By David Goudsward |
December 19, 2020
Louis Alter, who died in 1980, was inducted into the Haverhill Citizens Hall of Fame. (Courtesy photograph.)
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The United States entered World War II starting with the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor—78 years ago today. By the autumn of 1944, there was cause for optimism the war’s end might actually be in sight. D-Day forces had landed in Normandy, Paris had been liberated, and the Allies were making slow progress in the Pacific.
As a result, songwriters, who had been creating music that balanced patriotic duty with a yearning for home, were feeling like Christmas might be a little less somber this year. It was the start of a golden age for Christmas music. Songs of nostalgia, geared toward soldiers overseas, such as “White Christmas” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” would see a new outlook with the new releases, more upbeat in tone and rhythm. Songs like “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” and “Here Comes Santa Claus” would reflect this new outlook in a post-war world. And the songs remain popular—the 1940s and 1950s account for nearly two-thirds of ASCAP’s most popular holiday songs.