SCOTT SIMON, host:
NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg dropped by this week to help with our vlog, "Open Mic." She didn't come by to talk about any of the great Supreme Court debates about church and state or keeping religious displays out of public space, but about Christmas at the Totenberg household.
NINA TOTENBERG: My mother always said that it didn't matter that we were Jewish, Christmas was too good a holiday for kids not to celebrate it. So we had a Christmas tree with a Star of David on top, and we sang Christmas carols because she said the Christmas music was great music. And so I grew up singing Christmas carols.
SIMON: All right. We want to hear you sing as soon as we can.
TOTENBERG: OK.
SIMON: Yeah. You're going to sing, I think what I can fairly refer to as, forgive me, the most goyisha of all possible Christmas carols.
TOTENBERG: Sort of, sort of. But this is the prettiest one, I think, anyway. So I'm going to sing one verse of it, and one verse only. Should we just start from the top? OK.
SIMON: The "Silent" part.
(Soundbite of Christmas carol "Silent Night")
TOTENBERG: (Singing) Silent night, Holy night. All is calm, All is bright. Round yon virgin mother and child, Holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace. Sleep in heavenly peace.
SIMON: You know what? A tough reporter can sing very tenderly. Well, you can watch our short Christmas special with Nina and the Weekend Edition staff on our blog, npr.org/soapbox, and on youtube/weekendedition. Our friend Juan Williams has another blog this week, but no singing.
(Soundbite of Christmas carol "Silent Night")
SIMON: This is Weekend Edition from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.
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