White Christmas: Ghosts and dreams

Irving Berlin, circa 1911

Back in the late 1800s, when Irving Berlin was tiny Isidore Baline, the ghosts of Christmas past bore down upon him and his Jewish family.  Christmas in Russia meant possible death for Jews since the Tsar's pogroms were particularly intense on that day.  The Balines eventually fled to America because their home had been deliberately set on fire.

That is why writing a nostalgic Christmas song was a challenging task for Berlin.  It's hard to dream when the reality had been such a nightmare.

Nevertheless, one bright morning in 1940, an already-famous Berlin burst in upon his secretary and announced, "Grab your pen and take down this song.  I just wrote the best song I've ever written... the best song that anybody's ever written!"

This was not just a hunch.  Berlin's "White Christmas" (as sung by Bing Crosby) became the best-selling single of all time.

How was Berlin able to dream his way beyond haunting Christmas memories?  For one thing, he was by then a consummate professional.  His assignment was to write a song about every major American holiday (for the movie "Holiday Inn"), and he was determined to do just that.

Berlin was also the man who wrote "God Bless America."  He was fervently patriotic, and regarded America as his family's promised land.  If Christmas was a cherished American holiday (which it especially was during World War II), then that was incentive enough for him.

Berlin's second wife (his first wife died young), Ellin Mackay, was Catholic.  Their family celebrated all the major holidays together.  Berlin seemed to have no personal conflict regarding such interfaith activities.

"White Christmas" is therefore so much more than just a cultural icon.  It remains a testament of the spirit's ability to rise on the wings of dreams above a ghastly past.

Resources

http://www.ktsullivan.com/pages/rev_berlin.html

http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/white_christmas.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Christmas_(song)