The Origins of Classic Christmas Songs, Compiled by TIME Magazine

You can often read complaints on the internet about Christmas music being played too early in public. However, what you don’t usually read complaining about is listening to Christmas classics on Christmas Day, an its immediate vicinity itself. Who doesn’t like some holiday tunes playing in the background for some good, old-fashioned holiday cheer?

This is why the prestigious TIME Magazine from the US decided to put together a list of where the most memorable classics have come from.

The first on their list is “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”. As it turns out, the character of Rudolph was created by copywriter Robert L. May from Chicago, Illinois in 1939. He made up the cute deer with a shiny nose for a coloring book. Songwriter Johnny Marks, May’s brother-in-law, was inspired by the creature and composed the famous song the same year, also in 1939. However, it didn’t pick up any traction until a decade after its composition, when Gene Autry’s recording of it hit #1 on the charts in the US.

“Silent Night”, a more religious Christmas song has also made TIME’s list. This one has a lot longer history than Rudolph (as one might expect) - it was written in 1818 by a Catholic priest in Austria named Joseph Mohr. Accordingly, the original lyrics were written in German (“Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht” are the first couple of words). Over the years, it was covered by many famous artists, such as Michael Bublé (in 2014) or Frank Sinatra (1991).

“Carol of the Bells” was next on the list, which is the English version of a Ukrainian folk chant from 1916. The original title was “Shchedryk” (meaning “Bountiful Evening” in English). The English version was popularized by American composer Peter J. Wilhousky, who was enchanted by it when he first heard what originally was a New Year’s song performed by the Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York in 1922. Wilhousky finished his English version, turning it into a Christmas song, in 1936.

TIME, for some reason, missed some classics in their line-up of holiday songs. So, we are bringing you the origin stories of a couple of more Christmas songs you are bound to come across every year.

The melody for “Deck the Halls” comes from 16th-century Wales, making it the song with the oldest history on the list. However, the English lyrics it is known by today, despite containing many archaic words and phrases, were actually written in 1862, by Scottish musician and author Thomas Oliphant.

The simplest, and - seemingly - the most ubiquitous tune this time of year is “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”. It’s an old English folk song from the West Country part of England, first recorded on sheet music in the early 18th century. Composer Arthur Warrell, who also taught at the University of Bristol, popularized it with his rendition in the early 20th century.