Two things I dislike intensely: “gospel” used as a description of a style of pop music and “Christmas Carol” used to describe a song that has nothing whatsoever to do with the Advent of Christ.
It would take to long to explain, so as Inigo Montoya put it, let me sum up:
A gospel song is rightly (and only, as far as I am concerned) a song that relates the good news (euangelion, evengel, GOSPEL) of Christ. Period. A Christmas Carol is a song on the theme of Christ’s birth. Songs about “traditional” goings-on around the holiday of Christmas, as celebrated as a secular event, or songs that are about secular things surrounding traditions that are NOT about Christ’s birth, or simply “Winter songs” of some sort, are not Christmas carols, and in fact, most are only marginally about peripheral traditions that have come to be associated with the holiday, not the event the holiday supposedly celebrates.
Oh, and “Christmas magic” or “the magic of Christmas”? The terms are pure, unadulterated nonsense when used to refer to Christmas, which is ostensibly an observance of the LEAST MAGICAL but one of the two most miraculous events ever to occur. Magic =/= miraculous, and in fact, the two are in no way related.
But, maybe it’s just me. . .
Oh, and I find both real gospel music and real Xmas music appropriate any time of the year. Here:
Mitt hjerte alltid vanker
– English translation (my favorite of various translations)
My heart will always wander
To where our Lord was born,
My thoughts will always go there
And take on their true form.
My longing heart belongs there,
With the treasure of my faith;
I never shall forget you,
O blessed Christmas night!
I’ll willingly spread branches
Of palms around your bed.
For you and you alone
I will gladly live and die.
Come, let my soul find joy
In this moment of delight:
To see you born right here,
Inside my loving heart.
No, it’s not just you. I agree with you about the terminology.
Even so, I still enjoy listening to the less offensive songs that are so often miscalled Christmas music. Just not as much as I enjoy real Christmas music.
I have two separate playlists this year, separated into the categories you outlined, though so far I am spending my time listening to just one of them. The set that is about the real Christmas just is more worth my time battling tinnitus to listen to. . . I find it is actually worth the headache to listen to, say, Tine Thing Helseth play “Mit Hjerte Altid Vanker” as the words play themselves out between my ears. And so it goes with the rest (although, I confess, I have yet to find lyrics for “A Tiny Child So Full of Joy.” *shrugs* I fill the time listening to that with thoughts of His Advent 🙂 ).