A Jolly Holly Christmas
“A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives is #6 on the Top 100 Christmas Songs by Billboard and also one of the Top 25 most-performed holiday songs, having been covered by everyone from Alan Jackson to Michael Bublé. The song originated in 1962 and was featured in the 1964 TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” in which the narrator, Sam the Snowman, is voiced by and even made to resemble Burl Ives. The song continued to have enduring popularity for the next half-century and even managed to reach a peak of #4 on the Hot 100 chart. Of note, that making of the charts made Ives the record holder for the longest break between Top Ten Hot 100 hits, with a span of 56 years between his two hits.
Throughout the day, we made sure to have ourselves a “cup of cheer,” to have the mistletoe hung “where you can see,” and to make sure that we said “hello to friends we know and everyone we meet”. We even managed to track down and play a “Holly Jolly” card game.
But we didn’t want there to be too much emphasis on the classic, so we put a spin on it by making the theme of the day “A Jolly Holly Christmas,” with a special emphasis on Holly. Our family has a close friend named Holly, so we pulled her into this special day to help us out with her personal traditions that she’s come to associate with Christmas. that included making Chocolate Cherry Chews and Reindeer Cookies, hanging up the advent calendar, lighting the Germany pyramid star, and having pizza fondue for dinner.
To wrap up the night, we watched a movie called “Beaus of Holly” while savoring some Holly Nog, which was our featured variation of eggnog for the year. I’ve always wondered why some things were called eggnogs versus holiday milks versus holly nogs. It turns out eggnog must have a minimum 6 percent butterfat and a minimum 1 percent egg yolk by weight. Holiday Nog, Holly Nog, or the other “flavored milk products” have 2 percent butterfat and less than 1 percent egg yolk by weight. And now you know!
All in all, it was a very Jolly, Holly Day! Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!
ACTIVITIES:
“Holly Jolly Vibes” Sweatshirt and “Let’s Get Jolly” T-Shirt
Mistletoe Hung Where You Can See
"Say Hello to Friends You Meet" Neighborhood Walk
Traditions of Friends Named Holly
“Beaus of Holly” Movie
FOOD & DRINK MENU:
Cup of Cheer Champagne Flutes
Holly Nog
INTERESTING READS & CONTEXT:
