I'm sure she wants her baby to get some sleep but this boy says he has no money for gifts but he can play the drum for her. Let's get real here. Any normal mom would politely decline since I don't think they had Excedrin back then.

Now, a more appropriate gift might be for him to hum to the baby. It should have been "Little Hummer Boy". I know that some of the words in the song would need changed but I think it would be worth it for the sanity of Mary and her baby. Instead of saying "The ox and lamb kept time", they might have to leave the lamb out of it and just say "the oxen hummed along".

Remembering those first days after giving birth, I know I couldn't have handled anyone drumming for me - now humming - quietly might work.

I'm just saying -