Dolly Parton Reveals She Still Writes Letters to Santa Claus for Christmas: ‘I Do Believe’
Dolly Parton is a country music legend who brings her country spirit to her holiday music. Dolly Parton has been making holiday music since Once Upon a Christmas in 1984 and continues to express her love for Christmas in 2022. Her love for the holiday shows in her belief in Santa Claus, to who Parton says she still writes letters.
Dolly Parton still taps into her roots for Christmas
While Dolly Parton is a wildly successful artist, she still carries on many Christmas traditions from her youth. The “Jolene” singer grew up in a large, but lower-class family in Tennessee. In an interview with Better Homes & Gardens, Parton shared that her family was poor and had no electricity in their two-bedroom log cabin.
“We didn’t even have electricity for lights on the tree. We had popcorn garland,” Parton said. “That’s one of the things I have to have today. I never got over being country.”
Still, she looks back on her childhood Christmas celebrations fondly and remembers the songs her mom used to sing and the foods they used to cook.
“I remember the foods we used to cook, and the stories we used to tell, and the songs we used to sing,” the country star shared. “Momma would always sing all the great ones: ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,’ ‘Silent Night,’ and ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain.’”
Dolly Parton still writes letters to Santa Claus
Parton celebrates the holiday in many ways. She demands to have a Christmas tree in each room of her house, hosts Christmas Eve for her friends and family, and wakes up Christmas morning to make her husband green and red pancakes before opening presents. One of her unflinching beliefs is that Santa Claus is real and she still writes letters to the jolly Christmas icon.
“I do believe,” Parton admitted. “I like to write a letter to Santa Claus. I pretend like it’s really a letter to God.”
Parton doesn’t want to compete with Mariah Carey for the title of ‘Queen of Christmas’
Dolly Parton has a busy Christmas season ahead of her. She recently released the deluxe edition of her 2020 holiday album A Holly Dolly Christmas and debuted a song with Jimmy Fallon, “Almost Too Early for Christmas.” The country music legend is also premiering a two-hour holiday special called Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas.
With all of these Christmas offerings, many have said Parton is competing with Mariah Carey for the title of “Queen of Christmas.” Carey has been a Christmas icon since the release of her song “All I Want for Christmas is You,” which appears on the Billboard charts every holiday season. However, Parton said she has no interest in competing with Carey for the crown.
“Now, don’t you say that! I’m not going to compete with Mariah,” Parton said. “I love her. You think of Christmas, you think of Mariah. I’m happy to be second in line to her.”
Carey responded to Parton on Twitter, saying, “Dolly, let’s settle this one…
You are the Queen of Everything! The Queen of the World, The Queen of Christmas, The Queen of Mine!! Love you!!!!” Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas premieres on NBC on Dec. 1.
