I absolutely love this time of year. I love the weather, the time with family and singing along to Christmas songs.

Speaking of Christmas songs, did you know that the guy who sings "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" was also the voice of Tony the Tiger?  Thurl Ravenscroft is the man’s name and he was the voice of the Frosted Flakes mascot from 1953 to 2005, and recorded the "Grinch" in 1966.  If you think that’s interesting, here are five more facts about some classic Christmas songs that you probably didn’t know.

  • 1

    Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" Was Used as a Coded Message During the Vietnam War

    It was played over American radio signals in April of 1975 to let U.S. troops know the city of Saigon had been lost. And the song "Do You Hear What I Hear" was originally written as a call for peace during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

  • 2

    "Dominick the Donkey" Has Possible Ties to the Mafia

    Rumor has it, the original studio recording was financed by the Gambino crime family.

  • 3

    "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" Was Originally a Marketing Ploy

    Saks Fifth Avenue commissioned it in 1952 for an ad campaign to sell greeting cards. And they must have sold a lot, because that December it hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

  • 4

    "Jingle Bells" Was Supposed to Be a Thanksgiving Song

    The first title was "One Horse Open Sleigh". Then after it got popular, they rewrote it so it made sense for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

  • 5

    "Silver Bells" Was Originally Titled, "Tinkle Bells"

    They only changed it after one of the writers told his wife the title, and she let him know what the word "tinkle" meant. Hahaha!

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