10 Christmas Songs With The Most Shocking Origins You Didn’t Know

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The Christmas season has finally arrived! The air is filled up with the smell of freshly baked pies, the joy of gifts, and, of course, the sounds of the classic carols that come around every Christmas without fail, bringing cheers to every house near and far. But did you know some of these cheerful tunes have a story of their own? From carols written during wartime to songs that debuted in films, these Christmas carols are not just festive songs but are reminders of history and the stories they hold. 

So while you hum along to your favorite Christmas classics, get ready to discover the surprising stories that lie behind these cheery little melodies.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

 Would you believe that the ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ you know and enjoy was nothing but a promotional campaign story created for a grocery store? In 1939, Robert L. May of Montgomery Ward created this tale of an underdog reindeer with a nose that shined like lights to guide them through the fog, all based on the fog over Lake Michigan. It was later that this tale was adapted into a song by Johnny Marks and Gene Autry’s 1949 version was the one that topped Christmas charts in years to come after being rejected at the start. 

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White Christmas

‘White Christmas’ was written for the troops and written so well that it carried a source of comfort that swayed soldiers, stirring emotions among the servicemen, making it a not-so-easy task to accomplish. But, Irving Berlin did it beautifully, as he wrote about a wishful longing for the snowy holiday that touched soldiers’ hearts, and when aired by Bing Crosby on a Christmas day radio broadcast became a massive hit, even becoming the world’s best-selling single. 

Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

When songwriter Haven Gillespie and composer J. Fred Coots came up with ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town’, they did not want it to be a children’s carol. To make things even more interesting, according to legends, Gillespie wrote the lyrics on the back of an envelope during a subway ride in New York City. And, when the song was first heard on Eddie Cantor’s radio show in November 1934, it immediately became a hit and went on to be recorded by popular artists including Bing Crosby, The Jackson 5, Bruce Springsteen, and even Mariah Carey who has earned insane loyalties with ‘All I Want For Christmas’. 

Each of them added their own unique twist to this time-tested holiday song.

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)

On one boiling July afternoon sometime in 1945, Mel Tormé decided to stop over at Bob Wells, his lyricist’s place, after running a day of tiring errands. At this exact time, Wells was working on phrases like “chestnuts roasting”

and “Jack Frost nipping,”

trying to keep cool by thinking cool, when Torme joined in inspiration struck them like lighting and they managed to come up with ‘The Christmas Song’ within a short hour. Later that same year, it became a famous hit after being recorded by Nat King Cole. 

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

The story behind ‘Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!’ being a popular carol associated with Christmas is quite funny as the song’s name is quite literally to the story behind it. Here is what that means, when lyricist Sammy Cahn, along with composer Jule Styne, sat down to write, it was a steaming hot summer in 1945, and the need for cool airs, and snow was looming around. And the end result of this need for cooling down was the wintry scene that produced ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’.

All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth

‘All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth’, became an instant hit in no time, because of its humorous nature and even the story behind it is as funny as the song. Donald Yetter Gardner, a music teacher, had this lightbulb moment in his head when he saw a pattern of his students missing their two front teeth, giving them a lisp, and he simply turned this into a song. He wasted no time in whipping up a playful song in about 30 minutes that is still a holiday favorite of many!

Fairytale of New York

‘Fairytale of New York’ by The Pogues, with Kirsty MacColl, is one of the most iconic Christmas songs, and its origin is quite the unexpected one that came from a bet. Producer Elvis Costello went on to bet on the fact that the band could not write a Christmas hit, but he quite lost the ball on that one. The band took on the bet and came up with a Fairytale of New York which was inspired by J. P. Donleavy’s novel of the same name, that tells a bittersweet tale of New York during Christmas, which is still a regular hit during the Christmas season. 

Silver Bells

‘Silver Bells’, was born as a Christmas song from the film The Lemon Drop Kid

, inspired by a small bell on the office desk of writers Jay Livingston and Ray Evans that reminded them of the jingle bells that Salvation Army volunteers rang during the holiday season. This movie-premiered song soon became a popular holiday tune, after being recorded post the movie’s success by Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, and The Judds, among others. 

Do You Hear What I Hear?

This work of pure art tells a tale from a night wind to a little lamb, then to a shepherd boy, a mighty king, and finally, a child in the cold struck a chord in the hearts of people around the world. ‘Do You Hear What I Hear?’ was written as a prayer for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis, and it sang directly to people’s hearts making it a popular Christmas tune, for its powerful message of peace and hope even in the difficultness of times. 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Judy Garland first sang ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ in the movie Meet Me in St. Louis

in 1944. In the movie, this was quite a low and sad song, but Hugh Martin stepped in seeing the inspiration behind the song. He got Garland to rewrite the same song to be more upbeat, and that is how ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ as you know it now was born. Garland’s emotional delivery really spoke to people, especially during World War II, when soldiers were away from home. Later, even Frank Sinatra attempted the song with his own twists to turn up its cheeriness, making it the festive classic it is now!

Who thought even Christmas carols might hold secrets? But they do so next time you sing along to any of these carols, take a pause and appreciate the story behind it. The rich history that these hearty, lightweight carols carry is surprising, but it only adds to the festive fun. 

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Do you have a favorite Christmas song with a story we missed? Let us know in the comments!

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