What brings you joy and happiness during the Christmas season? Could it be the lights and reindeer displays that go up as soon as the goblins and skeletons have finished making their scary impact? How about those old familiar Christmas songs?

Christmas songs! They are always filled with hope and the promise of happiness to come. Before the Halloween candy has been devoured or confiscated by their parents, children have their five-page wish list ready for Santa. Afterall, they have had “Here Comes Santa Claus” drilled into their little brains since birth. They know what “Jolly Old Saint Nicholas” is bringing down the chimney regardless of whether they’ve been “Bad or Good”!

Every year there are new holiday songs to enjoy. For kids, the livelier the better. This year it was decided to bring our small Sunday School class to the local nursing home for a couple of reasons. One was to entertain the residents and bring some laughter and gifts into their day. The other was to help the children understand that giving to others is one of life’s special gifts. We told the kids that all the residents at the nursing home wouldn’t be able to join us in the “community room” for their show. And that some residents don’t have family close by so they may get very lonely at Christmastime. We were going to make them happy!

The first question the management asked was how many kids and how many chaperones. Seemed to me they had had this experience before. When we let them know we would have more adults than kids, things progressed quickly.

The kids were dressed as shepherds, wisemen and angels. They sang the old favorites— “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. The new song the kids had learned for Christmas was the hit of the show: “Oh! What a Wonderful Day!” When the music started, they knew it was their queue to dance, jump up and down and sing as loudly as they could! By the end of the song, some of the residents had eventually made it to their feet to join in the dancing and singing!

But what happened next, well, as the new saying goes: “You can’t make this up!”

After all the joy and merry singing was over, we discovered that one of our littlest angels (who sometimes was mistaken for a devil!) was missing from the scene. As we all went from room to room passing out cards and gifts to those who weren’t able to see the show (and to find our littlest angel), one of the kids yelled out that they found him!

We rushed to the room and there we saw our littlest angel snuggled in the arms of a once giant of a man. Our angel was singing (very quietly), “Oh! What A Wonderful Day!” And it certainly was!

Music creates its own kind of magic. I would wager that there is no one who ever lived whose soul was not soothed by its melodies. Scientists have been studying the effects music has on the brain for years. It was believed that once damaged, the brain couldn’t regenerate. Brain cells were finite, and any loss or injury would be suffered as a deficiency for the rest of that person’s life. This created a belief that the brain is essentially in a perpetual state of decline. But apparently not so anymore.

It’s now accepted in the medical scientific community that the adult brain is capable of growing new neurons and glial cells (they help to facilitate communication), something previously disbelieved by the medical establishment. The brain is now considered to be resilient, pliable and able to “rewire” itself through the practice of a desired skill. It’s the combination of new cells and new learning that creates this magic. When fresh nerve cells are well-stimulated (i.e., trained through specific learning exercises), they make new connections, becoming healthy brain cells that contribute to learning and the development of new skills.

Enjoy listening to and singing along with the songs of the holidays. Maybe develop a new music regimen for the New Year. It is sure to do your heart and brain more good than you ever thought possible!

Happy Holidays to you all!

Need some help with that? For more information, contact Youthful Aging Home Care.

Lani Kelly is a research writer for Youthful Aging Home Care.