NEW YORK — You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most popular Christmas carol of all?
Verizon looked at the 23 Christmas songs people are streaming the most on IHeartRadio and Spotify. From there, it analyzed each song’s Google search volume by state.
Utah was all alone in choosing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” while “Jingle Bells” won in a landslide, coming in No. 1 in 16 states.
Montana’s top pick is “Winter Wonderland,” California kicks back to “Feliz Navidad” the most, while West Virginia routinely rocks out to Elvis’s “Blue Christmas.”
A few modern-day songs made it, like Justin Bieber’s “Under the Mistletoe” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” but the most popular songs are classics such as Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas.”
Fun Festive Facts
- With sixteen states backing “Jingle Bells” as their favorite Christmas carol, the classic won by a landslide. The tune has been around since 1857, but it was originally composed for a Thanksgiving church service
- Brenda Lee, the voice behind “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” recorded the jingle when she was only 13 years old.
- New Mexico, Texas, California, and Arizona have the highest Latino and Hispanic population. Coincidentally, they all crown “Feliz Navidad,” the upbeat Spanish hit, as their top pick.
- Some of the most famous Christmas songs were actually written by Johnny Marks, a Jewish songwriter that specialized in Christmas melodies. His greatest hits include “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and “Holly Jolly Christmas.”
- Craving chestnuts roasting on an open fire? If you’re in America, you’re in luck. The US is one of the few nations that can grow chestnuts.
- The reason the original versions of Christmas songs are played more often than their pop counterparts is because people prefer to stick to what they know. Christmas classics have a nostalgia factor modern-day spins just can’t beat.
