• Snopes
  • Posts
  • Holiday song rumors, first snow globe & history of Christmas tree

Holiday song rumors, first snow globe & history of Christmas tree

Plus: Coca-Cola invented modern image of Santa Claus?

December 25, 2025

CHRISTMAS EDITION

Snopes Debunker

A group of people wearing red and white outfits appear to sing in a group.

Snopes' Christmas playlist: Holiday song rumors we've fact-checked

For years, Snopes has covered the origins and myths attached to classic holiday songs such as "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and "Jingle Bells." We've fact-checked claims that Spotify users were blocked from streaming Christmas music until Thanksgiving, as well as that Donald Trump signed legislation in 2017 forbidding the playing of Christmas music before that same holiday.

Snopes reporter Nur Ibrahim made a list and checked it twice for rumors we've addressed about Christmas songs.

A snow globe is pictured. A black word that says Snopes with yellow "light" going through can be seen in the middle.

Shaking up rumor that first snow globe was invented by accident

The story points to Austrian mechanic Erwin Perzy in 1900, but records show snow globes existed by at least 1878.

Snopes Membership

Support Snopes With Our Monthly Membership

Happy holidays! When we realized a Debunker would fall on Christmas Day, we decided to theme the newsletter entirely around our holiday fact checks. Even with the theme, our work still ranged pretty widely, from examining holiday song rumors to checking the history of how the first snow globe was invented. We need your help to keep doing this far-ranging work. By building our membership, we will be able to continue cutting straight to the facts on any subject our readers are interested in. We appreciate any support you can give.

An image appears to show an album cover with a white man and woman looking at the camera wearing red and white outfits. The woman has her hand placed on the man's chest. You can see a Christmas tree faintky in the background.

Was Christmas song with lyric 'Santa came down my chimney' once banned for being too risqué?

The provocative song comes from Sus Records, a YouTube channel known for using AI to make musical "parodies."

A Christmas tree with a green star at the top is pictured next to a church.

A brief history of the Christmas tree

Three different theories trace the Christmas tree back to the 1400s or 1500s. Two others go even further back.

A black cat is pictured amongst many bright red flowers.

Are poinsettias toxic to cats and dogs? Fears of serious harm are overblown

Claims that the Christmas staple can cause serious health problems or death in pets greatly exaggerate their risk, experts say.

Close up photo of a person's back. The person is wearing a Santa hat and a red jacket with "Coca-Cola" embroidered into its back.

Coca-Cola invented modern image of Santa Claus?

Santa Claus is iconic. Wherever people see him during the Christmas season, the legendary gift-giver's appearance generally remains the same: a red suit with white fluff, jolly and rotund and with a pale face.

Over the years, people on social media have credited the modern image of Santa Claus to Coca-Cola. The rumors rely heavily on the fact that Santa's red-and-white suit matches the colors central to Coca-Cola's branding. Reporter Emery Winter traveled to the North Pole to find the truth.