<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJSUT8Inl14">
White Christmas</a> by Bing Crosby: More wistful than Good King Wencelas and less churchy than Away in a Manger, it’s the pop song that became a Christmas anthem. Penned by Irving Berlin, no less, the song won a Best Original Oscar when first crooned by Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn. Twelve years and millions of records-sold later, the concept was reconfigured in the 1954 movie, which naturally starred Der Bingle and repeats ceaselessly this time of year. Can we even imagine the heartache this song evoked within military families during the Second World War?