Three Questions About Christmas Songs

Can somebody figure out who Parson Brown is?

Each month, I typically have readers submit questions for me to research. I’ve been quite busy over the last few weeks traveling for the holidays, so I didn’t have time to dive into the litany of questions that people had sent in. Still, I wanted to give you some light reading for your holiday season, so I took a look at three questions that have always bugged me about Christmas songs.

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If Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” was written today, would they have to change the age range of people they wish a merry Christmas to?

In the last verse of “The Christmas Song,” which may be my favorite Christmas song, Nat King Cole sings the following words:

And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from one to 92
Although it's been said many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you

When Robert Wells and Mel Tormé wrote those words in 1946, I assume they were trying to include as many people as possible. Given that life expectancy has increased, do those ages need an update? Let’s see.

Based on world population reports from the United Nations, approximately 0.11% of the U.S. population was over 92 in 1946. If the song were written today and you wanted to be as inclusive of the old, you’d probably have to raise the age to around 96 or 97.

Why are they singing about “scary ghost stories” in “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”?

For context, here is the stanza in “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” that mentions ghost stories: