Mulliga's Christmas Spectacular - Songs for the Snowless

Every time December rolls around, things get festive here at Shangrila Towers. This holiday season is no different, and we're rolling out Yuletide posts all the way up to Christmas Day. Today, we'll look at some Christmas music organized around a very particular theme:

One of the downsides to living in South Florida is that it never, ever snows. I know it sounds crazy to wish for snow when many of my fellow gunbloggers up north are being buried in the white stuff, but it doesn't feel very much like Christmas without it. Here are a few songs that express the plight of snowless South Florida:

Mele Kalikimaka

This is that "Hawaiian Christmas" song that played when Chevy Chase was fantasizing in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." As you can imagine, it's very popular down here, since we have our fair share of swaying palm trees and sunshine, even in December.

The quintessential recording of the song was made by Mr. Bing Crosby, but many artists have released their own versions over the years. I'm partial to Ingrid Michaelson's pleasing humor-laced live versions:



Any Beach Boys Christmas song

The Beach Boys released a well-received Christmas album, including the memorable hit "Little Saint Nick." I've found that pretty much anything by the Beach Boys goes well with a frozen margarita and a sea breeze. The combination of Brian Wilson's California falsetto with classic Christmas songs sort of embodies what Floridians go through every winter - the holiday spirit without the snow.

White Christmas

The classic plea for snow, and one of the best holiday tunes ever. Like a lot of Christmas songs, it was actually written by a Jewish man, Irving Berlin. To add to the multiculti confusion, this song is quite popular in Asia. Here's a jazzy version by Korean star Younha(윤하):