I get tired of the Christmas music that makes your teeth ache with the sadistic repetition of sweet or coy. I've cherished both the traditional-yet-obscure as well as the new and wonderful & have been consciously collecting albums in this vein, and learning some of the songs. Years…er… decades ago, John McCutcheon's "Winter Solstice" album was new and wonderful, while now "Christmas in the Trenches" is on it's way to becoming traditionally overdone. (still, some great stuff in that thar album) Some friends of mine, the Bittersweet Christmas Band of the Chicago area, have several recordings "from the reverent to the ridiculous" and their website
lets you listen to one of a favorite non-traditional turning of the year songs "Dance in the Dark of the Year" They do fine versions of Stan Roger's "First Christmas Away from Home" among other gems. They've been doing it so long, there are young things in Chicago who think Richard Thompson's "We'll Sing Halleluia"    IS a traditional song.

Folk Legacy's Barton/Para/Paton album "Twas on a Night Like This" has a lush, "let's not get depressed even if winter is depressing" song: "Dark December."


The trio "Voices" composed of Anne Hills, Cindy Mangsen and Priscilla Herdman has recorded two winter albums, Voices of Winter and Turning of the Year .They're a joy to listen to, and the most delightful listening source for some of these songs.

Voices of Winter
Wintergrace - (Jean Ritchie)
Snow In The Street - (w: William Morris / m: Ralph Vaughn Williams)
Raise The Dead of Wintertime - (Alan Rankin)
Witch Hazel - (Tom Gala)
Serving Girl's Holiday - (traditional)
Hanerot Halalu - (traditional)
A'Rovin' On A Winter's Night - (traditional)
Joy, Health, Love & Peace - (traditional)
The Wren - (Jack Hardy)
Unto You This Night (A Child is Born) - (w&m: Steve Gillette & Rex Benson)
Frozen Logger - (James Stephens)
Proper Cup Of Coffee - (Traditional, new verses by Anne Hills & Cindy Mangsen)
Voices Of Winter - (Anne Hills)
Red And Green - (Maddy Prior)
Hot Buttered Rum - (Tommy Thompson)
Mister Santa - (Pat Ballard)
Chickadee - (w: Stan Scott / m: Ray Andrews & Ray Frank)
More Wood - (Dillon Bustin)
Lo, How A Rose - (traditional)

Second trio album: Turning of the Year
Turning of the Year - (w&m by Anne Hills)
Candlemas Eve - (Lyrics by R. Herrick, music by unknown; P.D.)
The Winter It Is Past - (Traditional, with additional words by Robert Burns)
Forget-Me-Not - (w&m by Anne Hills & Michael Smith)
Swinton May Song - (Traditional English, from the Watersons)
Goodbye to the Roses - (Poem by Margaret Mantle, music by Jenny Armstrong)
Away Ye Merry Lasses - (w&m by Georje Holper)
Uncle Dave's Grace - (lyrics by Peter Berryman, music by Lou Berryman)
Solstice Round - (w&m by Cindy Mangsen)
The Snow - (w&m by Allen Power)
The Druggist - (w&m by Joel Mabus)
Corn, Water and Wood - (w&m by Carol Elliott & Wendy Waldman)
Years - (w&m by Beth Neilsen Chapman)
Winter's Come and Gone - (w&m by Gillian Welch & David Rawlings)
(Priscilla Herdman's site has lyrics for all the second album of winter songs. )

Best of luck in putting together a program of turning of the year/solstice/midwinter/Christmas songs It's a rich area to mine. I've bolded the album titles and the songs I particularly like.

Joanne In Cleveland
"In the dead of winter When the silent snow birds come You're my sweet maple sugar, honey, Hot buttered rum"