As recession tightens its grip, the holiday season threatens to be less festive than usual. Consciously or not, much of this year’s new holiday music expresses some anxiety about whether the old modes of merriment still matter. Dismantle old standards? Create new ones? Even bother celebrating at all? Here, notable holiday albums — Christmas, mostly, with a little Hanukkah thrown in — are reviewed by the pop and jazz critics of The New York Times.