Has it ever struck you as odd that almost all of the Christmas songs in heavy rotation were written in and around the 1950s?
Has it ever struck you as odd that almost all of the Christmas songs in heavy rotation were written in and around the 1950s?
Christopher Ingraham from the Washington Post looked into this phenomenon and came up with some interesting explanations.
Most of them hinge on the massive influence exerted by the Baby Boomers, the generation born in the decades following World War 2.
Their numbers are large, and they make up about a quarter of the American population.
Thus, when they get nostalgic for their childhoods, the rest of the country likewise gets immersed in those longings for simpler days and better times.
That reality is quite evident in American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers’ compilation list of the 30 most played Christmas songs of all time.
Among them are Home for the Holidays, Silver Bells, and White Christmas, all of which debuted in the middle of the 20th century.
The only two seasonal tunes not from that era to make the list were George’s Michael’s ‘Last Christmas’ and Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You.’
Ingraham does admit that the part of history being recalled was a particularly good one, unmarred by economic crisis and political polarization.
