Christmas Carol Trivia

• An Almost Completely Silent Night
  “Silent Night” was composed by Catholic priest Joseph Mohr and organist Franz Gruber when the church pipe organ gave out just before the midnight service. It was first performed with a tenor, bass, and two guitars. Neither man knew their song eventually became one of the most beloved Christmas songs ever written.
• Give Us Some Figgy Pudding!
  “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” dates back to the 1500s in Merry Olde England. Singers (called waits) accompanied rich merchants on strolls and serenaded the town on wintry nights. They were paid with a few coins or treats including figgy pudding, a pastry covered blend of figs, nuts, and spices. Waits carols are the oldest traditional carols.
• Uncle Sam’s Christmas
  Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1836. In 1923, President Calvin Coolidge started the tradition of lighting a national Christmas tree on the White House lawn.
• Try Regifting These
  If you were to receive all of the gifts in the song "The 12 Days of Christmas," you’d have a whopping 364 gifts.
• Nurse, Fetch Me My Pen
  Writer William Chatterton Dix was 29 when he was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bed rest for several months. He wrote many hymns during this time, including “What Child is This?” It was later set to the traditional English melody of "Greensleeves.”
• If it’s Good Enough for Mozart…
  "Deck the Halls" is a traditional Yuletide and New Years' carol dating to the 19th century. The "fa-la-la" refrains were probably originally played on the harp. In the eighteenth century, Mozart used the "Deck the Halls" tune for a violin and piano duet.
• I Do My Best Work on Sundays
  “Jingle Bells” was written by James Pierpont, a 19th century American composer, for his Sunday school students. He was the uncle of John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan, famous financier.
• Too Cool to be Hot
  “A Christmas Song” was written in 1944 by Mel Torme and Robert Wells on a sweltering summer day by the pool. Similarly, Leroy Anderson wrote “Sleigh Ride” during a heat wave in August of 1948.
• Play it Again, Leroy
  Leroy Anderson’s orchestral version of “Sleigh Ride” was such a success with its horse clip-clops, bells, and whinnies that at its debut the audience demanded it be repeated immediately.
• A Long Way From Home
  In December 1965, when astronauts Frank Borman and James Lovell were returning to Earth after setting a record for the longest flight in the U.S. space program, they requested “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” be transmitted to the spaceship.
• Red Nose, Warm Heart, Big Bucks
  There are more than 140 million recordings of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer by 500 different performers. Gene Autry’s version has sold 12 million copies, making “Rudolph” the second biggest selling Christmas song. Bing Crosby’s White Christmas is #1.
• More Like a Green Christmas
  “White Christmas” is the most recorded song in history- Bing Crosby’s version alone sold 31 million copies. It also held the record as the top selling single of all time from its release in 1942 until 1997, when it was eclipsed by Elton John’s remake of “Candle in the Wind,” commemorating the death of Princess Diana.
• Downer, Dude!
  "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was made famous by Judy Garland in 1944. The original version began grimly with, "Have yourself a merry little Christmas, it may be your last." She hated those five words, so the lyrics were changed to, "Let your heart be light." The Garland version also contains the line “but ‘till then we’ll have to muddle through some how,” which in all later versions of the song was changed to “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough”.