It’s November 1st, and you’ve just gotten in your car. You turn the radio on, and no matter how many times you switch the channel, you are blasted with holiday tunes. “It’s too early for this!”is something many people might say in this situation, followed by a swift button press, turning off the radio. Others might feel cheerful, ready to embrace the holiday spirit as soon as possible.
Christmas music is certainly a special genre, as it separates itself from all other types of music. Its emphasis on winter, family, love, and holiday nostalgia, combined with the simple and calm melodies, puts this genre in a league of its own. With all this said, there is always a lot of talk surrounding the topic. Does Christmas come on too early? Is it overplayed? Is the music outdated? Is Christmas music really worth listening to?
People tend to have many mixed opinions about these questions. Some may start right after Thanksgiving, while others might start right after Halloween. Some might even go a step further and start listening in late October. According to Hanna Searlac, a reporter from the Deseret News, Christmas music on Spotify spikes around November 13th in the US, but November 1st worldwide. However, nn a survey from Stylist, 64% of people think it’s a better idea to wait until the start of December to begin listening to Christmas music. So, with all things considered, it seems that it makes the most sense to start listening to Christmas music in the middle of November, when Halloween is far gone and Thanksgiving is just around the corner.
FMHS student Mark Gaspari strongly believes in starting the moment November rolls around. “There is literally nothing else to celebrate. Thanksgiving is a preseason holiday,” Mark said. Mark stressed that there was no Thanksgiving music and that would lead to the music of the next holiday up.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you have probably heard Mariah Carey’s song that just refuses to die, “All I Want for Christmas is You. Every year, people make jokes about preparing for her song to “defrost” and take over the Christmas music industry for another holiday season. According to AP news, her song has reached number 1 on Billboard’s hot 100 chart for the past 4 years. Her song is seen as the most successful and popular Christmas song of all time, which has exceeded 100 million dollars in earnings as of last year. According to NBC, the number of days in which the song had above average listenership jumped to as high as 78 from 2018-2021, after being at 40 during the early 2010s. Some people may find joy in listening to her song, as its powerful vocals and upbeat rhythm fill them with holiday cheer. Others however, due to its sheer popularity and presence anywhere music can be played, find it to be annoying and repetitive. FMHS student Brandon Blitz sees it as an overall good song. “People play it too soon, which is why people give those opinions,” Brandon said.
A good reason for why some people might not have interest in Christmas music is because their favorite song gets underplayed, and they get sick of listening to the same songs each year, some of which they may find to be overrated. The oversaturation of the most popular holiday hits may drive people to dislike the genre as a whole. In terms of underplayed songs, FMHS students weighed in. Mark Gaspari and Liam Conway named rather popular songs, like “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Last Christmas.” Brandon Blitz thought that things were good as it is, and that the songs that are played more on the radio deserve to be played and heard. However, Nate Zacholl thought of an Alan Jackson song, called “Let it Be Christmas.” It’s a country song that you likely have not heard of unless you really enjoy country music. “It’s probably my favorite Christmas song, but I have never heard it on the radio,” Nate said.
Let’s be honest, most of the Christmas songs we hear are significantly old. According to Jon Keegan from Towards Data Science, who analyzed 122 hours of holiday radio, the number of times songs were played from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, was significantly higher than all the other decades, at close to 1000 plays. Every year, a cascade of new Christmas songs are put out into the world, trying to create a new era of Christmas music. However, as we already know, these new songs get little to no traction, as the older and more popular songs dominate the radio.
It’s likely that you haven’t even heard of some of these new songs before. Songs like “So Much Wine” (2022) and “DJ Play a Christmas Song” (2023) are songs that not many people really know about. Also according to Jon Keegan, the two most played singers were Michael Bublé and Bing Crosby. Both of these artists either made or remade popular, classic Christmas songs. Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” was a version of a song originally made in 1951. One of Crosby’s songs, “White Christmas,” was made in 1954 and is considered by many as the most popular Christmas song. Putting it all together, most people seem to think that old is gold when it comes to Christmas music.
Typically, when you think of Christmas, you think of family, presents, candy, Santa, carols, and most importantly, winter snow. Snow is seen as fuel for the Christmas spirit. Just about every popular holiday movie has snow, and many Christmas songs either have the word “snow” in the name or talk about the snow. Ultimately, it really would not be Christmas without snow. According to The Week, Christmas music streaming jumped 1.5% for every extra hour of darkness during the season. It jumped 2% when it snowed. So it seems that the atmosphere definitely has an impact on the strength of the Christmas spirit, and listening time of holiday songs. “If it’s snowing out, it definitely adds to the Christmas energy, if you will,” Liam Conway stated.
With all this information, one major question remains in the balance: Why do people love Christmas music? One relatively common answer would be because it simply brings joy, which is heavily associated with the holiday season. According to family therapist Kathryn Smerling, holiday tunes give people a sense of nostalgia, and that many of the songs are uplifting. It tends to generally evoke old, pleasant memories from the past. Nate Zacholl felt that people love this kind of music because it’s special. “There’s no Halloween music that everyone listens to that radios play,” Zacholl said. Mark Gaspari believes that Christmas music brings people together to enjoy the holiday spirit. “It tries to bring a lot of joy into the end of the year.” So, with all this said, it seems that Christmas music truly is worth listening to.
