Christmas music

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"Holiday Song" redirects here. For the song by the Pixies, see Come on Pilgrim.
"Christmas song" redirects here. For the Mel Tormé composition, see The Christmas Song.
"Christmas album" redirects here. For the Boney M. album, see Christmas Album (Boney M. album).

Christmas music or Christmas songs comprise a variety of genres of music normally performed or heard around the Christmas season, which tends to begin in the months leading up the actual holiday and end in the weeks shortly after.

Contents

[edit] Content

Christmas music as a term describes a set of music generally played during the related holiday season, including a large amount of music whose thematic and topical focus is not actually the holiday itself. Often the songs have no content addressing the holiday, but instead focus on wintry or other themes. Many have been adopted to the genre for other reasons, such as the reverential nature of the composition. Ultimately, Christmas music is that which has become associated with the holiday because it:

Many songs not originally intended for Christmas have been "adopted" to the genre, often due to:

  • devotional or reverential essence;
  • wintry theme;
  • the time in which they were released.

[edit] History

Music was an early feature of the Christmas season and its celebrations. But the first chants, litanies, and hymns were in Latin and too theological for popular use. The 13th century found the rise of the carol written in the vernacular under the influence of Francis of Assisi.

The word carol comes from the Greek word choraulein, meaning a circle dance performed to flute music. In the Middle Ages, the English combined circle dances with singing and called them carols. Later, the word carol came to mean a song in which a religious topic is treated in a style that is familiar or festive. From Italy, it passed to France and Germany, and later to England. Music in itself soon became one of the greatest tributes to Christmas, and Christmas music includes some of the noblest compositions of the great musicians.

During the British Commonwealth government under Cromwell, the British Parliament prohibited the practice of singing Christmas carols as pagan and sinful. Its pagan roots in the 13th century and its overly "democratic" 14th century influences made it an unsuitable activity for the general public and it was to be mandated so, by the Commonwealth government of 1647.

Puritans at this time disapproved as well of the celebration of Christmas, and did not close shop on that day, but continued to work through December 25. When in 1660 Charles II restored the Stuarts to the throne, the public once again practiced the singing of Christmas carols, greatly reviving Christmas celebrations.[1]

[edit] Traditional Christmas songs

Songs which are traditional, even some without a specific religious context, are often called Christmas carols. A more or less standard set of these traditional Christmas songs might include such titles as:

Each of these has a rich history, some dating back many centuries.[2]

[edit] Popular Christmas songs

More recently popular Christmas songs, often introduced through film or other entertainment medium, are specifically about Christmas, but are typically not overtly religious and therefore do not qualify as Christmas carols. The archetypal example is 1942’s “White Christmas”, although many other holiday songs have become perennial favorites, such as Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”.

[edit] Most-performed 'Holiday' songs

According to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, the following are the Top 25 most-performed “Holiday” songs for the first five years of the 21st Century[3]:

  1. "The Christmas Song" (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) - Mel Tormé, Robert Wells
  2. "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" - Fred Coots, Haven Gillespie
  3. "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin
  4. "Winter Wonderland" - Felix Bernard, Richard B. Smith
  5. "White Christmas" - Irving Berlin
  6. "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" - Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne
  7. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" - Johnny Marks
  8. "Jingle Bell Rock" - Joseph Carleton Beal, James Ross Boothe
  9. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" - Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, Buck Ram
 10. "Little Drummer Boy" - Katherine K. Davis, Henry V. Onorati, Harry Simeone
 11. "Sleigh Ride" - Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
 12. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Edward Pola, George Wyle
 13. "Silver Bells" - Jay Livingston, Ray Evans
 14. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - Johnny Marks
 15. "Feliz Navidad" - José Feliciano
 16. "Blue Christmas" - Billy Hayes, Jay W. Johnson
 17. "Frosty the Snowman" - Steve Nelson, Walter E. Rollins
 18. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" - Johnny Marks
 19. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" - Tommie Connor
 20. "Here Comes Santa Claus" (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) - Gene Autry, Oakley Haldeman
 21. "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" - Meredith Willson
 22. "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" - Bob Allen, Al Stillman
 23. "Carol of the Bells" - Peter J. Wilhousky, Mykola Leontovich
 24. "Santa Baby" - Joan Ellen Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer
 25. "Wonderful Christmastime" – Paul McCartney

"Re-recorded and revived by each decade's most popular artists, these holiday favorites illustrate the vital connection between ASCAP music creators and the holiday spirit, which fills the airwaves each year. For Americans and many others around the world, these classic lyrics and melodies are inseparable from the celebration of the holiday season - brightening lives year after year, and serving as a cornerstone of the ASCAP repertory".[4]

—ASCAP President and Chairman, Marilyn Bergman

Of these, the oldest songs are “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and “Winter Wonderland” which both came out in 1934. The newest song is Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime from 1979. Songs introduced through motion pictures in the top 25 are: “White Christmas” from Holiday Inn (1942), “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and “Silver Bells” in The Lemon Drop Kid (1950).

CD cover for Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"
CD cover for Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"

The writer with most top Christmas songs is Johnny Marks with three: “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,” and “A Holly Jolly Christmas”. By far the most recorded Christmas song is “White Christmas” with well over 500 versions in dozens of languages.

[edit] Adopted Christmas songs

Much of what we know as Christmas music today was adopted from music initially created for other purposes, and retroactively applied to or associated with the holiday.

A significant subset of the secular songs are regarded as “Christmas” songs due to the time of year that they are most often sung, despite never mentioning anything about Christmas. These songs include traditional favorites such as “Winter Wonderland”, “Let it Snow”, and “Sleigh Ride” (whose standard lyrics mention not a holiday party but a birthday party).

These songs fall into the generic “winter” classification, as they carry no Christmas connotation at all. To popularize a winter-themed song, especially in the United States, without its being regarded as a “Christmas” song, would be difficult. In fact, winter-themed songs are generally not played on the radio in the U.S. during the larger part of the winter after the Christmas season has ended, although they may receive limited radio airplay on some stations, particularly after a significant snow event.

The other subset of this type is the "Christmas number one single" and "Christmas number two single." Tending to be more short-lived in their association with the holiday, these songs have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas or even winter, but are released around the time of the Christmas holiday and reach the top of the charts in the United Kingdom. As such, some songs will be "tweaked" to make them more related to Christmas. This is almost exclusively a British phenomenon; such songs in the United States are rare. Perhaps the most enduring of this type is Wham!'s "Last Christmas."

[edit] Novelty songs

Another subset of the popular Christmas songs, apart from the more sincere ones, are the many parodies or twists on existing songs, which are usually classified as "Novelty songs". The best known of these include:

Even Cheech and Chong got into the act with "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" recorded in 1971. Christmas novelty songs can involve gallows humor and even morbid humor like that found in "Christmas at Ground Zero" and "The Night Santa Went Crazy", both by "Weird Al" Yankovic.[5] Radio personality Bob Rivers has parlayed the format into several albums in the Twisted Christmas line. The number of Christmas novelty songs is so immense that radio host Dr. Demento devotes an entire month of weekly two-hour episodes to the format each year, and the novelty songs receive frequent requests at radio stations across the country.

[edit] Radio broadcasting

Radio broadcasting of Christmas music has been around for several decades. In the early 1990s, it became increasingly common to air uninterrupted days of popular Christmas music marathons in December. As early as 1992, some American radio stations began airing Christmas music all day on December 24-25. By 2000, several stations were starting the trend earlier in the month.

After 9/11, it became especially popular. After those terrorist attacks, radio stations across the country sought a sort of musical "comfort food" and began airing a format of continuous Christmas music from Thanksgiving evening through Christmas Day. The format was widely successful, and because of Christmas creep, radio stations have since moved up the usual format change to the Friday before Thanksgiving. Several stations, such as KOSY-FM, air all Christmas music even earlier, at the beginning of November, although this is generally the exception rather than the norm and stations that change formats earlier than November usually receive backlash from listeners.

Christmas music is also popular as an eccentric stunt format, used when a station is changing formats. For instance, a rock music station changing to a rhythmic oldies format will often air Christmas music in-between. It often occurs either at times when Christmas music seems out of place (for instance, in summer months) or for prolonged periods of time (for example, starting in October and not stopping until Christmas).

Satellite radio providers XM and Sirius, typically devote numerous channels during the holiday season to air different genres of Christmas music. AOL Radio also devotes channels, and even features a year-round Christmas music channel.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ History of Christmas: Music
  2. ^ http://www3.pair.com/montrsmu/carolslist.html Carol Histories and Track List
  3. ^ ASCAP Announces Top 25 Holiday Songs - "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)" Tops List
  4. ^ http://www.ascap.com/press/2006/112706_xmassongs.html ASCAP
  5. ^ http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_songs-novelty.html 100 Greatest Novelty Songs
  6. ^ "What Pop Music Can Teach Us About The Spirit Of Christmas". Retrieved on 2007-11-01. 

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

Find more about Christmas on Wikipedia's sister projects:
Dictionary definitions
Textbooks
Quotations
Source texts
Images and media
News stories
Learning resources
  • Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas by Ace Collins, 160 pages, ISBN 0762421126, 2004.
  • The International Book of Christmas Carols by W. Ehret and G. K. Evans, Stephen Greene Press, Vermont, ISBN 0828903786, 1980.
  • Victorian Songs and Music by Olivia Bailey, Caxton Publishing, ISBN 1840674687, 2002.
  • Spirit of Christmas: A History of Our Best-Loved Carols by Virginia Reynolds and Lesley Ehlers, ISBN 0880884142, 2000.
  • Christmas Music Companion Fact Book by Dale V. Nobbman, ISBN 1574240676, 2000.
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