Dear Mrs. Dalrymple –
We do not celebrate idols. You know from experience with our older children, that that plan includes the mother of all idol seasons, christmas.
We understand that you do, so it makes me confused about why I must write this email. The idea of trafficking song by song through your curriculum, to say yea or nay, song by song is not tolerable. You know the songs that are songs directly or indirectly for that pagan festival that follows after the rebels of your fathers.
If the song is "of the season" we don’t do it. Our children have suspicion
of such songs but they don’t do it so they don’t have complete knowledge for sure. You on the other hand, know perfectly. So please stop including them in such activities that are against their interest and your interest, as it is rebellion against the plain words of God with respect to not serving false gods or idols or anything except the Living God, called a consuming fire.
If it’s about the "season", we don’t do it. We have no interest in rebellion against God. Period. I feel that we have not made that clear heretofore, so we will do better.
So, for example, the song that has the line "Let it snow, let it snow, let
it snow…" While it does not mention the "season", it is included as a song for the "season", it would be included in "things sacrificed to idols" and so we do not do it.
If this is not clear enough, please let me know and I will say more.
This is a matter of serious religious principal to us, so we want to make
sure we see eye to eye with you about it.
Thank you for your cooperation.
A mother in Israel
Thank you for your e-mail. I am sorry that I did not realize that the
winter songs sung around the holiday would be included. I was looking for songs that did not have religious content that were winter songs. I
appreciate the boys letting me know when they cannot perform certain songs. Some of the songs are included in our Choral Experience books which are part of our required curriculum. I have been trying to emphasize the concepts being taught, not the content of the songs lyrics. Thanks for letting me know.
Mrs. Dalrymple
Hi Mrs. Dalrymple –
My son was concerned about this and that song such that before I left for Michigan, he was asking me about this and that song such that I was left to conclude that he is feeling a bit under siege with all the ways messages that seem out of place in school were coming at him in the form of songs. He was pulling up the various songs on the internet in one form or another for me to look. Then, he called me before 6am today to discuss yet another song. I forwarded your reply below to some of the parents, and here is what one had sent me by the time I got home:
Our youngsters have been in this class with this teacher for nearly two decades, so this is overdue.See these 3 speedy quick Google-search finds laying the ax to the root of this tree:
#1: http://www.the-north-pole.com/carols/letitsnow.html
#2: "Let It Snow!
The wonderful Christmas song Let It Snow was created by lyricist Sammy Cahn and the composer Jule Styne in 1945. The words and lyrics of Let It Snow reflect the feeling of warmth and security associated with Christmas and also brings in the more modern customs of popping corn! The song Let It Snow was reprised in recent years when used in the Bruce Willis film Die Hard which started with the film’s hero traveling to meet his family at Christmas."#3: "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!", also known as "Let It Snow", is a song written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in 1945. It was written in July 1945 in Hollywood, California during one of the hottest days on record. First recorded by Vaughn Monroe, it became a popular hit, reaching number one on the Billboard music chart the following year. One of the best-selling songs of all time, "Let It Snow!" has been covered countless times. Due to its seasonal lyrics, it is commonly regarded as a Christmas song."
So, that will be the kind of information we will watch for, but mostly, I know that My son will not fail to raise this issue, as that is how he rolls. It is a good barometer for me.
Thank you.
A mother in Israel