- Nostalgic themes, simple lyrics and upbeat tempos make holiday music universally popular.
- Aside from holiday hits by Mariah Carey and Wham!, most popular Christmas songs were originally composed in the 1950s-60s.
- Songs such as “White Christmas” maintain relevance by constantly being covered by popular musicians.
- Also, many Christmas songs were soundtracks to films (eg “Home Alone”, “Charlie Brown’s Christmas”) that are enjoyed across age demographics.
- While compositionally and thematically happy, the lyrics in popular Christmas songs capture universal emotions such as longing for family.
