The Most Popular Christmas Song in Every State—One Dominates the Nation

Mental Floss ^ | December 9, 2025 | Mental Floss Staff

[Diana in Wisconsin]

You may want to consider which state you’re in when you put together your Christmas playlist this season.

A study by FinanceBuzz used Google Trends to figure out which Christmas song is the trendiest in each state, with a variety of familiar tracks making it on the list. You might be surprised by the results.

“All I Want for Christmas Is You”

“Jingle Bells”

“Santa Baby”

“Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!”

“Run Rudolph Run”

“Blue Christmas”

“Feliz Navidad”

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

“A Holly Jolly Christmas”

“Last Christmas”

“White Christmas”

[packrat35]

Post Modern Jukebox is awesome. I saw them live last year.

[dfwgator]

I like the Porky Pig version

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pg7HvF3a_Iw

[9YearLurker]

Ha ha.

[Fiji Hill]

“Little Saint Nick” was released by the Beach Boys in 1963 but didn’t chart. It only joined the Christmas playlists years later.

[Fiji Hill]

My favorite version of Winter Wonderland is by Richard Himber (1934). It's from the variety show "Ziegfeld Follies of 1934" and was never intended to be a Christmas song.

[skr]

Feliz Navidad at least isn’t a song about snow or Santa. It’s shortcoming is that it’s too short, only consisting of one verse.

Santa Baby? Gag!

[NorthMountain]

🤢🤮😠

[Fiji Hill]

Yea, Porky!

[NorthMountain]

If it was written after 1960, I don’t want to hear it.

You're generous ... I'd take that back to maybe 1920 ...

And if the author wasn't Christian, I don't want to hear it either. Those pseudo-nostalgic winterfest ditties have nothing to do with the birth of Our Lord.

[Ezekiel]

Notice that NONE of these popular songs mention the reason why we celebrate Christmas. The celebrant has all but been forgotten!

Wrong time of year? Peace on Earth Goodwill Industries towards men (I take this stuff seriously, that's no joke.):

Now here's something odd. It really catches the eye...

Right on Old World Christmas' own "Christmas in July" page (New Releases Advent Calendar), the image more or less front and center and the very embodiment of "Christmas in July", is not seemingly linked to anything at all:

Technical Issue no release

Then it gets weirder because there's a similar issue with the very last entry in the line-up:

August 5th

Well as some may know, the Jewish tradition is that the birthday of the Messiah -- not necessarily literally, but as per his soul's arrival -- would happen on Tisha B'Av, the date of the destruction of the Temple.

"Although Mashiach¹ could come in any moment, the Talmud declares that Tisha b’Av is the day most suited to his birth.²"

https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/1893861/jewish/Glass-Half-Empty-Consciousness-of-Tisha-bAv.htm

On that note, the predominant year stated for the destruction of the Second Temple is AD 70 (Hebrew year 3830).

By setting this detailed calendar calculator to year 3830, the last entry for the

"Hebrew Holy Days and their Equivalent Dates in the Western Calendar" chart is:

Tisha Ba’ Av (Fast of Av / Destruction of the Temple)
10 Av
Sunday
5 August 70

That's on account of Tisha B'Av falling on a Sabbath that year, so it got... postponed.

😃

(Winning!)

Now of course Jewish History accounting methods are a tad more involved. For example, on Chabad's site the destruction year is given as 69 CE:

Holy Temples Destroyed (423 BCE and 69 CE)

Both the first and second Holy Temples which stood in Jerusalem were destroyed on Av 9: the First Temple by the Babylonians in the year 3338 from creation (423 BCE), and the second by the Romans in 3829 (69 CE).

Now if that's the case (or just in case), best to check that calendar calculator again, to dial it back a year:

Tisha Ba’ Av (Fast of Av / Destruction of the Temple)
9 Av
Sunday
16 July 69

not seemingly linked to anything at all,

yet Apollo 11 fans would know it was the very launch date of the Mission covering all of The Nine Days, from 1 Av to the splashdown of Columbia on Tisha B'Av, in the year '69.

A big announcement it was:

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The celebrant has all but been forgotten!

Jewish History

First Human on the Moon (1969)

On July 16, 1969, Apollo 11 was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a successful landing on the moon’s surface, Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on our celestial neighbor, on July 20, corresponding to the Hebrew date of 6 Menachem Av (after nightfall in eastern U.S.).

https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=07%2F21%2F1969

I wonder what the "Technical Issue" could ever be.

With the out-of-the-blue reminder here about the 423 date, the Temple destruction dates make the connection to my observation on yesterdays' time capsule thread, concerning the license plate anomaly. Great!

[ebshumidors]

I like the Phil Specter Christmas album.

[TalBlack]

I separate the reverent Christmas songs from the season pop tunes . The Little Drummer Boy and Baby Please Come Home.

[subterfuge]

NO to Felix Navidad in Florida.

Like any of Gary Hoey’s guitar instrumental Christmas songs.

Also, Please Come Home For Christmas sung by Don Henley.

And Oh Holy Night.

[FrogMom]

I like that one and Little Drummer Boy.

[madison10]

Okay, that and Feliz Navidad are tied for second most hated.

My favorite Christmas song is “O Come, O Come, Emnanuel,” as performed by Mannheim Steamroller. Selah performs it well, too.

[madison10]

I LIKE “Winter Wonderland.” Add “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”— Karen Carpenter version.

[FrogMom]

And this one makes me cry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CO6OZIY-lYw&t=231s

[Verginius Rufus]

My experience is that radio stations playing Christmas music rarely have any religious carols.

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer" didn't make #1 in any state. "Christmas in Dixie" didn't make it in any of the Southern states.

[gitmo]

I’ll Be Home For Christmas.

What a sad song.
The song is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II, writing a letter to his family. In the message, he tells his family he will be coming home and to prepare the holiday for him, and requests snow, mistletoe, and presents “on” the tree. The song ends on a melancholy note, with the soldier saying, “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams”.

[HoneysuckleTN]

My favorite version of Blue Christmas is by Jesse Rogers & His 49ers (1949)

I didn't realize the song was that old! Thanks for the link.