Harry Connick Jr. Says His Family Is ‘Thankful For What [Christmas] Actually Means’

Published: December 1, 2022

Harry Connick Jr. Says His Family Is ‘Thankful For What [Christmas] Actually Means’

By Movieguide® Contributor

Harry Connick Jr. celebrated the start of the Christmas season with a series of concerts in support of his new album, Make It Merry.

Make It Merry is his fourth holiday album, so Connick Jr. has plenty of material for his tour dates. The singer will perform throughout Southern California, with dates in San Diego and Los Angeles.

“There are different ways to write these songs,” he said of how he puts his Christmas albums together. “You can write them autobiographically or you can just write like I did with ‘Make It Merry.’ That’s about a guy who’s alone and all he really wants is for this person to consider to come spend the holiday with him and that one’s not from personal experience. But definitely some of them go back to my own childhood.”

With so many Christmas albums, it’s no surprise Connick Jr. loves the holiday.

“We just like being together,” he said of his family Christmas celebration. “We eat some good food and just hang out. We’re thankful for what the holiday actually means, so we’ll go to midnight mass or church in the morning and it’s pretty laid back.”

He continued, “We’re just hanging out and talking the whole time — or, let me rephrase that — I’m listening all of the time because there’s so much going on with my daughters and all of their adventures. I sit back and listen to what they have to say and we just have a really good time.”

Movieguide® previously reported on another one of Connick Jr.’s recent projects:

Award-winning artist Harry Connick Jr. is no stranger to teaming up with the best in the industry. However, for his newest album, “Alone With My Faith,” Connick Jr. worked from home and reflected on his faith.

Connick Jr. played over 25 instruments to complete the new album, which is full of timeless hymns like “Amazing Grace,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “The Old Rugged Cross.”

“Those were songs that I’ve sung a lot and haven’t recorded, so I thought it would be cool to do those. And then a couple of the others were actually suggested to me by people in my life. My dad loves the song ‘Panis Angelicus’ (Bread of Angels) and my stepmom loves ‘Old Time Religion,’” Connick Jr. told Guideposts.

Connick revealed that prayer became an important part of the album.

“I may pray during the song or the song itself may be a prayer. These songs are very powerful and are themselves prayers, like ‘Panis Angelicus’ or ‘The Old Rugged Cross,’” Connick Jr. explained. “If you’re present and you’re really paying attention to what’s being played and sung they can serve very similar purposes to prayers.”

Despite the hardships of 2020 during the pandemic, Connick Jr. said he relied on his faith and family.

“There were some days that I woke up and I was like, what is happening right now? I just lost a family member and I can’t go to the funeral. We can’t leave the house and we have to wash our groceries outside. What is going on?” Connick Jr. questioned. “Some days were harder than others. All I know is we see a light at the end of the tunnel. And I made it. The only thing I can credit for that is my faith and family.”

“I think there are people out there who will like the Christian songs because it will resonate with them. And there are other people who may not believe and may find some comfort in the music just because they realize it’s coming from a truthful and sincere place,” Connick Jr. said. “I think about some people in my life who don’t really believe in anything and I would think that there are some things that they can take away from this album too. It’s a pretty wide gambit. It’s for whoever it can strike a chord with.”

Ultimately, Connick Jr. is thankful for the opportunity that God has given him.

“I’m aware of how lucky and blessed I’ve been. And that’s what makes me want to keep getting better,” Connick Jr. said. “If somebody has seen me in concert I want them to come back the next time and say, man, that last concert was nothing compared to this. It’s the humility of realizing that I’ve been gifted with an incredible group of people who are interested in what I do and I take that very seriously.”