# What constitutes a Christmas song? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235 "2009-12-14T17:22:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/21 "2009-12-14T19:46:58Z")
Does Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), sung by Darlene Love, qualify? I’d say so. It mentions Christmas, “Deck the halls,” and “pretty lights on the trees.” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/22 "2009-12-14T20:00:43Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > - “Another Auld Lang Syne”, Dan Fogelberg (about a bittersweet reunion with an ex-lover, which just happens to be on New Year’s Eve) It _was_ Christmas Eve, actually. For some reason, people seem to use Christmas as the time to break out “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” Logically, that song should be getting played in summer. “Little Altar Boy” isn’t really explicitly a Christmas song, except Karen Carpenter seems to have made it one. I don’t even know if the writer intended for it to be played at Christmas. I do know he was no altar boy himself. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/23 "2009-12-14T20:01:12Z")
Good point. Perhaps we should emphasize that the Christmas trappings should be mentioned, but not merely in passing. As an aside, I think that the winter songs are arguably encompassed by rule #2, since snow is traditionally associated with Christmas. At any rate, I would now like to rephrase the criteria as follows: [ul] [li] It should make some sort of reference to the birth of Jesus (e.g. “Silent Night,” “God Bless Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Joy to the World”)[/li][li] It should mention some of the usual Christmas trappings such as Santa, Christmas trees, or sleigh bells (e.g. “Jingle Bells,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Baby,” “O Tannenbaum”) and not just in passing[/li][li] Songs about snow and/or winter that are traditionally associated with Christmas (e.g. “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman”)[/li][li] It should mention Christmas in more than just a passing manner (e.g. “Christmastime is Here,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas”). This is especially true if it alludes to the Christmas spirit (e.g. “Do They Know It’s Christmastime?”).[/li][li] For instrumental tunes, they should be closely associated with a well-known Christmas show (e.g. “You’re a Mean One, Mister Grinch,” Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy”)[/li][li] Also acceptable are songs that are about the spirit of Christmas and are traditionally associated with this season. “Good King Wenceslas” is included for this reason.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/24 "2009-12-14T20:10:19Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Good King Wenceslas is anomalous…a religious song that makes no mention of Christmas, just the Feast of Stephen (Dec 26). Or Jan 9, depending on the church. > [@JThunder](#): > > I think that the winter songs are arguably encompassed by rule #2, since snow is traditionally associated with Christmas. North of the Tropic of Cancer, anyway. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/25 "2009-12-14T20:18:34Z")
[Happy Xmas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Xmas_%28War_Is_Over%29) is another one of those songs that despite being a Vietnam war protest song, has inexplicably become a Christmas song (apparently because it features the word “Christmas” within it). ---
**Author:** ![palindromemordnilap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/db5fbb/32.png) [@palindromemordnilap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/palindromemordnilap)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/26 "2009-12-14T20:22:04Z")
Good thing that you amended the rules to include the “not just in passing” rule. The first verse of “Angel of Harlem” by U2 notes that: It’s December There’s snow on the ground New York is lit up “like a Christmas tree” How does the Carol of the Bells fit into the rules? It’s not originally associated with any holiday movie or show. The lyrical version (“Ring, Christmas Bells”) were not part of the original work, and the instrumental version is the one usually heard. To me it sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack to “The Omen,” which is to say, it’s one of my favorite Christmas songs. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/27 "2009-12-14T20:29:26Z")
The mark of any good Christmas song is that it was written by a Jew. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/28 "2009-12-14T20:36:10Z")
There are so many contradictions when it comes to defining “Christmas” that there aren’t a lot of rules dictating what needs to be included in order for something to qualify as Christmas-related. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/29 "2009-12-14T20:37:24Z")
> [@zbuzz](#): > > The mark of any good Christmas song is that it was written by a Jew. Because they have a way with schmaltz? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/30 "2009-12-14T20:43:54Z")
> [@palindromemordnilap](#): > > How does the Carol of the Bells fit into the rules? It’s not originally associated with any holiday movie or show. [It was originally a Ukranian folk song that was written as a winter well-wishing song.](http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=6897) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/31 "2009-12-14T20:50:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > It _was_ Christmas Eve, actually. D’oh. If I’d stopped for 5 seconds to listen to the first 2 lines in my head, I would have realized that, too: “Met my old lover in the grocery store The snow was falling, Christmas Eve” That said, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s not really a holiday song. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/32 "2009-12-14T22:26:31Z")
> [@](#): > > (don’t forget Deck the Halls is a New Year’s song, not a Christmas song) “Deck the Halls” isn’t a Christmas song or a New Year’s song; it’s a Yule song. What about religious songs that don’t really have anything to do with Christmas other than that’s the only time of the year a lot of folks go to church? “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”, “Ave Maria”, and Handel’s “Alleluia”, and a few others I’m not remembering right now, don’t really have anything to do with Christmas specifically. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/33 "2009-12-14T22:40:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What about religious songs that don’t really have anything to do with Christmas other than that’s the only time of the year a lot of folks go to church? “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”, “Ave Maria”, and Handel’s “Alleluia”, and a few others I’m not remembering right now, don’t really have anything to do with Christmas specifically. Personally, I wouldn’t consider any of those to be Christmas songs. Except _maybe_ “Alleluia,” but I think that one’s a stretch too. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/34 "2009-12-14T23:12:05Z")
Why “Alleluia” more than the others? That’s an Easter song. ---
**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 14, 2009, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/35 "2009-12-14T23:25:45Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Why “Alleluia” more than the others? That’s an Easter song. More like an Apocalypse song, the text being taken from Revelation (19:6). Merry Apocalypse, everybody! ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/36 "2009-12-14T23:28:21Z")
There is no such thing as Handel’s “Alleluia.” He did write a chorus for his oratorio “Messiah” in which the word “Hallelujah” is prominently featured. It is not a Christmas song; it’s from the part of the Oratorio that discusses the Passion of Christ. It’s simply played a lot at Christmas because we’ve become so secular a society that we lump almost all Christian music about Jesus and his life/death into the one Christian holiday we all make a big part of our lives (Easter having long since become somewhat passe). This is also why you hear “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” (from the Cantata “Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life”), various versions of “Ave Maria”, and other such fare. To deal with the OP, I would say that there are Christmas Carols (religious songs about the Birth of Christ), Christmas songs (songs about Christmas that aren’t particularly religious, or don’t fit the verse-refrain-verse-refrain etc. pattern of a carol), Christmassy songs (songs which have an aura of Christmas about them, though not dealing with the holiday directly) and Christmas-time songs (songs which, for whatever reason, get trotted out for the pre-Christmas weeks, but don’t have much of anything to do with Christmas or Christmas themes). Examples: 1. Silent Night 2. Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 3. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 4. Winter Wonderland Obviously, as with any such categorization, some songs will not fit neatly into the slots. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2009, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/37 "2009-12-15T06:47:16Z")
Christmas songs should have some relation to Christmas. But the bar is set really low. In fact, I’m fine with “Christmas song” being used generically like Lego and Xerox to refer to any winter season/holiday song. Or even to any song that only gets airplay in December for whatever reason. I mean if you want to get all technical, that’s fine, for the purposes of taxonomy, in which case things can be broken down into all sorts of subgenres. But for the purposes of what gets played on radio, it’s better to have the widest possible definition so as to avoid repetitiveness. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/38 "2009-12-16T00:01:08Z")
Sure, except what actually seems to happen is that you still get repetitiveness; they’re just playing a small number of tangentially-Christmas-related songs over and over, instead of playing a small number of genuinely Christmas-related songs over and over. If we’re going to have monotony anyway, I’d much prefer the real stuff, thanks. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/39 "2009-12-16T00:49:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Sure, except what actually seems to happen is that you still get repetitiveness; they’re just playing a small number of tangentially-Christmas-related songs over and over, instead of playing a small number of genuinely Christmas-related songs over and over. There’s a radio station here in Chicago, which plays “light pop” music 10 months out of the year, but which goes to an all-holiday music format from early November through Christmas. I’ve read an interview with the program director there, who notes that there are only about 35 or 40 holiday / Christmas songs which most people want to hear. They try to mix in some other stuff for variety’s sake, but if they put in too much of it, people complain. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2009, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235/40 "2009-12-16T23:53:48Z")
When I first saw the title to this thread, “Last Christmas,” sprung into my mind. By the way Darren “Savage Garden” Hayes does a much better version of it. I often hear of Dan Fogelberg’s _Same Old Lang Syne_ played but that is a song about two people meeting but it just happens to be a Christmas, it could’ve really been any other time and still worked, never-the-less it remains one of my favourite songs by him [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-constitutes-a-christmas-song/521235.md?page=3)