I was an adult before I ever heard “Christmas in July.” I thought it was nothing more than a sales gimmick. However, when I sat down to write an article about Christmas carols, which were written in the summer, I found myself learning about the origin of Christmas in July and fell down that rabbit hole.
Apparently, the first instance of this was in 1894. Elizabeth Beall Ginty had translated an 1892 French opera, Werther. During the story, children are practicing Christmas songs in the summer. One character responds to this by saying, “When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season.” It’s not quite the same as how we think of it today, but it’s still Christmas in July.
In 1933, Fannie Holt, a co-founder of Keystone Camp, a girls’ camp, in Brevard, South Carolina, decided to bring a little Christmas cheer to the campers during their stay. Decorating a Christmas tree, secret Santas, and caroling were all part of the festivities. What would Christmas be without hanging a stocking on the fireplace for Santa to fill with candy? At Keystone, laundry bags replaced stockings, and, instead of hang them on a the fireplace, they were left outside the cabin doors. The summer Christmas tradition continues still.
Hollywood made a movie called Christmas in July in 1940. Though not the identical concept, it gave national attention to the term. The movie was about a man who believed he won a $25,000 prize and proceeded to buy presents for family, friends, and proposed marriage to his girlfriend.
A church in Washington, DC had a Christmas in July celebration in 1942 and repeated it in 1943. The pastor had brought the idea from his former Philadelphia church. So, gifts that were collected in the summer would have enough time for them to be distributed worldwide to missions by Christmas.
In 1944, the US Post Office, US Army, and US Navy threw a Christmas in July luncheon to promote an early mailing campaign for military service personnel overseas during WWII. They held the luncheon again in 1945.
As early as 1950, American advertisers started using Christmas in July to encourage summertime sales.
Why did I want to write about Christmas carols in July? Because I found out The Christmas Song was written on one of the hottest days in 1946. Mel Tormé and Robert Wells were assigned to write a couple of movie musical scores. It was too hot to work with the temperature in the triple digits. As they sat in front of fans, drinking iced lemonade, they reminisced about winter days in New England.
Wells jotted down a few snippets of the memories. He thought if he immersed himself in cold wintery scenes, he might be able to keep cool. Later, Tormé saw the notebook on the piano and thought they made good lyrics for a song. Chestnuts roasting … Jack Frost nipping … Yuletide carols … folks dressed up like Eskimos. From those four lines, the rest of the song was written in forty-five minutes. Then they had to get to work on the songs they were hired to write.
In addition to The Christmas Song, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! was also written in the middle of summer, July 1945 in Hollywood, California. This time by writing duo Sammy Cahn and Jule Style, who were also imagining colder weather.
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Sleigh Ride, too, had a heatwave as the impetus for its initial idea in July 1946. However, Leroy Anderson didn’t complete the composition until February 1948. The original was a light orchestra piece, first performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra on May 4, 1948. The wintery sleighing lyrics weren’t written until 1950 by Mitchell Parish.
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The next time someone complains because I’m “playing Christmas music too early” when it’s October, I’ll tell them that it’s a time-honored tradition. Therefore, I broke out some carols this month. I don’t know that it actually helped me cool off, but I enjoyed the tunes.
When do you start playing Christmas music?
MERRY CHRISTMAS (in July)!
THE QUILTING CIRCLE SERIES Box Set
Historical Romance Series
By Mary Davis
THE WIDOW’S PLIGHT (Book1) – Will a secret clouding a single mother’s past cost Lily her loved ones?
THE DAUGHTER’S PREDICAMENT (Book2) *SELAH & WRMA Finalist* – As Isabelle’s romance prospects turn in her favor, a family scandal derails her dreams.
THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (Book3) *SELAH Winner* – Nicole heads down the mountain to fetch herself a husband. Can she learn to be enough of a lady to snag the handsome rancher?
THE DÉBUTANTE’S SECRET (Book4) – Complications arise when a fancy French lady steps off the train and into Deputy Montana’s arms.
Mary lives in Colorado with her husband of thirty-nine years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub
Sources
https://guideposts.org/inspiring-stories/the-surprising-origin-of-christmas-in-july/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_July
https://www.southernliving.com/holidays-occasions/christmas/how-did-christmas-july-start
Stories Behind The Greatest Hits Of Christmas, by Ace Collins
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christmas_Song
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Snow!_Let_It_Snow!_Let_It_Snow!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleigh_Ride
Thank you for posting today. I don't start playing Christmas songs until December, but get the opportunity to listen to them before that in every store I go in and every time I happen to be near a radio. And traditional television networks start showing commercials with snow in them as early as October or November, if I remember correctly.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post.
ReplyDeleteI begin playing Christmas music in early November, but I usually play more of the 'old world' style - the kind rarely heard on the radio.