Holiday table trivia...

Little known facts about favorite holiday carols

You can bet your nutcracker that most folks won't know these facts. Watch out for #6...grandma may not appreciate caroling that one until she's had a few sips o' nog.

1.How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

You may know that Boris Karloff (given name William Henry Pratt) of Frankenstein fame was the voice of Dr. Seuss' classic 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' but because he couldn't carry a tune, Thurl Ravenscroft was brought in to sing the well-loved ditty . Never heard of Ravenscroft? You probably know his Grrrrrrrrrreat and  famous persona; cereal mascot Tony the Tiger.

2.White Christmas 

This beloved tune has a few factoids associated with. It was written by Irving Berlin, who was Jewish. As a matter of fact, he wrote it for a Broadway musical show (that was never even produced) before being used in the movie 'Holiday Inn' starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. Bing Crosby’s version of “White Christmas” is the highest selling single of all time. 

Berlin supposedly hated Elvis Presley's rendition of the song so much that he tried to stifle its airplay.

In April 1975, the American military played it over Armed Forces Radio as signal instructing soldiers in Vietnam to evacuate Saigon.

3.Let it Snow

Doesn't even mention Christmas.

4.Silver Bells

Was originally titled 'Tinkle Bells'. Need we say more?

5.The 12 Days of Christmas

All of the gifts in the carol = 364

and last but not least...

6.Fairytale of New York

A Christmas classic by The Pogues that features the epithet "You're a bum, you're a punk, you're an old *insert derogatory term here* on junk" may speak the truth of the intermittent holiday frustrations better than any tune ever penned. Sure, we wouldn't *usually* utter it out loud, but when you've stood in line for 27 minutes only to realize that you've forgotten your driver's license and after-all you are the one that wrote 'Please check ID' in the signature space on the back of the credit card...well, just let a 1980's punk band belt-out those feelings on your behalf and move-on.

The song was released in 1987, but kept out of the No. 1 spot by the Pet Shop Boys' cover of Always on My Mind. 

Happy Holidays!