Feel free to bring this up at your Thanksgiving dinner if you want spark a healthy, potentially-divisive discussion.
The period of November and December is generally described as the “most wonderful time of the year.” But there is a point of contention in these last couple of months of the year, and it revolves around this very touchy question: When is the right time to start listening to Christmas music?
Call me dramatic, but this debate tears families apart, drives wedges between even the best of friends, and could even be the number one under-the-radar cause of divorces. And don’t get me wrong… Christmas is a huge deal. I love it as much as the next person. But when it comes to the music that accompanies the holiday, there are some people that feel as though it’s fair game any time of the year, and others that think Christmas music should only be enjoyed within a certain timeframe.
To get on my soapbox for just a moment, I really stand by Thanksgiving, and the basic principle that each holiday deserves its proper time and respect. October belongs to Halloween, right? No problem there. The first three or so weeks of November should belong to Thanksgiving, and then Black Friday might as well ring in the Christmas season, and take us the rest of the way to New Years.
That’s not how it works though. Most people – and certainly almost all retailers – believe that as soon as trick-or-treating is wrapped up, and the clock strikes midnight on Halloween, that marks the official start of the celebration of Christmas.
That’s just plain wrong, and I’d argue that you can dilute the most wonderful time of the year by celebrating the season too early. In fact, there’s even a psychologist by the name of Linda Blair that suggests listening to Christmas music too early can have negative effects on your mental health.
She warns that the constant and early push of Christmas tunes can actually lead one to enjoy the holiday less, since the music can trigger thoughts and pressure of Christmas chores: like buying gifts, putting together parties, and even booking holiday travel. The early cueing up of Christmas music – and the repetitive, elongated nature of it – can apparently really get under the skin of people:
“You’re simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you’re hearing. Christmas music is likely to irritate people if it’s played too loudly and too early.”
So if you are a part of the “Let Christmas Wait!” movement, you can cite this as a source for your argument. And according to another study, you’d be better off listening to country music instead until the time is right for the Holiday Season to take over.
Just in case anyone needs some guardrails for all of this, I’ll share my personal Christmas music listening rule in hopes that it can catch on. There’s even a part of me that wishes it could be signed into law if it were to get enough momentum (someone make sure this gets to Donald Trump so he can sign an executive order).
But anyways, the rules that I’ve established for myself are simple:
-You should only listen to Christmas music after you eat your first Thanksgiving meal. Doesn’t even have to be on Thanksgiving Day, just whenever it is that you carve up the turkey for the very first time.
-The only exception to the rule is if it snows before Thanksgiving, but after October 31st. If you live in an area that get’s a wintry mix before Turkey Day, the snow makes listening to Christmas music – and celebrating the holiday – fair game, so long as you don’t needlessly subject others to it.
Sounds fair enough, right? So let’s just all PUMP THE BRAKES on Christmas. Yes, Thanksgiving is late this year, but it’s not going to kill any of us to wait a couple of extra weeks. That way we can really get the most out of the Christmas music once it’s actually the right time to play it.
If you think about it (and lean on this study), waiting to cue up Christmas music until after Thanksgiving is the best move for your personal health.
“Let It Be Christmas” by Alan Jackson
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? That was a test. There’s no way you pressed play on it after that entire story? Though I will say, it’s hard to resist the smooth country stylings of Alan Jackson. So if you clicked on it, I understand.
Just don’t let it happen again…
