Not to be grumpy-faced about the holidays, but upon reading this lengthy musicological treatise on the music of the season, I can't help relishing every little of bit Tris McCalls's sarcastic, irreverent yet brilliant writing! Check a selection from the abstract:

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen

The least of the five great Christmas carols, “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen” is nonetheless an eternal powerhouse: a mead-swinging Old English melody and accompaniment to put “Greensleeves” to shame. This is straight Luke narrative: the angel, the shepherds, the trip to Bethlehem, the manger, the whole tear-jerking yarn. The lustiness of the diapason, however, knocks the starch out of the pathos; you don't come away from the story feeling particularly sentimental. Rather, it's an entreaty to have faith in a God who actually does function as a mighty fortress -- in this Christmas carol, unlike so many others, you're not asked to pity-worship an infantilized object of devotion. “God Rest Ye” does lay on the snow and storm a little thick, but I give it a flier because it's so evidently British, and I am sure the author simply wanted to show off his hardiness and stiff upper lip.