Take a break from decking the halls and dreaming of a white Christmas with every card you write to check out these fun facts from around the internet on the popular seasonal music:
- Christmas carols and Christmas songs are used interchangeably, and there’s nothing wrong with that, because carols are basically just festive songs. Some have religious context, but not commonly used in formal church services until Saint Francis of Assisi incorporated them. The word carol comes from Greek and old French with meanings relating to songs accompanied by dance.
- The Grand Hotel mentioned in “It’s Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas” is believed to be in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
- “Carol of the Bells” is a Ukranian carol. It was first performed in December of 1916 at Kiev University.
- The “five golden rings” line of “The Twelve Days of Chrismas” do not refer to jewelry, but instead ring-necked birds! It was also written to help Catholic children in England remember their articles of faith during Catholic persecution. (interpretations can be found here) And each item of the song would cost about $114,000 this year according to NPR.
- “Jingle Bells” was actually written for Thanksgiving.
- Huffington Post claims “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer” is the most annoying Christmas song ever. (“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” is on my list!)
- According to Business Insider, “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most popular song ever (even as a ringtone).
- “Silent Night” has had the most appearances on music charts. Some stories about the song basically say that this song was played on a guitar for a church service when the organ broke. In 2011, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared it an “intangible cultural heritage”