The Impact and Importance of Christmas Music

The first Christmas carols that were written in English came during the Middle Ages in the 1400s when they made their way to the UK. By the 1200s songs had been translated into Spanish, German, and French from their original Latin. The first known translations of Christmas music to English was a collection of twenty-five songs compiled in 1426, which was entitled “caroles of Cristemas,” and was probably intended for carolers or “wassailors” to sing while traveling from house to house. Since then, music has played an important role in the traditional festivities of Christmas.

Christmas music is able to bridge the gap between different genres. The song “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” is a good example of this. Performed in 1957, this Christmas song was performed by the unlikely duo of Bing Crosby and David Bowie. The song was adapted from the original to add a counterpuntal duet to showcase both performers. Though their styles were quite different, these two artists were able to come together performing a song that they both knew.

Of course, by this time, Bing Crosby was a veteran in the world of Christmas music. On Christmas day 1941, Crosby performed Irving Berlin’s classic song “White Christmas” for it’s first live performance. In 1942 he recorded the song in just 18 minutes, which according to the Guiness Book of World Records is the best-selling single of all time. It is estimated that the single has sold a whopping excess of fifty million copies world wide.

Another great accomplishment for Christmas music in popular culture is the song “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” written by Johnny Marks, and originally performed by Harry Brannon, but popularized by Gene Autry. Autry’s version of the song was the number one single on the US Billboard charts starting in December of 1949 and continuing for six weeks. In fact, it was the first number one single of the 1950s. The song is unique in that is is the only song to ever fall completely off of the charts after being a number one hit the week before. This occurred the week after Christmas 1949. However, it still sold 2.5 million copies in its first year, and eventually sold 25 million copies making it the number one selling record of all time until the 1980s. Some music scholars believe that the song has forever changed the way that the radio would view Christmas music.

Even with the popularity of Christmas music throughout the US and Europe, surprisingly the country that plays the most of it is the Philippines. In the Philippines, Christmas music is played during what are known as the “Ber Months.” These are the months that end with “Ber,” and includes September through the end of December. This is probably due to the Philippines being the Asian country with the largest percentage of Christians. All in all, the Filipino Christmas season is the longest in the world and is celebrated for the last third of every year.