We’re at that time of December where Hanukkah overlaps with Christmas season. These are two holidays celebrating miracles and bringing families together.
As a brief, and beautiful reminder tiny miracles happen everyday and life needs music, here are some random musical moments I have run across recently on”the socials”:
Music Heals
There are several videos of people with cerebral palsy learning to walk, stand and even dance, all of which are means of celebration. This one young girl, who needs help walking on her own, possesses the poise and confidence of a pro dancer when the music takes her.
The Pixar movie Coco, which showed a grandmother with advanced dementia, gaining some memories and the ability to speak when she heard a favorite song, was inspired by real life events. Music can trigger places in our minds like nothing else. Here’s one example trending awhile back. A former ballerina Marta Cinta González Saldaña suffered from Alzheimer’s, yet hearing Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake brought her back to a graceful moment. She died in 2019, but this video is still out there inspiring people:
Music Unites
Music is not only there for healing our bodies, but healing our souls. It brings people of all walks of life, ethnicities and ages together. It reminds us we are all brothers and sisters under the same God.
Here are some street performances in no particular order, both from professional veteran performers, and amateur buskers, showing us that fact. Keep in mind the level of musical experience varies, but the same message is there: the right music can bring us all together.
Music can Bring Us Peace
Finally, music can create peace among the chaos, even for just a short time.
Irish group Celtic Thunder reminded us of the WWI Christmas Day Truce. The truce actually begin on Christmas Eve in 1914, not 1915, but this is still profound. It talks of the time British troops heard German soldiers singing Christmas carols. The next day, they met in No Man’s Land to exchange smalls gifts and wishes, and play some soccer. Of course this wasn’t the end of the War and many of those young men would not make it home. This emotional song lets us know humanity and can be found even in the darkest times.
December can be a cold and dark time. Yet, we also need to look for the light that is everywhere, and the best place to start is through music.
Lisa ,What a beautifully written article with such wonderful videos. Music is a very important part of my life and I know that it is the same in yours.
The inspiring girl’s dance routine and the grandmother with Alzheimer’s are proof that music can help bring back long forgotten memories (as it did with my aunt) and reach goals that were thought impossible.
There are fantastic street performers out there. I go out of my way to stop and listen,drop some money and enjoy the talent.
We can all enjoy what music can do to unite us and bring us peace in these chaotic times.
Thank you for your wonderful Sunday Jams featuring The Mavericks and tribute to Raul Malo. It was so nice to have another fan who loves this group as much as I do. Thank you Lisa