‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’: A Requiem of Gratitude

The holiday season tends to evoke a spectrum of emotions as we are prompted to reflect on the passing of time. In our household, Christmas has never quite been the same since we lost core loved ones (resulting from the pandemic, like many other families), and yet we eagerly prep for our curious, bright-eyed child’s very first visit from Santa. Introducing holiday-favorite songs during playtime has been an easy, age-appropriate way to celebrate the season.?

One afternoon, the lyrics to ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’ a song I have heard thousands of times throughout my life, struck a nerve in the middle of a nap-deprived tantrum: “Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow.” This lyric wasn’t the cheery Frank Sinatra version, which tells us to “...hang a shining star upon the highest bow.” This was a far more earnest perspective… and then I wondered just how many variations of this song existed.

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The Original Lyrics Were Scrapped

‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ was written for the musical Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) to be performed by Judy Garland. The production team was presented with the following original lyrics, deemed to be ‘too depressing’ for inclusion in the musical:

Have yourself a merry little Christmas / It may be your last / Next year we may all be living in the past.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas / Pop that champagne cork / Next year we may all be living in New York.

No good times like the olden days / Happy golden days of yore / Faithful friends who were dear to us / Will be near to us no more.

But at least we all will be together / If the Lord allows / From now on, we'll have to muddle through somehow / So have yourself a merry little Christmas now.

Admittedly, it’s no pop song. As melancholic as the original lyrics may present, the essence of gratitude is undeniable. A lament for years past, the chill of the unknown, and somehow still brings us back to this moment. No matter what has happened or will happen tomorrow, we all will be together now.

There is so much power in reclaiming and cherishing any goodness about a moment in time.

Gratitude is the magic that carries us through each season of our lives, never knowing how times will change… but did you know that there is research supporting that the act of gratitude influences our overall wellbeing??

What Science Says About Gratitude

A meta-analysis conducted by Kirca et al. (2023) found that nearly 7,000 participants across 25 clinical interventions experienced improvements in life satisfaction and happiness, just by incorporating variations of gratitude practices into their lives. Another meta-analysis of Brazilian participants saw a reduction in symptoms related to anxiety and depression (Diniz et al., 2023). Yet another study even suggests that one’s vitality can be greatly improved with the incorporation of gratitude practices. (Garg & Sarkar, 2020)?

The implications for how gratitude practices can improve your life are vast and astounding, but we should be mindful that ultimately gratitude is a perspective shift. The ways the research documents improvement in one’s outlook on life is simply by allowing them to inventory what is beloved rather than tallying up deficits.

In this season, which feels quite solemn for so many people and so many reasons, consider simply letting others know what they mean to you.

After all, in the moment, at least we all will be together.

Happy Holidays, friends.

References

Diniz, G., Korkes, L., Trist?o, L. S., Pelegrini, R., Bellodi, P. L., & Bernardo, W. M. (2023). The effects of gratitude interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (S?o Paulo), 21. https://doi.org/10.31744/einstein_journal/2023rw0371

Garg, N., & Sarkar, A. (2020).Vitality among university students: exploring the role of gratitude and resilience. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance.?

Kirca, A., Malouff, J. M., & Meynadier, J. (2023). The Effect of Expressed Gratitude Interventions on Psychological Wellbeing: A Meta-Analysis of Randomised Controlled Studies. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41042-023-00086-6