I go back to two things this week – a poetic form I have talked about a few times before – the cento, plus the list of favorite sings from last week – to bring you a cento gift of Christmas Songs!

The Gift of Christmas Songs

Christmas songs and holiday melodies are a gift by themselves, don’t you agree? These songs, whether traditional carols or modern festive tunes, are like magic! They have the ability to evoke a sense of nostalgia and create that festive atmosphere.

Regardless of whether you celebrate the festival or not, you very likely know a song (or two, or more!), and very likely sing along when it is played somewhere (on the radio, in the mall, elsewhere!).

Songs truly have the power to unite people across generations and cultures, and these holiday melodies and lyrics carry the spirit of the season. So whether it’s the classic jingles that have been passed down through the years or new compositions that capture the essence of the times, Christmas songs (and well, all songs really) are a gift that keep on giving, filling hearts with the festive spirit and creating lasting memories for all who listen.

Thanks to my UBC friend Kebba for pointing me out to this beautiful piece that kind of proves what I said above..

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Poetic Sundays: A Cento Once Again: Gift of Christmas Songs

So What is the Cento?

A quick refresher on the cento: the cento is a poem comprised of lines and phrases from other previously written poems. These lines can be from poems of multiple poets, or across poems of a single poet. You can choose to make your cento a homage to the original poet(s) or take a humorous slant or take it in any direction you please.

Always ensure you credit the original poets.

Read my post here for more about it

My Cento of Christmas Songs

So here is my cento made up of lines from various Christmas songs. Maybe you could try to guess the actual songs these lines are from (a few are the titles and hence obvious) before you scroll down to see the list of songs. I am listing the original Christmas songs to acknowledge the true source/writers anyways!

Christmas Cento
Do you hear what I hear?
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Are you listening? (Sure??)
Listen to the fireplace roar…

Do you see what I see?
(It’s) the prettiest sight to see
You’re here where you should be.
…  it doesn’t surprise me

(And) do you recall
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
(So will you) Be my fire in the cold

I have no gift to bring,
(But) I hope you have fun,
Throw cares away
[(Seems like) the thing to say 🙂 ]
(I hope).. all our troubles, will be miles away,
(we’ll) be happy in a million ways
(And) all our dreams will come to be (someday).

Did you know…..
(I) forgot to mention one little thing
The three words that best describe you are…
(a) bright new shining (star)

~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites and various!!

The Christmas Songs Themselves

Credits/actual songs listed in order of the lines and by stanzas. Hats off to the writers of these wonderful Christmas songs and holiday tunes…

• Do You Hear What I Hear
  Christmas Song
  Winter Wonderland
  Baby it’s Cold Outside
• Do You Hear What I Hear
  It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
  Underneath the Tree
  Last Christmas
• Rudolph
  Last Christmas
  Santa Tell Me
• Little Drummer Boy. 
  War is Over
  Carol of the Bells. 
  Mele Kalikimaka
  Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. 
  There’s No Place Like Home For the Holidays
  Someday at Christmas
• Mary Did You Know
  Santa Baby
  You’re a Mean One
  Mary’s Boy Child

Tips For and Fun With a Cento of Christmas Songs

• Have family members pick their favorite songs/one line from their favorite songs. And put those lines together in a way that makes sense to create a cento of Christmas songs.
  • You could do this with everyone writing those lines down separately without mentioning the song and then have everyone guess the songs from the completed cento.
• Pick random lines from popular songs, put them together in fun ways and enjoy

Recently

On My Blog And the Homefront

My son is back home for the holidays.. and my high-schooler is gearing up for her finals this week before her holidays begin at the end of the week.

Here are the posts that made their way out into the world this past week on my blog:

• Fantastic Finds: Bookish Things and More
• Thought Bites: 13 Random Reflections on Poetry, Life, and More
• Wonderful Children’s Books About the Violin
• Books to Read from My Reading List and More
• Sunday Scribblings #169: A Few of My Favorite Sings and More: Love These!

Upcoming

On My Blog and On the Homefront

Holidays are coming.. almost here now… so maybe some posts this week and tapering down a bit later.. but I will say hello for sure..

This Week’s Celebrations

Literary Celebrations (close-to-it also!)

• Literary birthdays this week include: Saki on Dec 18th; My son (I love his writing!), Robin Sloan and Daniel Silva on the 19th; Kate Atkinson and Sandra Cisneros on the 20th of Dec; Laini Taylor on the 22nd of December; Carol Ann Duffy on the 23rd; Mary Higgins Clark and Stephanie Meyer on Dec 24
• Dec 21st is Crossword Puzzle Day and Phileas Fogg Win A Wager Day as well as National Short Story Day

Foodie Observations and Celebrations

• We love to do this any day actually, but just in case, here is a reminder that December 18th happens to be Bake Cookies Day
• It is National Hard Candy Day and National Oatmeal Muffin Day on the 19th of December
• December 20th is National Sangria Day
• and it is National Coquito Day on the 21st
• National Date Nut Bread Day and National Cookie Exchange Day are on the 22nd of December
• While the 23rd celebrates another cookie with National Pfeffernusse Day
• National Eggnog Day is celebrated on the 24th of December

Other Observations and Celebrations

• It is apprently Answer The Telephone Like Buddy The Elf Day on the 18th of December! Fun one, right?
• If you have not gotten a tree home yet, then Dec 19th is Look for an Evergreen Day..
• International Human Solidarity Day and Go Caroling Day are on the 20th of December
• The 21st celebrates the Scrooges and the Ebenezers with Humbug Day. And since it is the Thursday before Christmas, the 21st is also National Re-Gifting Day 
• And it is Look On The Bright Side Day on the 22nd of December. Also, Mathematics Day, on the birth anniversary of India’s famed mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan
• While Seinfeld fans know that the 23rd of December is Festivus
• The 14th of course is Christmas Eve

Wrapping up my Sunday Scribblings

So dear reader, you have reached the end of this Sunday Scribblings! As always, I welcome your thoughts, comments, and suggestions about this post.

Linking this to the Sunday Post over at the Caffeinated Reviewer and the Sunday Salon