With ‘White Christmas,’ Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby Helped Make Christmas a Holiday for All Americans
December 21, 2023
Irving Berlin was a Jewish immigrant who loved America. As his 1938 song "God Bless America" suggests, he believed deeply in the nation's potential for goodness, unity and global leadership. In 1940, he wrote another quintessential American song, "White Christmas," which the popular entertainer Bing Crosby eventually made famous. "White Christmas" has resonated for more than 80 years, and the reasons why are worth understanding.