Press

Where Christmas Music Lived
as appeared in Guideposts
We all know our favorite holiday songs. But do you know where they came from?
By Ron Clancy, North Cape May, New Jersey
I was six when I fell in love with Christmas carols, especially American Christmas songs. That year, the nuns in the Philadelphia orphanage where I lived took me to midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The crowded chapel, the altar crèche, the scent of balsam trees—intoxicating! Read more.

King of the Christmas Songs
as seen in the Philadelphia Inquirer
By Linda Fowler, for the Inquirer
Name that Christmas tune, and Ronald M. Clancy knows the story of its origin. He’ll mention the composer and often the lyricist, arranger, or artists who have performed it. Pressed for more details, he’ll reveal the label, estate, or recording company that holds the rights to the song. And he might even describe a great painting that he thinks captures its spirit. Read more.

Catholic author taps fond memories of the orphanage, now captures finest Christmas carols
by Lou Baldwin
Ron Clancy loves Christmas and most of all Christmas music, especially the fine old carols that have been passed down from generation to generation. You could call him a modern-day Scrooge, who after seeing the light, “holds Christmas in his heart and tries to keep it all the year.” Except in this case, Ron was not an old man when he received his epiphany. Read more.

Where Our Favorite Christmas Carols Come From
by Ron Clancy
I was six when I fell in love with Christmas carols, especially American Christmas songs. That year, the nuns in the Philadelphia orphanage where I lived took me to midnight mass on Christmas Eve. The crowded chapel, the altar crèche, the scent of balsam trees–it was intoxicating! Read more.

Songs that Sparked a Passion
from the Christian Science Monitor
Seasonal music intrigued Ronald Clancy so much, it provided the impetus to begin a collection.
By John Grossmann
Though it was more than a half-century ago, Ronald Clancy remembers one Christmas Eve as if it were yesterday – being put to bed soon after dinner by the nuns and then being awakened hours later to go to midnight mass. “The entire orphanage went,” he says. “There was a big crèche on the altar. Balsam trees – the scent was fantastic.” Read more.

Origins of American’s Favorite Christmas Carols
from the Christian Science Monitor
An intrepid researcher tracks down the stories behind America’s best-loved Christmas carols.
By John Grossmann
Armed with a notebook, a camera, a video camera, and an insatiable hunger to learn even more about some of America’s most beloved Christmas carols, Ronald Clancy set out in October 2008 to visit their widely scattered places of origin. Read more.

Ron Clancy on the Origins of Christmas Carols
Click here to view the interview from Guideposts.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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