From the Archives: Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs

Breaking History

The Free Press

History

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 December 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

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Summary

Did you know the soundtrack of Americans’ Christmas was written largely by . . . Jews? Most of the composers behind the holiday canon were the children of immigrants who fled pogroms and conscription in Russia and Eastern Europe between 1880 and 1920. Sammy Cahn, Frank Sinatra’s go-to lyricist, gave us “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” Mel Tormé, son of a Belarusian refugee, wrote “The Christmas Song”) (a.k.a. “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”). Frank Loesser—whose family escaped the Kaiser’s draft—penned the mischievous “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” And Johnny Marks, responsible for “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” was also one of the chosen few. Towering above them all is Irving Berlin, whose “White Christmas” remains one of the biggest-selling singles in American history. Berlin’s own childhood began with a pogrom and escape from Siberia before landing in New York in 1893. In a replay of this classic Breaking History episode, Eli Lake digs into how a generation of Jewish immigrants ended up shaping the very sound of America’s most beloved holiday. CREDITS Producer Greg Collard Executive Producer Alex Miller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Every once in a while, someone makes something that feels bigger.
0:03.6	Not another Hollywood reboot, but a story built on courage, faith, and meaning.
0:08.4	The Daily Wire did that with their new seven-part series, The Pendragon Cycle, Rise of the Merlin,
0:15.0	based on a book series by Stephen R. Lawhead.
0:18.2	It's a retelling of the classic King Arthur legend. The first official trailer
0:23.1	just dropped, and you should check it out. In this world, while pagan gods fall silent and
0:29.1	empires collapse, one man's vision ignites a civilization's rebirth. Merlin becomes the bridge
0:36.0	between myths and history and shapes the destiny of kings.
0:40.7	The Pendragon cycle, Rise of the Merlin, premieres exclusively on DailyWire Plus, January 22nd,
0:48.5	2026. Go watch the full trailer now at Dailywire.com.
0:58.6	Hello, listeners. It's Eli. Early Merry Christmas to you and happy holidays from all of us here.
1:05.1	This week, we are re-upping one of my favorite episodes that I did for honestly. It's called Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite
1:12.7	Christmas Songs. It has been a difficult year for the chosen people in America, something we've
1:19.0	covered extensively on the show. And yet, even in this season, in a divided America, this episode
1:24.8	I think reminds all of us of the enduring privilege of living in a
1:28.9	country where Jewish identity can flourish so openly, contribute so richly, that it even manages
1:37.2	to shape the ultimate Christian holiday. We will be putting out one more episode here on the
1:42.6	feed in the next few weeks,
1:44.4	but Breaking History will also be taking a small break after that as we head into the new year.
1:49.7	Being on the lookout from exciting announcements from Breaking History,
1:52.9	we're going to try a little bit of a different format for 2026.
1:55.9	And until then, Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
	...

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