Berlin believed that “White Christmas” was not only the best song he ever composed but quite simply the best song ever.

Although accounts differ, most agree that he wrote the song between 1938 and 1940. It was eventually included in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn, earning the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1943. Bing Crosby debuted the song on Christmas Day 1941, a mere 18 days after the Pearl Harbor attack.

“White Christmas” evokes a melancholy nostalgia for many listeners, bringing back cherished memories of simpler times. Tina Benitez-Ives of American Songwriter writes that the lyrics may have been centered around the death of Berlin’s son, who died on Christmas Day in 1928 at only three weeks old. Every year after the death of his son, Berlin, who was Jewish, and his wife would visit his grave on Christmas, which may have led him to write the more somber holiday song.

Source: American Songwriter. Graphic: White Christmas by Bing Crosby and the London Symphony Orchestra, youtube. White Christmas by Bing Crosby, Decca Records.