Kevin Cuddihy - Christmass Most Wanted™: The Top 10 Book of Kris Kringles, Merry Jingles, and Holiday Cheer

Christmass Most Wanted

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The Top 10 Book of Kris Kringles, Merry Jingles, and Holiday Cheer

Kevin Cuddihy
and
Phillip Metcalfe

Copyright 2005 by Potomac Books, Inc.

Published in the United States by Potomac Books, Inc. (formerly Brasseys, Inc.). All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cuddihy, Kevin.

Christmass most wanted : the top 10 book of Kris Kringles, merry jingles, and holiday cheer / Kevin Cuddihy and Phillip Metcalfe. 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 1-57488-968-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Christmas. 2. Christmas music. 3. Christmas films. I. Metcalfe, Phillip. II. Title.

GT4985.C75 2005
394.2663dc22

2005002644

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper that meets the American National Standards Institute Z39-48 Standard.

Potomac Books, Inc.
22841 Quicksilver Drive
Dulles, Virginia 20166

First Edition

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Holiday firsts and starts

Facts and figures on Christmas

Geographic holiday fun

The story behind traditions that stand today

Odd worldwide holiday traditions

Gift-givers around the world

All about the North Pole

All about Christmas trees

All about reindeer

Ten of the most famous reindeer

Classic Christmas songs

Jazz vocals to play by the fire

Jazz instrumentals for the season

Rock oldies for Christmas

Great Christmas carols in country music

The best in Christmas blues

The best Christmas soul, R&B, and funk

Celtic holiday music

Top Christmas movies

Bad and offbeat holiday movies

Christmas comedies

Ten versions of the Dickens classic

Holiday movie bit players

Classic rocks best Christmas songs

Christmas novelty songs

Non-title holiday cartoon songs

The Twelve Days of Christmas performed ten different ways

Christmas albums from TV stars

Christmass most fun songs

Popular, but bad, Christmas music

Great modern Christmas music

TV holiday specials

Top holiday cartoons

Bad and offbeat holiday cartoons

Holiday cartoon bit players

People who were born on Christmas

People who died on Christmas

Historical events from Christmas day

Top holiday toy fads

Holiday food and drink

Other things to celebrate around Christmas

Ten translations of Merry Christmas

Phillip Metcalfe wishes to thank Kevin Cuddihy for inviting him to help write this book and for driving the whole project. Thanks so much. It was fun. Additional thanks to the Potomac Books editors for their help with the manuscript. Thanks to my parents for their encouragement, to the Nebbias for the annual Christmas cookies, and to Teresa and Aaron who make every day like Christmas for me. Teresayou support and challenge all my ideas and I am forever grateful for your love. Aaronyou bring joy and creativity to my life every day. Special thanks to the tiny babe in the straw who has brought warmth and light to the cold winter of my heart.

Kevin Cuddihy wishes to thank his co-author Phillip Metcalfe for the brainstorming sessions, the ideas, and his extreme musical knowledge. Youre certainly Professor Phil, Doctor of Music. Thanks as well to my family for always making Christmas something to look forward to. Special thanks to friends, co-workers, and online message boards for letting me bounce ideas and thoughts off of you and listening as I prattled on and on about the latest bit of holiday fun that was stuck in my brain. Im sure many of you will see some of your ideas and feedback folded into the book, and for that Im extremely grateful. Id name names, but there are so many that Im sure Id forget a few, so Ill just thank you en masse. Thanks especially to Don McKeon at Potomac Books for allowing this project to go forward, and to Christina Kahrl for providing the most appropriate subtitle.

Both authors would like to thank the production and marketing teams at Potomac Books. Without them, this book would not be in your hands right now. So thanks to Julie Kimmel, Michie Shaw, Judy Coughlin, Claire Noble, and Sam Dorance. Candy canes for all of you!

Its the rare bird that doesnt like Christmas; sure there are Scrooges and here-and-there cries of Bah humbug, but Christmas is a time for celebration, for giving, and trying to be just a little nicer to your fellow man. As the song goes, if every day could be just like Christmas what a wonderful world it would be.

While obviously we (the authors) recognize that Christmas is a religious holiday, this book is a celebration more of the secular side of Christmasthe songs, the movies, the television shows, the commercialism, the people, the laughs... all that and more. So in these pages youll see such things as ten different versions of both The Twelve Days of Christmas and A Christmas Carol. Youll find out about how different song genres celebrate Christmas in music. Youll relive the greatand not-so-greatCartoons of Christmas Past. Youll find out which television celebrities graced the world with their very own albums of holiday tunes. And youll find out about births, deaths, and historical events that occurred on Christmas. Youll laugh, youll smile, and hopefully youll learn a lot of cool and interesting stuff about Christmas that you didnt know before.

So curl up before the yule log, pour yourself some egg nog, bite into a gingerbread cookie, and enjoy Christmass Most Wanted. Merry Christmas, from our families to yours.

We start our book, logically enough, with Christmas firsts. No, not the first Christmas. Theres no discussion of wise men, mangers, or myrrhwhatever that ishere. All of the following items or symbols are relatively commonplace today, but they all had to start somewhere. Where did they start? Who came up with them? Why did they persist? And why do we continue them today? Well, read on.