“Have yourself a merry little Christmas/ Let your heart be light …” So begins one of my favorite songs of the season, by which I mean either the Christmas season or simply “the holidays,” depending on which you prefer.

Actually, however, the song’s composer, Hugh Martin, ended up preferring something slightly different than the original title and lyrics, which he had composed for the 1944 MGM musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” and its star, Judy Garland.