The famous Christmas song written by a Jewish songwriter that ended the Vietnam War

I like odd facts. And, there are a number of them about the song “White Christmas” — a song with lyrics that are now cited in many books of quotations.

Let’s start with the fact that it was written by a Jewish songwriter, Irving Berlin (1888-1989).

Berlin’s original name was Israel Baline. He was born in Russia, where his father was a cantor at the local synagogue and a Shochet — a ritual slaughterer of animals to make kosher meat. The family left Russia in 1893 to escape the violent pogroms against Jews and emigrated to America, settling in New York City.

By the age of 20, the young immigrant was on his way to becoming one of the greatest songwriters in modern history, under his new Americanized name, Irving Berlin. 

Berlin wrote “White Christmas” sometime in the late 1930s. Bing Crosby introduced it publicly on his NBC radio show, The Kraft Music Hall, on Christmas Day, December 25, 1941.

But the song first gained true national fame the following year, when it was sung by Crosby in Holiday Inn, a movie full of Berlin songs that was released on August 4, 1942.

In the fall of ‘42, Decca released a single of Crosby singing “White Christmas.”

It became a huge hit and a sentimental favorite of American troops and their families during World War II.

The recording of the song we’re all familiar with today, however, is not the 1942 version.

In 1947, the Decca master of Crosby’s 1942 recording had been used to make so many records that it was literally worn out. So, Crosby recorded the song again on March 19, 1947.

That version of “White Christmas” went on to become the biggest selling recording in history.

According to the Guinness Book of World Records, over 100 million copies of records with Bing’s 1947 version of the song have been sold.

In 1975, “White Christmas” also played a bizarre role at the end of the Vietnam War.

By April of ‘75, the United States had pulled most of its troops out of Vietnam and the North Vietnamese were closing in on Saigon.

As part of secret preparations for the evacuation of all remaining American personnel, the American embassy distributed a 15-page booklet. It included a map showing where evacuation helicopters would be landing.

A page inserted into the booklet said:

“Note evacuational signal. Do not disclose to other personnel. When the evacuation is ordered, the code will be read out on American Forces Radio. The code is: THE TEMPERATURE IN SAIGON IS 112 DEGREES AND RISING. THIS WILL BE FOLLOWED BY THE PLAYING OF ‘I’M DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS.’”

The final panicky evacuation of Saigon is now inglorious history — and the fact that “White Christmas” played a role in it is one more odd thing about the song.

OK, now, let’s all sing along (without panicking):

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,
Just like the ones I used to know.
Where the tree-tops glisten
And children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow...”

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