Chestnuts roasting

Welcome to our holiday issue of CITYVIEW. With Jack Frost nipping at your nose, you will find warmth in our collection of holiday stories this month.

Our favorite Christmas songs

Do you have a favorite Christmastime song? One that makes you smile each time you hear it? If so, then you may enjoy our take on the top Christmas songs of all time. It’s a fun read on something most all of us can relate to. We began the process by having our staff — of various ages and from various generations — brainstorm on our favorites, and the list was extensive. From there, staff writer Cyote Williams narrowed them down.  

My favorite that failed to make the list is “Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” a song written by Phil Gernhard and Dick Holler and recorded in 1966 by The Royal Guardsmen. The single peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 during the week of Dec. 31, 1966, and sold close to three million copies. My brother Steve had one of them on 45, and we listened to it repeatedly on our General Electric portable record player.  

Christmas songs have a way of taking me back to my youth when my eyes were all aglow and I found it hard to sleep, knowing that Santa was on his way. Those were wonderful times. I hope you find a few songs on our list that take you back as well.  

Our holiday classic

As part of our holiday tradition, we bring back Robert Hullihan’s Christmas classic, “Twas the Night Before…” With illustrations by Brian Duffy, this story comes to life on our pages, sharing the struggle of generational differences and the importance of tradition. I read the story every year, and I am touched each time with a slightly different meaning. I hope you will make it part of your Christmas tradition this year, too. 

I can’t think of a better way to express holiday greetings than through the words of the 1944 song written by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells and sung famously by Nat “King” Cole: “And so I’m offering this simple phrase, to kids from 1 to 92. Although it’s been said, many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you.”

Have a great December, and thanks for reading. ♦

Shane Goodman 
Editor and Publisher
CITYVIEW
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.dmcityview.com