Paul Simon "Getting Ready For Christmas Day"

What do Irving Berlin, Johnny Marks, Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn, Jay Livingston & Ray Evans, Mel Torme & Bob Wells, Buck Ram & Kim Gannon & Walter Kent, Joan Javits, Felix Bernard, Mitchell Parish, George Wyle, Philip Springer & Fred Ebb all have in common?

They all wrote Christmas songs, but didn't celebrate Christmas.

That's right, the following Christmas carols were penned by Jewish songwriters:

"White Christmas"
"Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer"
"Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"
"A Holly Jolly Christmas"
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
"Silver Bells"
"The Christmas Song"
"I'll Be Home for Christmas"
"Santa Baby"
"Winter Wonderland"
"Sleigh Ride"
"It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"
(see below, for full songwriting credits)

How about Bob Dylan, Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, Harry Connick Jr., Phil Spector, Carole King, Barry Manilow and Bette Midler? What do they have in common?

That's right, they're all Jewish, and they've all recorded Christmas albums.

What am I getting at?

Nothing. I just didn't want you to be surprised to find out that Paul Simon, who is Jewish, has a new song out called "Getting Ready For Christmas Day."

Happy Hanukkah!


Hear a dozen of the songs mentioned in this post:





Irving Berlin, "White Christmas"
Johnny Marks, "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer"
Johnny Marks, "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree"
Johnny Marks, "A Holly Jolly Christmas"
Jule Styne & Sammy Cahn "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
Jay Livingston & Ray Evans "Silver Bells"
Mel Torme & Bob Wells "The Christmas Song"
Buck Ram & Walter Kent (also Kim Gannon) "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
Joan Javits & Fred Ebb (also Philip Springer) "Santa Baby"
Felix Bernard (also Richard B. Smith) "Winter Wonderland"
Mitchell Parish, "Sleigh Ride"
George Wyle (also Edward Pola), "It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year"

Thank you to these several sites for information in this post.