battle of the christmas carols.

five days into december and i already feel close to hopelessly behind on Christmas. i have zero presents bought, zero decorations in my house, we're still not sure if we're going real or fake for our tree this year, and our free time between now and Christmas is rapidly decreasing. 

but nevertheless, i have been doing as much as i can to get into the Christmas spirit this past week, which basically means that i have been listening to Christmas music exclusively since we got back from WY. its really the least i can do, but at least its helping me cope with the fact that the holiday might actually be coming up a lot quicker than i would like to believe.

but what i never really realized about Christmas music is that its not all entirely universal. yes, there are the classic carols and rudolph the red nosed reindeer who are no doubt listened to and loved by the masses, but there are some Christmas songs that only exist in certain areas of the country, because they wouldn't really make a lot of sense to anyone outside those areas. what i'm trying to say is that there are such things as colloquial Christmas-isms.

i don't know if they exist everywhere, but i do know that both the Steel City (where i grew up) and Charm City (where i currently live)  both have their own. here, let me show you them. 

Pittsburgh: 

Baltimore: 

whaddaya think? they're both catchy, get-stuck-in-your-head-for-days kinds of songs. they both pretty well capture the essence of their respective cities - both the Yinzers and the crab-obsessed people of the bay. one will leave you craving pierogies and a sandwich topped with fries and slaw, with a peppy tune and a cheery "i'm tellin' yinz hows come" popping into your head throughout the day. the other will have you anxioiusly awaiting the return of crab season and make you belt out randomly and borderline-obnoxiously "NO NOT SCROD!"

if you're exclusively from da Burgh or B-more, maybe you're perfectly ok with that because you never have to listen to both in the same season. but if you're a transplant like me, then you might find yourself humming a tuneless mash-up along the lines of  "jeet jet? then dontcha kno yinz come on dahntahn picksburgh hon and get some steamed crabs and a beer n'at for Christmas!"

and i'm just not sure how i feel about that.

so, good people of the internets: if you had to choose, who do you say has the better Christmas song?

ps. i still have no idea what scrod is, but i dont think i would want it for Christmas either.