It's surprising to discover that behind the Christmas songs most identified with the spirit of the season, like "White Christmas," "Let It Snow," and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," stood Jewish creators.
They didn't necessarily write about the birth of Jesus, but about snow, warm homes, sleigh bells, and a sense of American belonging. Out of poverty, immigration, and discrimination, those creators brought a soundtrack that turned Christmas into an all-American cultural phenomenon, not necessarily identified with any particular religion.
They didn't seek to convert their identity, but to build a shared musical language, and thus a new Christmas was created: secular, nostalgic, and universal, with classics that over the years have earned countless arrangements and modern performances.
Christmas in an American dream
Irving Berlin, born Israel Baline in a small town in Russia and raised in poverty in New York, became the most prolific composer in 20th-century America with more than 1,500 songs. He wrote "White Christmas" in 1941, despite the fact that December 25 was a day of mourning for him as his infant son died on that day in 1928.
The song, recorded by Bing Crosby for the film "Holiday Inn" (1942), became the best-selling single of all time and won Berlin an Oscar. It expressed longing for an idyllic past of a "White Christmas," not from religious faith but from yearning for a perfect American home.
In the 1940s and '50s, dozens more songs were written with a similar festive spirit, most by Jewish creators. "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow," written during a heat wave in Los Angeles in 1945, was born of a collaboration between Sammy Cahn (Samuel Cohen) and Jule Styne (Julius Kerwin Stein) – both children of Eastern European immigrants.
"Walking in a Winter Wonderland" was also the fruit of Felix Bernard's pen, son of Jewish immigrants, who composed the words of Richard B. Smith in 1934.
In those years, "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" was also created by Mel Tormé (native of Chicago, son of Russian immigrants) and Bob Wells (Robert Levinson). The duo wrote the song in 45 minutes on a hot summer day, out of longing for cold weather.
A year later, Nat King Cole's performance became a huge hit. Jay Livingston (Jacob Harold Levinson) and Ray Evans wrote "Silver Bells" in Bing Crosby's classic performance, describing peace in the city during the holiday.
Jewish childhood in a Christian winter
The pattern repeated itself: immigrants or children of Jewish immigrants who sought to integrate into American society created music that suited the spirit of the season, but not necessarily the religion. George David Weiss (Bernard Weissman) and Edward Pola (Sidney Edward Polachek) wrote "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" in 1963, one of the hits most associated with the holiday.
The song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," another classic from 1934, was born from a collaboration between American lyricist Haven Gillespie and composer J. Fred Coots. Coots, who grew up in a Jewish home in New York and, according to stories, played at bar mitzvahs, composed the song in just ten minutes.
Joan Ellen Javits (niece of Senator Jacob K. Javits) and Philip Springer wrote the popular "Santa Baby," recorded by singer Eartha Kitt in 1953.
Rudolph and the dream of belonging
Johnny Marks, son of a prominent Jewish family in Mount Vernon, New York, stands behind one of the most familiar and beloved classics, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," about the rejected reindeer with the red nose, based on a story by his brother-in-law Robert L. May.
Marks was also responsible for "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and "A Holly Jolly Christmas," with some saying that the character of Rudolph became an accepted symbol of "the outsider who saves the day" – an interpretation reminiscent of the story of Jewish integration in America.
Longing for home
Walter Kent (Morris Kaufman), son of a Lithuanian Jewish family, wrote the music for "I'll Be Home for Christmas" in 1943, a song of an American soldier dreaming of returning home for the holiday. Here too, the longing is fulfilled only in dreams.
Mitchell Parish (Michael Hyman Pashelinsky), a native of Lithuania, wrote the words for "Sleigh Ride" in 1950 to Leroy Anderson's tune, another work that symbolizes an America equipped with a sleigh and bells.
