You are probably familiar with the song “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” It’s a popular Christmas song and one of Billboard’s top ten greatest holiday songs of all time.

However, the song isn’t about the holiday at all. 

A California heat wave during July of 1945 inspired the popular song. According to the book “Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas” by Ace Collins, the musicians Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn wrote the song on a hot July day in Hollywood.

They wanted to escape the toasty temperatures and imagined a place much cooler. That’s where the idea of “Let It Snow!” was born. 

In his book, Collins said “Let It Snow!” it is about two lovers stranded in a blizzard who come together over warm fire and popcorn.

Just like the lyrics said:

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!”

The song was first recorded by Vaughn Monroe and released after Thanksgiving in 1945. “Let It Snow!” was a hit and peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Best Sellers chart for five weeks after Christmas.

There are many versions of “Let It Snow!” but Dean Martin sang the most popular version. Once Martin crooned the tune, it became his signature holiday song and one of the most popular holiday songs today.

So now you know that “Let It Snow!” isn’t about Christmas, but is just a romantic song about escaping the cold weather–which was inspired by escaping the heat in California.

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