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World Christmas Party
| Meet the Blogger | More Posts by Dan Storper Dan Storper is the CEO and Founder of Putumayo World Music.
While people around the world celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve in different ways, we all share the common desire to enjoy a festive holiday season with family and friends. After all, “‘tis the season to be jolly,” so Putumayo has assembled some of our favorite upbeat seasonal songs to get you rockin' around the Christmas tree. So get ready to deck the halls with a world Christmas party!
(Read on for a chance to win a CD collection of Christmas music.)
I’ve always enjoyed looking out for compelling versions of Christmas music recorded in other parts of the world and how different cultures celebrate Christmas. On a trip to New Zealand last year, I found one of my favorites, a Maori recording of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” We also asked two of our favorite international musicians, José Conde and Maria de Barros, to record new versions of “Winter Wonderland” and “Deck the Halls,” which turned out really well. And, among the many other appealing recordings, legendary Poncho Sanchez provides a Latin jazz twist to the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
This holiday season, enjoy a fresh spin on Christmas classics in reggae, samba, ska, Cape Verdean coladeira and other musical styles while enjoying Coquito, a Puerto Rican eggnog drink — recipe included in the CD.
So, what are your favorite non-traditional sounds of Christmas? Let us know by December 7th in the comment section below. One comment post will be selected at random to receive a Putumayo Christmas collection of 5 CDs: World Christmas Party, Christmas Around the World, A Jazz & Blues Christmas, New Orleans Christmas and A Family Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
While people around the world celebrate Christmas and New Year’s Eve in different ways, we all share the common desire to enjoy a festive holiday season with family and friends. After all, “‘tis the season to be jolly,” so Putumayo has assembled some of our favorite upbeat seasonal songs to get you rockin' around the Christmas tree. So get ready to deck the halls with a world Christmas party!
(Read on for a chance to win a CD collection of Christmas music.)
I’ve always enjoyed looking out for compelling versions of Christmas music recorded in other parts of the world and how different cultures celebrate Christmas. On a trip to New Zealand last year, I found one of my favorites, a Maori recording of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” We also asked two of our favorite international musicians, José Conde and Maria de Barros, to record new versions of “Winter Wonderland” and “Deck the Halls,” which turned out really well. And, among the many other appealing recordings, legendary Poncho Sanchez provides a Latin jazz twist to the Christmas classic “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”
This holiday season, enjoy a fresh spin on Christmas classics in reggae, samba, ska, Cape Verdean coladeira and other musical styles while enjoying Coquito, a Puerto Rican eggnog drink — recipe included in the CD.
So, what are your favorite non-traditional sounds of Christmas? Let us know by December 7th in the comment section below. One comment post will be selected at random to receive a Putumayo Christmas collection of 5 CDs: World Christmas Party, Christmas Around the World, A Jazz & Blues Christmas, New Orleans Christmas and A Family Christmas.
Merry Christmas!
318 Comments
Comments
Love all the music from this site....
12/08/2010 2:51:12 PM CST
My favorite non-traditional Christmas song has to be Feliz Navidad. I remember my grandma on the Mexican side of our family singing it in the kitchen whilst she prepared Christmas dinner when I was a little girl growing up. I miss her but will always remember he singing it.
11/23/2010 2:29:47 PM CST
It's actually virtually a non-sound: the hush of a lightly falling snow, not the howling of a major storm but the gentle tension release of quietness in the world.
12/07/2010 7:17:18 AM CST
My favorite Christmas Song in Portuguese http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alAoLoNCe_M&feature=related , by Nelly Furtado. I shop whole foods all the time and would be so grateful to win the music for the holidays. Thank you for all the great things you do for the world and community.
Thank you Whole Foods!
10isha
11/23/2010 11:58:49 AM CST
My favorite xmas song from another part of the world is:
RBD -FELIZ NAVIDAD-
Its from a spanish group and its a great song i love their music!
Hope to win the xmas cd's i would LOVE THEM!
Happy Holidays!
xoxo
Simi
11/23/2010 2:02:40 AM CST
Any music played on steel drums is a special treat at Christmas time because it reminds us there is someplace warm and sunny in the world!
12/08/2010 11:07:05 PM CST
I recently heard Colbie Caillat's "Mistleto" and it has made my holiday favorites list! Makes me want to cozy up to a warm fire with my family.
11/26/2010 12:20:59 AM CST
i think that fiona apple's voice makes traditional songs "non-traditional" and she's one of my family's favorites...
11/26/2010 11:50:56 AM CST
My husband and I love to scour the record shops for old holiday vinyl. Our favorite find features reggae, African, and island takes on traditional Christmas songs.
11/26/2010 11:40:18 AM CST
I love the reggae song Happy Christmas. Not sure who it's by, but it's great :)
11/26/2010 5:59:10 PM CST
I have a mac and I couldn't open the music.
11/27/2010 7:12:15 AM CST
My favorite non-traditional Christmas song has to be Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses...it just makes me smile.
11/27/2010 8:31:10 PM CST
I love that song Christmas Wrappings by The Waitresses.
11/27/2010 8:55:41 PM CST
I just love jazzier or latin style Christmas music and get tired of the traditional music year after year. The more non-traditional and different, the more wonderful it is! I sometimes will play my own creative versions of some of the traditional Christmas tunes on a little hand-carved wood flute that I have!
11/29/2010 5:48:37 PM CST
What a cool question. Thanks to all who posted songs, artists and links, I can't wait to check them out.
Our favorite nontraditional holiday music is Native American Flute music. The Songs of Winter album by Jeff Ball is a lovely blend of traditional American Indian Flute and holiday favorites.
11/29/2010 10:26:33 PM CST
I love the new age arrangements of winter songs by Enya, they transform me into a peaceful state of being, especially after a hectic day.
11/30/2010 9:09:45 AM CST
I love Mary's Boy Child by Boney M
11/30/2010 1:21:37 PM CST
Mariah Carey-”All I Want for Christmas is You”
11/30/2010 1:57:01 PM CST
I moved here 3 years ago from Germany, so all German Christmas songs are my real favorites because they bring back all the childhood memories of celebrating christmas with my parents, grandparents and brother.
11/30/2010 3:12:08 PM CST
Chanukah songs! How non-traditional is that? =) But I still like listening to Christmas music, it puts me in a good mood for the holiday season.
11/30/2010 3:02:25 PM CST
My favorite is "O Tannenbaum" sung in German. It reminds me of my childhood.
11/30/2010 9:14:08 PM CST
I shop at Whole Foods all the time. It would be nice to win this cd for the upcoming holiday season!!
12/01/2010 4:46:40 PM CST
Hi! I used a sample CD of Putumayo that was available in WholeFoods for my Pilates class and they loved it!!
12/01/2010 4:46:05 PM CST
I LOVE James Brown's collection of Christmas music! God bless the hardest working man in show business (belatedly, of course).
12/01/2010 4:42:10 PM CST
I love both world and Christmas music, so it is really great to find new combinations of the two!
One of my favorites off the top of my head is steel drum Christmas music! It reminds me of the year I spent Christmas in Hawaii, my first time visiting that state. The novelty tune "Mele kalikimaka" has since held a special, sentimental value to me.
I also enjoy the "Christmas in Bossa" collection I found a couple years ago--- various American Christmas songs (including Wham's "Last Christmas") done in Bossa Nova style. Wonderful for a holiday cocktail party, or whwen you just want a nice, relaxing change of pace from the pop music on the radio :)
12/01/2010 4:41:11 PM CST