Oh, what joy it is to have Christmas music playing throughout the Holidays. But did you know many of those favorite classics were written during wartime?
Holiday hits like “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “Let it Snow” Created a feeling of wanting to be with loved ones during a time when many people were missing loved ones due to conflict.
Experts at Radford University say it also helped boost morale for troops overseas.
“I doubt many people think Oh World War Two but it really was the fact that they were played on armed forces radio during World War Two that gained their initial popularity. and perhaps they had not been released when they were, they wouldn’t have been as popular and may not have endured,” Dave Rivers, RU Associate Professor of Music, said.
Since many modern artists have borrowed from them, they will likely continue to resonate with audiences for generations.
Oh World War Two