Today marks 60 years since Frosty the Snowman was released. It was recorded by singing Cowboy Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys a year after his iconic recording of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". [more inside]
posted by inturnaround on Dec 14, 2010 - 24 comments

An antidote to the holly jolly malaise: Few Christmas carols contain as much blood and suffering as "Down in yon forest." It was first documented in England by Ralph Vaughan Williams, but John Jacob Niles found an even gorier version in North Carolina (Alfred Deller's rendition). [more inside]
posted by imposster on Dec 9, 2008 - 29 comments

"This is what it sounds like inside the brains of crazy people." - one person's review of "Carol of the Bells", part of the results of a "Worst Carol Contest." Ineligible: novelty songs, especially involving injuries to grandmothers. The most hated: Little Drummer Boy. (I was disappointed not to see Leroy Anderson's feculent Sleigh Ride get top honors.)
posted by kurumi on Dec 19, 2003 - 41 comments

They Shot Blitzen! Donner unharmed. Donner and Blitzen escaped from a Christmas display, right in the middle of deer season in Pennsylvania, and Blitzen was mistakenly killed.
posted by mischief on Dec 14, 2001 - 13 comments