Day 14 – As we all know those of the Jewish faith don’t celebrate Christmas, but instead Hannukah, or the Festival of Lights, an eight-day holiday commemorating the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd Century BCE. It starts on the 25th Day of the Kislev according to the Hebrew Calendar.
The lack of a Christmas tree, Santa Claus, and everything else that goes along with Christmas hasn’t stopped some of the biggest stars from recording holiday tunes. Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, Simon and Garfunkel, Barry Manilow, Mitch Miller and the great Herb Alpert just to name a few have all laid down Christmas tracks. Kenny G sold millions of Christmas albums, and two of the most popular yuletide songs in history, “White Christmas” and “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire),” were written by Irving Berlin and Mel Torme, respectively. Both happened to be Jewish.
MP3: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” – Neil Diamond
MP3: “Ave Maria” – Barbara Streisand
MP3: “Because It’s Christmas” – Barry Manilow
MP3: “The Twelve Days of Christmas” – Mitch Miller and the Gang
MP3: “River” – Robert Downey Jr.
Mp3: “The Bell That Couldn’t Jingle” – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
MP3: “The 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” – Simon and Garfunkel
30 Days Out 