Three Christmas “fun facts” related to Oklahoma. . “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” The popular Christmas song “Have ...

Gayla Peevey, at age 10, recorded the holiday hit "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" in 1953, leading to a successful campaign that brought a real hippo named Matilda to the Oklahoma City Zoo.

She was a children's Christmas song come to life. On Dec. 24, 1953, a 700-pound "baby" lumbered from her moving crate into the awaiting water at Oklahoma City's Lincoln Park Zoo. "I Want a ...

From red-nosed reindeer to parading snowmen and even wish-list hippopotamuses, many of the most popular Christmas songs of all time come gift-wrapped with plenty of childlike wonder and holiday ...