When is the right time to listen to holiday music?

I typically don’t listen to Christmas music outside of the holiday season. One reason is that hearing Christmas songs only during the holidays makes the season more special.

However, it depends on the quality of the song. Some pieces of music, such as “The Nutcracker” and “Sleigh Ride”, are songs that I enjoy listening to regardless of whether it’s Christmas or not. My mom also has a CD of Bocelli’s recordings of Christmas songs, which we listen to year-round. 

When the same old songs are played they become boring and I don’t listen to them outside of the holidays. Unless I have a special connection to the song, I won’t listen to it in my free time. For example, playing the song “Greensleeves” reminds me of a memory I had as a kid, which makes the song more sentimental. 

Variety also matters. I really enjoy when people put their own spin on long established songs – I can listen to them any time of year. I highly recommend Charles’s Cornell’s “Jingle Bells” arrangement. Also, I enjoyed the Jazz-style Nutcracker arrangement in the movie “Elf”

I think people can play holiday music as long as it’s not forced, and not played for too long. It can get frustrating when Christmas songs are played in stores when it’s October. There’s no need to drill into people’s heads that Christmas is coming that early. Most know what the holidays are, and they have calendars. 

Speaking of drilling into peoples’ heads, mental health is an issue when it comes to Christmas songs. According to clinical psychologist Linda Blair, stress can be induced if you hear Christmas music too early. It can remind you of the gifts you need to buy, party planning, and so on. Workers at stores also feel stress since they try to “tune out” Christmas songs and expend extra energy in doing so (CBS News). 

This is interesting as I never thought about how workers would feel – I always assumed they were not bothered by holiday music. The stress induced by Christmas music seems like a Pavlovian response. Businesses can take advantage of this to get customers to buy their products, which is why they play holiday music so early.

Maybe my willingness to hear Christmas music outside the holidays is a sign I don’t feel much holiday-related stress. I can understand why many gift givers would – I think they worry too much about what the receiver will think of their gift. This is cheesy, but I believe the receiver will appreciate any gift you give them if they’re a true friend.

Maybe that’s why All I Want for Christmas is You is so popular. It’s the most popular holiday song on Spotify in the United States (time out). It’s an original pop song, with a memorable tune, so there’s variety and quality already. And it attempts to dissuade consumers from worrying about buying lavish gifts. In other words, it reduces their gift giving stress. The season of giving should be a positive experience, and Christmas songs should reinforce that.