Breaking History — From the Archives: Why Jews Wrote Your Favorite Christmas Songs

Podcast: Breaking History
Host: Eli Lake (for The Free Press)
Episode Date: December 10, 2025

Overview of the Episode

This episode explores an improbable but quintessentially American phenomenon: the classic songs that define modern Christmas—“White Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “The Christmas Song,” and others—were largely penned by Jewish songwriters, themselves often first- or second-generation immigrants. Hosted by Eli Lake, the show delves into the historical, cultural, and musical dynamics that made this possible, and reflects on the significance of a Jewish contribution to the American celebration of Christmas. Through conversations with experts, snippets of beloved songs, and historical context, the episode celebrates American pluralism and creativity.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Secular Nature of American Christmas Music

• Opening Reflections (03:35–04:23):
  Eli Lake, himself Jewish, discusses the personal joy he finds in Christmas music, noting that while classic Christian motifs are present in older European carols, the American holiday songbook is secular, focusing on warmth, romance, and nostalgia rather than theology.

  "It's cheeky and charming, loving and caring and not remotely Christian in the religious sense... It's about Christmas. The Christmas we celebrate today—a national holiday largely observed at home, where all are welcome."
  — Eli Lake (04:00)

• Examples of Secular Standards:
  "Let It Snow," "The Christmas Song," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"—none contain explicit religious references; they're about seasonal moods and domestic joy.

2. The Jewish Songwriters Behind the Hits

• Historical Background (05:23–06:54):
  Many classic Christmas songs were written by Jews:

  • Sammy Cahn ("Let It Snow")
  • Mel Tormé ("The Christmas Song")
  • Frank Loesser ("Baby, It's Cold Outside")
  • Johnny Marks ("Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "A Holly Jolly Christmas")
  • Irving Berlin ("White Christmas")

  "[Johnny Marks] was Jewish and didn't even believe in Christmas. And all that would come out of him was Christmas music."
  — Brenda Lee, relayed by Eli Lake (06:39)

• David Lehman, on the trend (07:34–07:51):
  "The most famous example being White Christmas by Irving Berlin... My favorite of them is Sammy Khan's lyric and Julie Stein's music for Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow."

3. Historical Irony: Christmas & Jewish Experience

• Linking the Songs and History (08:33–09:49):
  Philip Roth, in "Operation Shylock," observed the irony that Jews composed songs that, on the surface, celebrate the divinity of Christ, which is at the core of the Jewish rejection of Christianity.

  "God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and then he gave to Irving Berlin 'Easter Parade' and 'White Christmas...' [Berlin] de-Christs them both... They love it. Everybody loves it."
  — Philip Roth, quoted by Eli Lake (08:49)

• Lake’s Nuanced View:
  Lake argues Roth is wrong, calling Berlin's "White Christmas" a "magic trick of universality, which is specifically American." (09:41–09:49)

4. The Americanization of Christmas

• Christmas as an Inclusive, American Holiday (10:00–11:24):
  Lake and guests discuss how American Christmas, contrary to its sometimes perilous associations for Jews in Europe, became a time of inclusion and peace in the U.S.

• Rabbi Ari Lam on European Persecution (10:22–11:24):
  Christmas was a dangerous time for Jews in medieval and modern Europe. He cites examples like the 1369 Sicilian badge law and 1881 Warsaw massacre, contrasting it with American pluralism.

  "Christmas is a time when the Jewish community remembers feeling great fear."
  — Rabbi Ari Lam (11:15)

• John McWhorter on Christmas in America (11:26–12:15):
  "It's an American consumerist holiday... Without the songs, it wouldn't be the holiday at all. Let it snow and White Christmas. And frankly, the really good ones. And those are American songbook ones."

5. Musical & Societal Cross-Pollination

• Puritan Roots and Changing Customs (12:15–14:17):
  The episode traces the shift from Puritan Christmas bans and wild European revelry to the domestic, commercial American holiday.

• Birth of the American Songbook (15:14–16:41):
  With the convergence of immigrant communities, Black American musical innovation (ragtime, jazz), and the rise of mass media, America developed its own music identity.

  "The good stuff started with vaudeville..."
  — Eli Lake (14:54)

• Jewish Musical Tradition in America (17:44–20:19):
  The freedom found in America allowed Jewish composers to flourish. The minor keys, wit, and linguistic quirks of Yiddish found a new home in the American songbook, influencing both lyrics and melodies.

  "There's a minor key element in the American songbook"
  — David Lehman (18:37)
  "There's a certain wailing cantorial element in Jewish music... and also the blue note and the blues and that kind of tear in the eye."
  — John McWhorter (19:07–19:15)

6. Irving Berlin: The Genius at the Center

• Berlin’s Biography and "White Christmas" (23:05–27:02):
  Berlin was born in Siberia, survived a pogrom, immigrated to NYC, and wrote music as a poverty-stricken child. Despite no formal musical training, he revolutionized American popular music.

  "Irving Berlin has no place in American music. He is American music."
  — Composer Jerome Kern, quoted by Eli Lake (30:38)

• "White Christmas" as a National Touchstone:
  Released during WWII, it became "the biggest selling single in the history of recorded music" at the time. Its melancholy chords and longing resonated with a nation at war.

  "All the yearning of an immigrant to be assimilated is in this one extra note... Those sad chords were in Berlin’s bones."
  — Eli Lake (26:26–27:02)

7. The Legacy & Reinvention of American Christmas Songs

• Cultural Evolution through Jazz and Pop (34:12–35:47):
  The American songbook is reinterpreted by successive generations—by Otis Redding, Elvis, Darlene Love, Ella Fitzgerald, jazz greats like Coltrane—each bringing a new sensibility to core American standards.

  "Unlike in Europe... the American songbook is designed to be improvised and tinkered with. The spirit of innovation is something that drives our nation of immigrants when we are at our best."
  — Eli Lake (34:12)

• The Double Inheritance of American Christmas (35:47–37:15): Jewish composers, inspired by Black American genres, wrote songs that became standards for all. American jazz then repurposed these songs, creating a rich, multicultural music tradition.

• Rabbi Ari Lam’s Reflection on Pluralism (37:15–38:16):

  "The idea that the American Christmas season is a time where people feel an obligation... to reach out to their fellow citizens in a spirit of kindness and good cheer... and we're going to sing a bunch of songs written by Jews... What an unbelievable achievement on the part of American culture."
  — Rabbi Ari Lam (37:29–38:16)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Irony of Jewish-authored Christmas Songs:
  "It's eerie, this Jewish connection to American Christmas."
  — Eli Lake (08:33)

• Irving Berlin’s Perspective:
  "I did not celebrate Christmas as a Jew living in the Lower east side tenement of my youth, but I still felt connected... That first tree seemed to tower to heaven."
  — Berlin, recollected in The Washington Post (36:24–37:15)

• On the Power and Universality of the American Songbook:
  "The great mixing is what makes our American music so magnificent. The American Songbook is a precious heirloom, and so is American Christmas as we know it today."
  — Eli Lake (35:47)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 03:35–04:35 – Opening take on the secular warmth of American Christmas music
• 05:17–06:54 – The Jewish songwriters behind the classics
• 08:33–09:49 – Jewish irony and Philip Roth on “de-Christing” Christmas
• 10:22–11:24 – Rabbi Lam on the dangers Jews historically faced at Christmas
• 11:26–12:15 – John McWhorter: Christmas as American, not religious
• 17:44–18:37 – David Lehman on Jewish freedom and musical heritage
• 23:05–27:02 – Story of Irving Berlin and "White Christmas"
• 34:12–35:47 – The American songbook's reinvention, inclusivity, and legacy
• 37:15–38:16 – Rabbi Ari Lam on the American achievement of pluralistic Christmas

Tone & Style

The episode is delivered with warmth, humor, and deep affection for both American culture and Jewish heritage. Eli Lake often mixes personal anecdote with history, and the guests (Rabbi Ari Lam, John McWhorter, David Lehman) bring an erudite yet approachable style.

Final Reflection

Eli Lake concludes by celebrating the American Christmas as a symbol of immigrant achievement and national inclusivity—one in which Jewish songwriters played a foundational role. What was once a dangerous time for Jews in Europe now becomes, in America, a holiday in which their songs are sung in every home and public space.

"This holiday does not exclude me. I live in a country so welcoming of Jews that it allowed for my people, as they fled the horrors of the Old world, to build a new American Christmas whose songs are reinvented and perfected, it seems, every season."
— Eli Lake (38:57)

For those who haven’t listened:
The episode is both a primer and a celebration—a reminder of how American creativity, openness, and hybridization mean that even the most iconic Christian holiday is, in some ways, also a Jewish one. Whether you love Christmas music, history, or are pondering the American experiment, this episode offers insight, wit, and a fresh appreciation for the songs you hear every holiday season.