# Modern Christmas Carols **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021 "2006-12-06T02:53:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/1 "2006-12-06T02:53:27Z")
Since it’s just about Christmas and I’m living overseas, I got to thinking, “I wonder what the new Christmas carols are here are and if they’re any good.” So, I put the question to the TM: **What are the best modern Christmas songs where you happen to be?** I’ll try to scare up some information for recent Korean songs of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/2 "2006-12-06T04:00:15Z")
Sorry about the duplicate thread. Bizarre stuff happening across the ol’ IDL, I bet. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/3 "2006-12-06T04:33:22Z")
**Monty** , by “modern,” do you mean “20th Century,” “the past two years,” or something in between? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/4 "2006-12-06T05:34:30Z")
Good question! Perhaps anything written after that terrible annoyance about Rudolph. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/5 "2006-12-06T05:48:38Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Good question! Perhaps anything written after that terrible annoyance about Rudolph. [/QUOTE] When was it written? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/6 "2006-12-06T09:30:26Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] When was it written? [/QUOTE] Written in 1939 for the department store chain Montgomery Wards. [Everything You Need To Now About Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/rudolph.asp) ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/7 "2006-12-06T09:32:03Z")
[QUOTE=DMark] Written in 1939 for the department store chain Montgomery Wards. [Everything You Need To Now About Rudolf The Red-Nosed Reindeer](http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/rudolph.asp) [/QUOTE] The story was written in 1939 - the song in 1949. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/8 "2006-12-06T10:13:55Z")
Sounds good (the date, not the song) to me. Let’s go with 1949 CE or later. Thanks, **DMark**. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/9 "2006-12-06T11:20:07Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Sounds good (the date, not the song) to me. Let’s go with 1949 CE or later. Thanks, **DMark**. [/QUOTE] Hmm…that just barely cuts off 1940s pop standards such as “White Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).” Let me offer up “Silver Bells” (1951). ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/10 "2006-12-06T17:39:10Z")
Well, there’s that horrible [The Chistmas Shoes](http://www.independentbands.com/cd/newsong/thechristmasshoes.html) song. The local “all Christmas, all day” station plays that one too much, as well as [Dan Fogelberg’s “Same Old Lang Syne”](http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/lyrics/same_lang_syne.html), which is only a christmas song in that it mentions Christmas Eve in the second line. How about [I want a hippopotamus for Christmas (1953)?](http://sgor.hyperchat.com/newchat/u/yummy/~soe/hippoFAQ.htm) ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/11 "2006-12-06T18:37:23Z")
Do You Hear What I Hear? (1962) ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/12 "2006-12-06T18:56:05Z")
God, I so want that hippopotamus to eat that child. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/13 "2006-12-06T19:33:53Z")
[QUOTE=AtomicDog] God, I so want that hippopotamus to eat that child. [/QUOTE] Nope. A hippo is a veg-e-tar-ee-an. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/14 "2006-12-06T19:39:51Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Nope. A hippo is a veg-e-tar-ee-an. [/QUOTE] Well, what if the kid in question is…ah, I can’t make the joke. Not at Christmastime. :o ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/15 "2006-12-06T19:45:58Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > God, I so want that hippopotamus to eat that child. [QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Nope. A hippo is a veg-e-tar-ee-an. [/QUOTE] [Hippos are responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other animal.](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mhippo.html) So be of good cheer. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/16 "2006-12-06T19:52:42Z")
Happy Christmas(War of Over) by John Lennon Baby It’s Cold Outside - Bing Crosby ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/17 "2006-12-06T21:22:29Z")
A popular Australian Christmas carol: [The Three Drovers](http://users.tpg.com.au/sharenet/c/drove.html), by William James. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/18 "2006-12-06T21:32:18Z")
I was always partial to [Christmas Wrapping](http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B00008NGI0001006/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_006/102-0201021-1403334), by The Waitresses (1981) ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/19 "2006-12-06T22:36:40Z")
The thread title reads Christmas Carols, but most of the songs mentioned are not really carols but Christmas-themed songs. Carol, to me, implies a song or hymn that might be sung in church, or maybe an anthem. I can do some searching for post-1949 Christmas carols or anthems, but if that’s not what you want, I can also look up some songs (I have a few in mind, but am not sure when they were actually written!). So, I’ll be back later after I check on a few things! ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021/20 "2006-12-06T22:50:47Z")
[The Little Drummer Boy (1958)](http://www.carols.org.uk/little_drummer_boy.htm) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/modern-christmas-carols/383021.md?page=2)