What Are Your Favorite Holiday Songs?

Mara here:

So, I'm hearing rumors that there's a Christmas tree shortage this year because of the wildfires we had a couple months ago. I'm not sure if it's true, but we went ahead and got our tree this weekend so we didn't have to worry about it.

When we decorate our tree, we always listen to Christmas music. Since I wasn't raised as a Christian and I didn't spend much time in church, my knowledge of Christmas music is pretty much limited to whatever I hear on the radio.

I did spend a year singing in a church choir, so there are some classic/traditional Christmas songs I learned and think are beautiful—but they're not the songs that make me really feel like the Christmas season has arrived.

I am sad to say I don't know any Jewish holiday songs that weren't written by Adam Sandler. (Insert laughing emoji here.) So if any readers have any songs that they love for the Jewish holidays, I would love to know about them!

So here are a few of my current favorite Christmas-themed songs:

—"Drummer Boy," Pentatonix version. Pentatonix is an acapella group and I love their version of "Drummer Boy." The harmony of all the voices is really beautiful and creative. (Watch video)

—"All I Want for Christmas," Mariah Carey version. It's a modern classic. It makes me happy. I listen to it all year around. (Watch video)

—"Drummer Boy," Justin Bieber version. So this is a little bit of a strange one, but it was hugely popular a few years ago and I heard it over and over for a whole month in all the dance classes Malia took. That might not seem like a lot, but it was sometimes two or three classes a day, and they basically play a minute of the song repeatedly for 90 minutes while they learn the dance. I heard it so much that it's carved a little place for itself in my brain. It feels like Christmas when I hear it. And it will always remind me of little 10 year-old Malia dancing. (Watch video of Malia dancing to it.) The song is peppy. It's upbeat. It's fun. (Watch video of Justin Bieber singing it Live)

—"Where Are You Christmas." This was a song that was in the film, The Grinch, sung by the character Cindy Lou Who. It's a sweet song, from the viewpoint of a child, about longing for the Christmas spirit. Here's a link to a video of the end of movie credits version, sung by Faith Hill: (Watch video)

—"Mary Did You Know," Clay Aiken version. This is a newer song to me. I love it because, although I'm not Christian in the literal sense of believing in the Bible, I would love to believe in the spirit of Jesus. It's a song sung to Mary, asking if she knew when she gave birth how important Jesus would become to the world. (Watch video)

—"Believe" from the movie Polar Express, sung by Josh Groban. This is a song about not losing the spirit and magic of Christmas as we grow older. (Watch video)

What are your favorite holiday songs?