The Christmas Letter Neil Diamond Never Meant to Share — And How It Became “Cherry Cherry Christmas”
There are Christmas songs meant to celebrate the season, and then there are songs born from a quiet place inside the heart—written not for charts or applause, but to reach someone who once mattered. Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry Christmas,” released in 2009, belongs entirely to the second kind. Bright, upbeat, wrapped in bells and joy, the song sounds like a celebration. Yet behind the cheerful melody lies something more personal: a letter Neil wrote at a difficult time in his life, a message he never intended the whole world to hear.
In the late 2000s, Neil Diamond was living through one of his loneliest years. His marriage had ended, his health had fluctuated, and for the first time in decades, he found himself spending the holidays in a quieter home. His career remained tremendous, but the man behind the stage lights was feeling the weight of a life filled with change and unanswered questions. And so, as he often did in times of emotional heaviness, Neil began writing—not a song, but a simple, private Christmas letter.
No one knows exactly whom the letter was addressed to. Some fans believe it was meant for a long-time friend. Others speculate it was written for someone he once loved deeply. Neil himself has never clarified, and perhaps that mystery is part of the gift he left behind. What we do know is that inside the letter, he tried to gather not just Christmas wishes, but memories—the kind that stay even when people don’t.
While writing, Neil found himself referencing fragments of his past: titles of songs that had carried him through decades, little reminders of moments when music saved him. “Sweet Caroline,” “Song Sung Blue,” “Forever in Blue Jeans”… small sparks of joy he had created for the world, now quietly lighting his own room on a winter evening.
Those memories became the heartbeat of what would soon transform into “Cherry Cherry Christmas.” The letter, filled with gratitude, nostalgia, and a longing to reconnect, slowly turned into lyrics. Neil rearranged sentences, added melody, and allowed his past songs to appear like guests returning for the holidays—familiar, comforting, and full of warmth. The result was unlike any Christmas song he had written before: a festive greeting woven from pieces of a life lived in public, yet shaped by a private ache.
In interviews, Neil later admitted that the song was “a Christmas card set to music,” but he never explained what inspired it. He simply said he wanted listeners to “feel remembered,” as if the song were reaching out specifically to them. Perhaps that was the real intention of the original letter—to remind someone, maybe just one person, that they were still in his heart during the holidays.
“Cherry Cherry Christmas” is cheerful, yes, but beneath the surface, it carries the softness of someone trying to stay hopeful at the end of a difficult year. You can hear it in the gentle lift of his voice, in the way the choruses sparkle without ever losing a sense of quiet sincerity. It is a song that smiles even when the writer behind it may have struggled to.
Today, listeners often return to the track not just for its holiday cheer, but for the feeling that it was written with love—not the romantic kind, but a nostalgic, grateful love for the people who shape our lives yet drift away with time. Every December, the song becomes a little Christmas letter for all of us, reminding us that memory is its own kind of gift.
And maybe that’s exactly why Neil Diamond chose not to reveal the identity of the letter’s original recipient. Some stories become more meaningful when left incomplete. Some memories shine brighter when shared quietly, like a small light glowing in a winter window.