How Early is Too Early for Christmas Music

For some people, Christmas music is the embodiment of the holiday spirit; it signals the beginning of winter season. As Buddy the Elf once said, “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” For some, however, Christmas music has been so overplayed that it has become more of a nuisance than a joy.
After Halloween, many stores start shelving their holiday decorations, foods, and other miscellaneous items, although some begin stocking even earlier. This phenomenon is referred to as ‘Christmas Creep’, but does not only apply to merchandise. How early a station features Christmas music is up to the discretion of the host, but according to South student Yvette Mendez ‘19, generally around Thanksgiving is an appropriate time.. For example, local radio station 97.1 Charlie F.M., which usually plays artists such as Aerosmith and ACDC, shifted into a station that plays exclusively Christmas music on Nov. 18.
“In the U.S. at least, we should wait until after Thanksgiving to play christmas music because there’s like a joke about ‘Thanksgiving who?’ or whatever, but honestly Thanksgiving is an important holiday, so we should still acknowledge it,” Mendez said, “At the same time, it’s just music, so it’s not like it’s doing any harm if it’s played early.” Mendez said.
To some students, Thanksgiving is an important time to celebrate the United States’ origins, and a time to enjoy with family.
“It’s basically celebrating when the pilgrims came to America and they settled, but it’s really about family coming together to appreciate the food and family we have,” Hailey Bruce ‘19 said.
Overall, a great many students seem to believe that Christmas music should not be played until after Thanksgiving, in order to preserve the holiday, and maintain order in the transition to the winter season.