I have noticed that there are any number of songs that actually have nothing to do with Christmas that have somehow, some way become holiday classics. The number one offender on this list is "My Favorite Things". A song from "The Sound of Music" that is sung by Maria the governess to calm the frightened children during a thunderstorm. What on Earth does this have to do with Christmas? The closest thing I can find in the lyric is the vague "brown paper packages tied up with string", but this is hardly a very Christmaslike image. And then there is "River" by Joni MItchell. When I bought her classic album "Blue" when it was new in the early 70s nobody considered "River" a Christmas song, nor did anybody imagine it would become one. Granted, it contains winter imagery (Mitchell is Canadian, after all), and the first line is "it's coming on Christmas", and there is a minor key variation of "Jingle Bells" used as an introduction, but I honestly can't imagine a less Christmas-like song, and Christmas is not the central theme of the song. An apparently very messy breakup with a lover is. Yet now it shows up on every single person's Christmas album, and if you see people sing it on TV or Youtube or somewhere, some of these vapid, idiotic singers sing this song of abject misery with a smile on their face! Like it's full of Christmas cheer! Which begs the question---can a song be considered a Christmas song simply because it mentions Christmas in passing? Another in that category would be "Same Auld Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg. A guy has a chance meeting with an old girlfriend and it just happens to be Christmas Eve. But in no way is that the theme of the song, or even very important to the song. So what do you think constitutes a "Christmas song", or, can it in fact be anything, just because somebody says it is?

I totally agree with you about My Favorite Things. Not even remotely Christmasy.

So others which are considered Christmas songs but doesn't even mention Christmas but they are winter songs.

-Sleigh Ride. They mention a birthday party and I think some people change it to Christmas party.
-Winter Wonderland.
-Marshmallow World.
-Let it Snow.
-Baby, It's Cold Outside.



Cat

I totally agree with you about My Favorite Things. Not even remotely Christmasy.

So others which are considered Christmas songs but doesn't even mention Christmas but they are winter songs.

-Sleigh Ride. They mention a birthday party and I think some people change it to Christmas party.
-Winter Wonderland.
-Marshmallow World.
-Let it Snow.
-Baby, It's Cold Outside.



Cat


I accept those winter songs you mention as being OK as Christmas songs (I've never heard "Marshmallow World" though). They come under the category of "seasonal songs" which the ones I mentioned in my OP certainly do not. Including "River" which is too overwhemingly about a breakup. The winter imagery in it is very secondary.

In fact, maybe my most favorite seasonal album of all is Sting's "If On A Winter Night" which isn't technically a Christmas album, but is a VERY "winter" album. It may be too somber for some, but I love it.

The Power of Love by Frankie Goes To Hollywood.  It was a UK #1 single in December of 1984.  While the lyrics have nothing to do with Christmas, the music video features the Nativity of Jesus and the single cover is a picture of The Assumption of the Virgin leading to the song becoming well recognized as a Christmas song and often shows up on Christmas compilation albums. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/70/Power_of_love_single.jpg

While the song failed to chart in the US, it reached #20 here in Canada during February of 1985 and while I know it's not a Christmas song, the video for it does give off a Christmas vibe and I listen to it every December

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In 1983, a British acapella group called The Flying Pickets had the coveted Christmas UK #1 single* with a cover of the 1982 Yaz(oo) song Only You.  The song has nothing to do with Christmas, but some people associate this version of the song as a Christmas song simply because it was the #1 single in the UK at Christmastime. 

* In the UK, artists who have a single out in late December all vie to have the #1 single during the week of December 25.  It's become known as the Christmas Number One

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In 2015, the song was covered and released as a single by Kylie Minogue and James Corden, from her album Kylie Christmas.  While The Flying Pickets will always be the best version for me, this one is very nice and I prefer it over the Yaz(oo) original

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You could say Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi but it was written for a Christmas special.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gXEn1ehDg


Cat

You could say Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi but it was written for a Christmas special.



Cat

Very true. I normally hear that one around this time of year.

Whistledog has mentioned a couple of the ones I thought of. As he says being “Christmas number 1” in the U.K. is a big thing and unfortunately it means some great songs only get played in December. East 17 Stay Another Day is another example.

You could say Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi but it was written for a Christmas special.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00gXEn1ehDg


Cat


I would agree with that one.  While it was written for the Charlie Brown Christmas, it was written as the theme to The Peanuts characters starting with it's use in the Christmas special.  I am not a fan of hearing it on the radio played as a Christmas song, but I get why radio stations will play it