Every year, as temperatures start to drop, there is a musical takeover. In homes, with friends, at the store and on the radio, holiday classics are suddenly played everywhere. For some, the music is part of why “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” They are ready for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and singing “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” like it has the power to create a snow day. Others have to “Run Run Rudolph” to avoid encountering any holiday tunes before they are ready to enter the “Holly Jolly Christmas” era.
No one can deny that holiday music is an essential part of the winter season. Mariah Carey, the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas, starts her defrost on Nov. 1. In a video shared on Instagram, “All I Want for Christmas is You” singer emerged in an angel costume and later as Santa Claus to kick off both the Christmas season and her “Christmas Time in Las Vegas” residency.
The Mariah Carey Christmas schedule doesn’t work for everyone though. “I enjoy Christmas music when it’s Christmas time, which means not before Thanksgiving, which means after Thanksgiving and into December and maybe on the day after Christmas,” IB Spanish teacher Laura Hodge said. According to Spotify, in the United States, most start listening to holiday music on Nov. 13, around halfway through the month. However, globally, most start on Nov. 1 with Mariah Carey.
Regardless of timing preferences, holiday music has profound cultural impacts, even beyond its role as a winter season background track. “I think it just adds another layer, like you have the food, you have the gatherings but then it just adds another factor to the whole thing that’s called Christmas spirit,” sophomore Kairo Maysonet Walker said. Studies have found that celebrating the holiday earlier by decorating and throwing on some favorite Christmas tunes can boost dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure. It is also connected to happier and friendlier personality traits.
The effects are not just emotional. A perfectly curated holiday playlist can also be beneficial to businesses looking to increase their profit this winter. When seasonal music plays, Mood Media found a 12% increase in spending and that 44% of shoppers are more likely to return to a store that plays holiday music. 73% of big holiday music fans listen while riding or driving in the car, which is why many radio stations make the switch to increase their listeners the day after Halloween.
The season is also a busy one for the music industry, as artists regularly release new Christmas albums. Last year alone, Charlie Puth, Conan Gray, Laufey and Kelly Clarkson all put out new holiday music. While the classics tend to top the charts, new songs seem to have opportunity to join holiday playlists as well.
While some are moved by the nostalgia of Christmas music, others think it speaks to the commercialization of the holiday. “Christmas is so commercialized now it’s less about being Christian and more about buying stuff,” sophomore Franklin Karton said. From 2015 to 2022, of the top 100 holiday songs, only 4.4% were directly connected to religion. The music can go either way on the issue, sparking joy for listeners but also providing an opportunity for musical artists, businesses and radio stations to maximize revenue. “It definitely helps to, you know, get in the spirit of giving and buying gifts and sharing time together with the people that you love,” Ms. Hodge said.
