Christmas music is back on the radio, jollier than ever. Once Thanksgiving is officially over, the holiday season seems to hit us all at once, wherever we go. Decorations for Christmas go up that weekend, children anxiously watch the sky for snowflakes and Michael Bublé’s Christmas album is on replay. The music that fills the air this holiday season is a special kind of music that is saved for this time of year, but what about before and after the holiday season? Once Christmas ends, should the music stop with it? To that, I answer passionately, yes. Yes it should. Once Santa flies away in his sleigh, the music associated with him should follow him into the night. We all love Christmas music, but there comes a time when it just needs to stop.
People start listening to Christmas music way before Halloween has arrived, and the early celebrations don’t stop at music. Decorations and trees start going up in the halls of stores along with Halloween decorations and candy. Not to mention, FM 100.3 radio station starts playing Christmas music in mid-November. What’s up with that? Do they not even celebrate Thanksgiving? Due to the excitement of the Christmas season, the jolly joy of Santa and his sleigh seem to overshadow other holidays. As a result, the holiday cheer stretches on way longer than necessary.
If you are someone who gets annoyed by Christmas music before and after the holidays, you may be on to something. Clinical psychologist Linda Blair says that listening to Christmas songs too early may harm your mental health. Due to all the Christmas music in retail stores, which usually starts in mid-October, the sound of sleigh bells tends to remind the customers of all the traveling, shopping and parties they need to put together for the holiday season — talk about stressful.
Blair also says people who work in retail and malls tend to have it worse when it comes to listening to Christmas music. Hearing those songs over and over again makes retail workers struggle to “tune it out” as they become “unable to focus on anything else. … [They’re] simply spending all of [their] energy trying not to hear what [they’re] hearing.” Unfortunately for them, Christmas music occasionally stretches until New Year’s. As a result, employees and shoppers must suffer through the cheerful music a few weeks more than needed.
If what Blair says is true, then it’s no wonder some people dread Christmas music before and after the holidays. It reminds us of the stresses of the holiday season, not the joys. After the stress of Christmas is over and Dec. 26 hits, many of us are more than glad to store away the old Christmas CDs and turn on anything but “The 12 Days of Christmas.” We’ve had enough, and we need to clear our system of all the eggnog, jingle bells and every word of “Frosty the Snowman.”
Christmas is a very special time of year and it should be treated with care and love. Overplaying cheerful music will ruin the spirit of Christmas and only add unnecessary stress to the season. When Christmas ends, so should the Christmas music.
So to all you Christmas music addicts out there, be mindful of others when you blast “Jingle Bells” from your speakers before, during and after Christmas.