Tis the season for — Christmas music? As Halloween candy and horror movies are put away, pumpkins turn to mistletoe. Walking into Costco, Christmas trees and lights are shoved in every customer’s face. Hallmark Christmas movies are in full swing and car commercials have turned their attention to the holiday spirit.
Christmas music has taken many forms throughout the years. Beloved songs like “Text Me Merry Christmas” by Kristen Bell with Straight No Chaser and Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” which are on Spotify’s Top 20 Most Listened to Christmas Songs Globally, have begun to reappear on the scene. A meme of Mariah Carey defrosting to her hit song “All I Want For Christmas Is You” reappeared bright and early on Nov. 1, begging the question of when it should be acceptable to begin playing Christmas music.
Junior Sienna Hubert argues that Thanksgiving deserves more time on its own and is often overlooked as society looks ahead to Christmas.
“I think Christmas music should be celebrated after Thanksgiving,” Hubert said.
Hubert said that Thanksgiving is often overlooked and that it should be recognized before Christmas music begins playing.
On the other hand, senior Noah Fradkin thinks that people should start listening to Christmas music in early November. Fradkin has a different perspective than others, as he did not move to the United States until middle school.
“To me, Thanksgiving is not that significant of a holiday, because I wasn’t born here. That’s why I start playing Christmas music in early November. If I was American, maybe I would understand playing it later,” Fradkin said.
Even American radio stations begin the Christmas season before Thanksgiving. 96.5 KOIT is a station that calls itself “The Bay Area’s Official Christmas Music Station.” Last year, it began playing Christmas music on Nov. 17, a week before Thanksgiving, according to Morris Knight, the afternoon host of 96.5 KOIT.
However, data directly from Spotify shows that there isn’t a spike in Christmas music streaming until December itself.
Sophomore Justin Ji expresses a different opinion in that Christmas music should be played halfway through November, making the argument that it was the best time to start because it gives time for people to process between Halloween and December.
Whether or not students think Christmas music should be played early, late, or in between, opinions and data on the topic vary.
“People are transitioning out of Halloween, and then it’ll take a while to transition into December,” Ji said.
