Everyone seems to have their favorite thing about the Christmas holiday: The bright and colorful Christmas lights. Packages under the tree. Getting together with family and friends. Or having a few days off from work and school. 

Many people also have a favorite Christmas song. Perhaps it brings back memories of their Christmas sas a child. Or it’s a song from a beloved movie or cartoon. For whatever reason, these melodies stick in our minds and gives an additional mood boost when they are heard.

Many Christmas songs have interesting origins as to when and where they were inspired and written. For example, “Away in a Manger” was first published as two verses by James R. Murray in Philadelphia in the Lutheran songbook “Little Children’s Book for Schools and Families” in 1885. The verses were subtitled “Luther’s Cradle Hymn,” which has led to a common belief that they were actually written by Martin Luther himself, but it seems there is absolutely no evidence of this. 

“Silent Night” is probably the most famous carol of all. According to folklore, in 1816 Pastor Joseph Mohr wrote the words of “Stille Nacht” as a poem in Mariapfarr, Austria. Two years later, Mohr had moved to the Church of St. Nicholas in Oberndorf, and according to the legend, the organ in this church crucially broke down — on Christmas Eve of all nights! Music was desperately required for the Christmas Mass, so Mohr suddenly thought of his 2-year-old poem, and gave it to his friend Franz Gruber. Gruber, a local schoolteacher and composer, was struck by the beauty of the words and immediately sat down and composed a melody for guitar, rather than church organ. Remarkably, the melody was completed in time for the midnight service, and so was born on the eve of Christmas, the carol “Silent Night.” Though this account hasn’t been proven, it still brings a bit of romance to the song’s origin.

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” was penned by James “Haven” Gillespie. This jolly tune was first performed on American singer Eddie Cantor’s radio show in 1934. But for all its mirth, its inspiration came from a place of grief. In his book “Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas,” Ace Collins explains how Gillespie was a vaudevillian-turn-songwriter who’d fallen on hard times, both financially and personally. Gillespie got the call to pen a Christmas tune for Cantor just after learning his brother had died.

Initially, he rejected the job, being too overcome with grief to consider penning a playful holiday ditty. But a subway ride recollecting his childhood with his brother and his mother’s warnings that Santa was watching changed his mind. He had the lyrics in 15 minutes, then called in composer John Coots to make up the music that would become a big hit within 24 hours of its debut.

One of the most popular non-religious Yuletide tunes, “Jingle Bells” was not originally conceived for Christmas time at all. Penned by James Lord Pierpont in 1850s Savannah, Georgia, the song originally titled “The One Horse Open Sleigh” was intended to celebrate Thanksgiving. “Jingle Bells” was renamed in 1857 when its lyrics and notes were first published. Decades passed before it rose to prominence. Yet it made history on Dec. 16, 1965, becoming the first song broadcast in space. The crew of Gemini 6 followed reports of seeing Santa Claus with an improvised version of “Jingle Bells,” which included bells and a harmonica that they had snuck onboard. Mission Control responded to the surprise serenade with, “You’re too much, 6”.