Jingle Bells

I played Jingle Bells for one of my classes this week. Actually I played two versions of Jingle Bells. The first was a choral version by Tenebrae and the second was by Straight No Chaser. The fun part was asking them which they liked better. The split was actually pretty even.

Points in favor of the Tenebrae version:
-High notes.
-Beautiful.
-Actually sounds like jingling bells.

Points in favor of the Straight No Chaser version:
-Crazy.
-It feels happy.
-It feels like it's wishing us a Merry Christmas.
-Fun.

Other interesting comments:
-This song sounds like lots of balloons.
-This song is resounding.
-Listening to this song makes me feel comfortable.
-It sounds like Christmas is fast approaching.

"I think it's happy, like it is when you celebrate your birthday. I like them both because they are both happy."

"Nice and happy."

"I think this song is telling us Merry Christmas. I wish teacher a Merry Christmas.
I like the second song because it made me feel the happiness of Christmas."

"Distinctive style." "Gentle and tender." "I like the first one because it sounds like Santa coming to give presents."

"It's just like I'm Santa, flying in the sky." (The sack is labeled "presents".)

"I think it's just like Christmas."

On a side note, I didn't know before this that Santa in Chinese is literally "Christmas Old Person" (圣诞老人Shèngdàn Lǎorén). I guess it's sort of like Father Christmas...but it took me by surprise!