Introducing Our California Holiday Playlist

The days are shorter. I’m often admiring Christmas trees sparkling through home windows. Rain visited parts of the state this week.

However subtle, it’s starting to feel like winter in California.

Today I’m unveiling a California holiday playlist, a collection of season-appropriate songs about the Golden State based largely on your recommendations.

I’m sharing the seven inaugural songs below, as well as a little something on why each one made the cut. You can also listen on Spotify here.

Feel free to send your own California holiday song recommendations to [email protected]. Please include your full name, the city in which you live and why you think the song deserves to be included on the list.

Happy listening.

“White Christmas” by Darlene Love (1963)

This pick comes from my colleague Jill Cowan, who formerly spearheaded this newsletter and created our original California playlist. Jill pointed out that “White Christmas,” written by Irving Berlin, is told from the perspective of a Californian longing for snow. We included a version by an L.A. artist and with the oft-skipped telling verse: “The sun is shining, the grass is green / The orange and palm trees sway / There’s never been such a day / In old L.A.”

“Little Saint Nick” by the Beach Boys (1964)

From the Beach Boys’ Christmas album. Enough said.

“Christmas in L.A.” by the Killers, featuring Dawes (2013)

This song is about feeling lonely in L.A. around the holidays, through the eyes of a struggling actor (portrayed by Owen Wilson in the music video). He laments: “There’s a well-rehearsed disinterest/ In the atmosphere/ I don’t know if that’s what this town gave me/ Or if it led me here.”

“A Long December” by the Counting Crows (1996)

This is one of my favorite end-of-year songs, by the Counting Crows, from the Bay Area. The song is a reflection on the promise of the coming year, and ends with the narrator breaking through his L.A. malaise and noticing the possibilities for joy around him: “It’s been so long since I’ve seen the ocean / I guess I should.”

“Snow in California” by Ariana Grande (2013)

In this song, Grande asks Santa to help her keep in California, for a little bit longer, a man with whom she’s in love by delaying his flight. But she’s realistic about her demands: “Just make it snow in California? / I’ll even settle for rain.”

“If We Make It Through December” by Merle Haggard (1973)

This is the lead single from the 1973 Christmas album released by Haggard, the prolific country music star from Bakersfield. The song is about a family struggling financially around the holidays: “Got plans to be in a warmer town come summertime / Maybe even California / If we make it through December, we’ll be fine.”

“Let It Snow,” written by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn (1945)

According to Spectrum News NY1, this song was written during an oppressive July heat wave in Hollywood, with the lyrics about a blizzard merely a mental escape. We’ve included the most popular version, recorded by Dean Martin.

If you read one story, make it this

An L.A. book club took 28 years to read “Finnegans Wake.” Now, it’s starting over.

Where we’re traveling

Today’s tip comes from Greg Sirbu, who lives in Redondo Beach:

“My favorite place in California: hiking the Sierra Nevada Mountains trail outside of Mammoth Lakes. A truly breathtaking experience taking in absolutely beautiful, picturesque mountain meadow, lakes, streams and its wild animals. Something all Californians and Americans should do!”

Tell us about your favorite places to visit in California. Email your suggestions to [email protected]. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.

Tell us

How do you celebrate the holidays in California? With a chilly walk by the beach, a batch of tamales or stargazing in the desert?

Email me at [email protected] with your Golden State holiday traditions. Please include your name and the city in which you live.

And before you go, some good news

At Bouchaine, a winery in Napa Valley, Chris Kajani has set aside chemical pesticides in favor of a more natural, and perhaps less typical, form of pest management. She uses falcons, owls and hawks to ward off animals that threaten the vineyard’s grapes before they’re ready for harvest.

Kajani, the president and winemaker of Bouchaine, has been using the method for a little less than eight years, after a flock of birds wiped out the vineyard’s entire chardonnay harvest in 2015. Around that time, Kajani met Rebecca Rosen, a falconer, and brought her onboard to protect the property.

Years later, the benefits have been considerable: Kajani estimates that the vineyard has saved as much as $859,000 each year, assuming that 10 percent of her yield would be lost to pests in a given harvest year.

Bouchaine is just one of a few vineyards that employ Rosen and her 20 birds of prey. The method, vineyard owners say, is not only highly effective but also organic.

“The falcons are great because they don’t make loud noises,” Aaron Fishleder, vice president of Cakebread Cellars and another of Rosen’s clients, told Bay Area News Group. “They’re just natural birds, flying around and doing what they’re doing.”

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back on Monday. Enjoy your weekend. — Soumya

P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.