I was reading an article this morning about the original lyrics to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – featured in the film Meet Me in St Louis which was released in 1944, the film studios thought the original lyrics of “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last, next year we may all be living in the past…From now on, we’ll have to muddle through somehow” were a little bleak. They were re-written to “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your heart be light, from now on our troubles will be out of sight…Hang a shining star upon the highest bough”.
While I prefer the rewrite, I think they work well together as a lesson we can learn from. 2016 was a hard year for a lot of us, from World events (Brexit, Trump, Aleppo), via what seemed like a never ending stream of celebrity deaths making us all aware of our own mortality, to things that may have happened on a very personal level. So I am starting to think about my New Year’s Resolutions for 2017. I would like to do more for charity. I would like to step up my day to day frugality in order to fully enjoy the five (yes, five!) holidays we have booked for next year. I would like to be a better parent to my little boy. And I would like to ensure that, no matter what happens, my family can muddle through somehow, allowing us to reach that high bough and hang that shining star this time next year, with hearts full of light.
I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas, and that you have a Happy New Year.
