Some succeed, as with these modern Christmas classics others, which just dropped this year, have yet to prove their mistletoe mettle. And with each passing year, more than a few contemporary artists try their hand at crafting a new seasonal standard, something sweet and melancholy that lingers in the pine-scented air for as long as it takes you to finish a candy cane (without chewing, that is). People have been singing about Christmas almost as long as it’s been celebrated.
The things that make Christmas songs great - whether carols, old pop standards or newer enduring hits - are most of the same things that make pop great in general: emotional connection, universal relatability, unshakeable catchiness. There’s a reason that listeners seem to get more impatient every year for the Christmas music season to start: Nothing else feels quite like it.
