Or was it the bells in the village below?

[msconduct]

What's playing right now in your country? Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas Is You? Wham's Last Christmas?

In New Zealand we have those too. But by far the most popular Christmas song here is one you've probably never heard of: The Royal Guardsmen's Snoopy's Christmas.

It is honestly hard to oversell what a popular song it is here. Since its release in 1967, it's charted over and over again. Astonishingly, it is estimated to be the highest-selling single by an overseas act in the twentieth century.

It's particularly strange as unlike the French and the Japanese, Kiwis aren't particularly enamoured of Snoopy. In fact, I'd go so far as to say we are Snoopy-indifferent. But when Christmas arrives, all bets are off.

I have to admit that I love this song too. But I always hope it's not playing when I'm out in public, because when I hear it I sob like a tiny baby. And I would venture to suggest that anyone who doesn't is an absolute psychopath.

Watch on YouTube

Oh, and just in case you wondered whether this is a craze that has had its day, here's a float celebrating it from a 2024 Dunedin Christmas parade:

I love my quirky little country.

Comments

[dandylover1]

"And I would venture to suggest that anyone who doesn't is an absolute psychopath." Erm, okay, that's a bit much. I have heard this song many times, and it never made me cry. However, there was a similar, real story that occurred during World War I. There was actually a Christmas truce when British and German soldiers put down their weapons and actually played football!

https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-real-story-of-the-christmas-truce

[msconduct]

Yes, that's specifically what the song was based on.

[dandylover1]

For some reason, I never really put the two together until today. I was mostly focused on the Snoopy versus the Red Baron i.e. the cartoon aspect, though of course, I knew the baron was based on a real man from history.

[msconduct]

It's more of a loose association, of course, given that the original was a football match, but it was in the minds of the songwriters, apparently.

[dandylover1]

It's a great way of introducing the story to children and also promoting peace.