The Great Christmas Music Debate

By Kimberlie Haner on November 5, 2012

Deck the halls? Not quite yet.

Once the Christmas music starts playing in the grocery stores, it is clear that the Christmas season has begun. Holiday cheer is spread all around as people listen to classic hits such as “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”. However, we often hear these songs before Thanksgiving. Some people insist on listening to Christmas music before the holiday season actually begins, while some people get upset at the simple jingling of bells before Thanksgiving. The age old question is this: when should we start listening to Christmas music?

After posting a status on my Facebook page asking this question, I got a pretty mixed bag. There were 23 responses, 11 against Christmas music before Thanksgiving and 12 for it. Some of their responses will be used throughout this article to defend certain points.

The common answer to the question is that Christmas music shouldn’t be played until the day after Thanksgiving. People don’t want Thanksgiving to be overshadowed by the biggest day of the year. As great as Christmas is, we don’t want to forget to be thankful for everything that we have because we are too busy jamming to “Jingle Bell Rock”. Why even celebrate Thanksgiving if people jump straight to Christmas as soon as Halloween is over?

The day after Thanksgiving is often a special day for people to get excited for Christmas. Jacob Madsen, a student at BYU, said that he starts listening on “Black Friday a.k.a. the day after Thanksgiving. I have a specific playlist that I listen to while doing my Black Friday shopping. It helps me get into the Christmas spirit.” After Thanksgiving is over, the focus can then turn to Christmas. My family starts to put up the Christmas decorations on the day after Thanksgiving, as do many other people. Black Friday isn’t so dark with all of the Christmas cheer beginning around it.

On the other hand, people begin to listen to Christmas music whenever they want to. Some start playing it on November first while others never really stop listening. Garrett Tolman, a student at BYU-Idaho, said, “I listen to it all year round, but as a general rule for people that don’t, I’d say after Halloween is a good time.” A handful of people mentioned that if they listen to Christmas music throughout the year, they don’t blast it for everyone to hear. They are considerate toward those who are after-Thanksgiving listeners. Year-round listeners also say that they often don’t exclusively listen to Christmas music until, at the earliest, after Halloween or at the traditional time, after Thanksgiving. But there’s nothing wrong with a little Christmas music randomly played throughout the year.

Another factor to consider is that Thanksgiving and Christmas are both important holidays in people’s minds, but because there is no Thanksgiving music, some people use Christmas music to enhance both holidays. Emily Ostler, a BYU student, said, “Christmas music enhances the love and spirit I feel surrounding Thanksgiving. Shouldn’t we be celebrating all the wonderful feelings all year around?” What we feel around Christmas is amazing, and we want to feel that for as long as we can. Thanksgiving is a very similar to Christmas day. Though the reasons for celebrating may be different, the events of the holidays are very similar: families come from all around to be together, a lot of good food is made, and the spirit of giving is shining all around as people serve those who may be less fortunate or all alone during the holiday season. Music that enhances Christmas also enhances Thanksgiving due to those similar feelings that are felt on both days.

For the record, I randomly listen to a Christmas song once in a while throughout the year. Once October hits, I might go a whole day listening to Christmas music. When it is November, I often listen to it a few days a week or so. However, once it is Thanksgiving, I only listen to Christmas music. Christmas is my favorite time of the year and the music fills me with joy.

To answer the original question, you can listen to Christmas music whenever you want, but I would be courteous of who is around while listening to it. So go ahead and deck those halls and jingle those bells! Or, wait until after Thanksgiving if you want to. Enjoy the upcoming holiday season!

When you do like to listen to Christmas music? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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