Christmas songs have a way of staying with us from childhood. In fact, if you were to ask someone their favorite Christmas song it may range from, "Silent Night" to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Many Christmas songs do carry the element of the holy in their lyrics and sometimes in the melody. Most of all, though, Christmas stands alone from all other holidays by the fact that it carries its own genre of music. The message of this season can be sung as well as spoken. The world has come to know the all-important story of Jesus, perhaps more due to the tunes, than the spoken word or reading of messages.

I have experienced the power of the secular and religious Christmas song. A few years ago, my wife, an Austrian, and I visited friends in Purgstall, Austria. We stayed at our friends' k…