"He writes about this yearning for home, for a white Christmas. Which was really dreaming about his family's roots in New York in the 1890s, he said. The song's original first verse, later cut, was ...

Popular myths about the classic holiday tune have circulated for decades, obscuring its origins on the minstrel stage.

The Story of an American Song by Jody Rosen' is an intriguing and insightful look at the story behind a holiday classic.