Nothing quite stirs up the festive spirit like a good old Christmas tune. Opinions on holiday music can be polarising, with some eagerly awaiting the moment they can blare All I Want For Christmas Is You while doing household chores, and others dreading the incessant jingle of Christmas melodies in shops throughout December.

Regardless of your feelings towards Yuletide anthems, it's undeniable that there are some timeless classics among them. Many of us can still sing along to White Christmas, despite its release 83 years ago, and The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole remains an evergreen favourite since its 1945 debut.

However, social media users have recently stumbled upon a surprising fact about a well-loved Christmas classic that has graced compilation albums and radio airwaves for decades since its 1958 release.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree, a staple of the festive season for over six decades, was recorded 67 years ago. Yet, despite its long-standing presence in our Christmas celebrations, many are only now discovering the identity of the voice behind this iconic track.

Written by Johnny Marks and performed by Brenda Lee, the song has a surprising backstory that has left some Instagram users astounded. Brenda was merely 13 years old when she lent her mature-sounding vocals to the track - a fact that is only now coming to light for many.

In a clip posted by Rory Eliza, she captured her astonishment whilst the festive tune played, captioning it: "I was today years old when I learned this is a 13-year-old and not a 60-year-old woman singing."

Viewers were equally stunned, with numerous people admitting Brenda's rich, mature vocals had convinced them the singer was considerably older than her actual age during the recording.

One commenter exclaimed: "WHAT!!!??? I always thought she was like 40-50 or something."

Another responded: "I beg your finest pardon???"

A third questioned: "Why would you tell me this? ? What have I ever done to you? ? ?".

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree launched in America in 1958, before crossing the Atlantic to Britain in 1962. By its golden anniversary in 2008, Brenda's original recording had shifted over 15 million copies globally and ranked as the fourth most downloaded Christmas track digitally.

Brenda produced a fresh recording in 1991, and numerous listeners suspect the age confusion stems from hearing this later version, laid down when Brenda was in her forties, and mistaking it for the original.

That said, whilst subtle distinctions exist between Brenda's youthful voice and her mature re-recording, observers have noted that even the original possesses a remarkably husky and deep quality for a 13 year old - albeit perhaps not quite as seasoned as the later version suggests. In 2023, the song was accompanied by a music video featuring Brenda, then aged 78, miming to her original recording from when she was just 13.

The video showcased a star-studded party with guests including Trisha Yearwood and fellow former teenage country music sensation, Tanya Tucker.

Brenda's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree soared to the top of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in 2023, making her the oldest artist to achieve this feat at 78. A week later, she shattered her own record following her 79th birthday.

Meanwhile, in the UK, the festive tune reached number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.