Some years our Christmastimes are wonderful and sometimes they are the worst; in either case, there is just as much to be pensive and thoughtful about as there is to be excited and distracted by during this time of year. When we are young we are rarely burdened by the sense of what we lack in our annual Christmas festivities, but as we collect another holiday season or twenty for our scrapbooks, we see how time changes things. I feel the Ghosts of Christmas Past accumulate, and their presence becomes more felt with each passing year. Today’s song evokes the deeper, more somber feelings of the season for me and it’s a good counterpoint to Sir Paul’s vision of a wonderful Christmas time.

Today’s song is by Sufjan Stevens, “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” from his 2006 box set, Songs for Christmas.