Somewhere in the world, even now as I type, a Bing Crosby record of White Christmas is playing. It's just one of the songs that have weathered the passage of time more or less intact. A White Christmas. What's funny is that the movie that song came from (Holiday Inn) didn't have anything to do with Christmas! I don't remember all the details, but I know Bing Crosby had something else going on in that movie besides wrapping Christmas presents!

The song and lyrics from a White Christmas are no doubt some of the most popular of all Christmas tunes. Originally sung by Bing Crosby but included in the repertoire of countless other artists.  Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas back in 1942The music and lyrics for White Christmas were written by Irving Berlin in 1942 and were part of the sound track for the Bing Crosby film "Holiday Inn". But more than that, White Christmas is a product of the times. It especially struck a chord (no pun intended) with American soldiers serving overseas during World War II. Originally just one of a number of Crosby tunes in the film, after it became a hit and climbed the charts to become a million-seller, Hollywood rode the coat-tails of its success by producing another Bing Crosby movie, this time naming the movie 'White Christmas". The movie, like the song, was a huge hit to audiences all over.

So what exactly is a white Christmas? It's a frame of mind say psychologists. It's the nostalgia factor kicking in and taking us back to our childhood. Now maybe not all of us experienced a white Christmas as children. Maybe some of us lived in Mexico or Hawaii, but the concept of a white Christmas is one of innocence and youth. Maybe it's what we want to think we experienced rather than what we really did experience. Consider the lyrics:
 
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten,
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white 

Is that a romanticized version of a happy life or not? How many of us wish that our lives were like a Christmas story out of a fairy tale.

Even today, more than 60 years after the Second World War, a song like White Christmas pulls at the heartstrings of those who were "there" and those not quite old enough to remember. Just like watching re-runs of "The Walton's" or any other retro program on television or the movies, the song White Christmas tries to remind us that everything will be all right.

Oddly enough, Bing Crosby was quoted as saying he didn't much care for the song. Although this may have been after he's been performing it too many times to keep track of. He really worked himself into a corner with this tune. For the rest of his life - despite any number of other great tunes he sang - you could always count on Bing Crosby turning up as a guest on some television or radio program and singing white Christmas. What a pain in the butt! But look at all the money he made on royalties! Merry Christmas!