It’s the season for Christmas music. In fact, if you really love songs about Santa, reindeer, Rudolph and even dreidels, you can tune into Christmas music radio stations easily starting shortly after Halloween.

I have a love-hate relationship with Christmas music. I hate having it forced on me in supermarkets and other public spaces—especially when it’s still a week before Thanksgiving.

I love it when I’m “in the mood” for Christmas music, which has been the case this season. There’s one Christmas song in particular that conveys the joy of the Holiday season and makes me smile whenever I hear it–“Feliz Navidad”. I remember it from Jose Feliciano many decades ago. It has entered the mainstream canon of Christmas music. Michael Bublé has a particularly good version of it on one of his Christmas CDs.

Everything about this song is uplifting— the beat and the words convey happiness and joy—something that other Christmas carols often don’t.

When we moved to Florida two decades ago, we eventually moved to an “active adult” community, Solivita, where I still live. Our community chorus, the Solivita Guys and Dolls, a group of grandparent–aged music lovers, present an annual Holiday concert. I was teaching at a local Catholic school. Luckily, I was able to arrange a concert at the school featuring the chorus.

One of my merriest memories is the sheer exuberance of the children in the school spontaneously singing along with the Solivita Guys and Dolls Chorus at the first concert. The kids were an amazing audience, listening attentively and clapping appropriately. Then the Guys and Dolls began singing “Feliz Navidad”—and every kid in the audience joined in! It was fantastic! The kids were clapping and singing and just having fun with a song that meant a lot to them.

Whenever I hear Feliz Navidad, I remember that day. I relive the sheer delight of the young voices blending with the mature adult voices of the Chorus and the kids’ unbridled exuberance. I hope there’s a Christmas song or carol that brings the same joy to you.

Merry Christmas.