Newfoundland celtic-folk band The Irish Decendants have been making music for more than 30 years, and their canon contains a roster of familiar songs.

The band has just released The Irish Descendants Christmas — an 8 song collection of holiday music.

It includes familiar favourites like Snoopy’s Christmas, Newfoundland classics like A. Frank Willis’ Hello Mom and Dad and newer material like Must Be Christmas.

It’s a fun, upbeat Christmas song about finding a romance at Christmas dance. It’s got a great chorus that, in the weeks since its release, I’ve repeatedly caught myself singing.

Sweetening the deal, It doesn’t hurt that the song references Newfoundland Christmas slush… a topic I seem to have on my mind these days.

You can hear ‘Must Be Christmas’ on all the usual streaming services, and The Irish Descendants are on a Christmas tour right now. You can find the dates on their website.

More Christmas and Holiday Music from Newfoundland & Labrador

Stay tuned for more great Christmas songs from Newfoundland and Labrador.

I'm a big fan of traditional Christmas music, I love to hear a modern rendition of a 300 year old carol but, occasionally, a brand new song comes to my attention and dominates my Christmas listening. Newfoundland and Labrador's musicians have been holding their own in both regards. I’ll be sharing local songs —both old and new— from now until Christmas in my 2023 NL Music Advent Calendar.

Follow along on Instagram stories and get playlists here.

Check out: 2022’s NL Christmas music calendar.