While I've only listened to Sufjan Stevens’ music on my own for five years, I've been familiar with his music for over a decade. My mom first discovered him about a year after he released Illinois. She had a few songs by him at the time, then in December 2007, she got Songs for Christmas. I was 11 years old at the time, and I now see that album as the next stage in my Christmas history. Those years after early childhood where Santa's kind of out of the picture and so on. It's just part of growing up.

I have very vague memories of Sufjan's Christmas music from when I was younger. Most of them consist of an intimate time at home at night when everyone in the house is settled down. Including our two dogs who always made sure stress and noise were going on. Especially our Basenji lab, who was such a high-strung dog, but I remember Sufjan's music always knocked him right out! Sufjan's Christmas music has always been the peace to our stress.

Many of his arrangements on Songs for Christmas are simple but ooze with all kinds of different melodies. Sufjan’s voice is already very angelic so, it lends itself well on a Wintery / Christmas song. His vocals have an innocence to them that is joyful, and his falsetto is like the cool breeze when you walk out on a frosty day.

One of the many songs that demonstrates how Christmasey Sufjan’s arrangements and vocals can be is the first version of “Joy to the World” found on Songs for Christmas. As far as the arrangement goes, I love the combination of the electric guitar and the acoustic guitar in this rendition. The electric guitar plays a beautiful, repeated melody that comes in after each verse. Meanwhile, the acoustic guitar is plucking a very soft, very Sufjan-ey fingerpicking pattern. If you've listened to any of Sufjan's folk music before you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. And on the other hand, his vocals capture what I mentioned before. He slightly changes how it is traditionally sung with his use of falsetto. It's quiet and simple but makes a huge difference. These small details are what make this song fresh again and give it a new life.

But the thing I love most about this version is how patient it is. Once the lyrics finish, there is still a whole minute and a half of instrumentals and harmonies that play the listener off. The bells kick into gear, and the vocals sing over the guitar melody I mentioned before. It reminds me of his song, "Casimir Pulaski Day" where the vocals are used as another instrument and call back to previous moments of the song.

I believe something Sufjan is trying to do with this song (and many of his other songs) is to allow it to breathe and for us to just remember. Remember why we sing these songs in the first place and the meanings of them. You see, "Joy to the World" is not just a carol, it's a hymn. And it has some of the most powerful and provoking lyrics. Sufjan is leaving us with the words "Wonders of His love," repeating it and then letting it sink in with these beautiful, luscious harmonies.

The story of Jesus is thousands of years old. It's been redefined in so many ways that I feel it has almost lost its impact on modern culture. Sufjan recaptured the spirit of the song by restoring it to its original form, and that's the key! Redefining something doesn't always mean you have to add a bunch of ingredients to it, sometimes it's merely taking us back to its original form and allowing us to just... remember.

Even as I'm writing this, I have a busy schedule and other things on my mind but, remembering the Christmas story shouldn't be something I forget. And having Sufjan Stevens’ music as something to anchor that shouldn't be something I take for granted. There's a lot of Christmas out there that isn't great, so we should consider ourselves lucky to have it.

Sufjan's “Joy to the World” is blissful, melodious, and pure. It's one of the more nostalgic songs for me in his Christmas catalog, and it exemplifies a lot of why his Christmas music is so near and dear to me. Even when life gets cold, Sufjan Stevens’ Christmas music will always be a Christmas tradition that'll warm my heart and bring joy.