By Akaash Kamdar

Walking out of the house with a cozy sweater or a warm sweatshirt on a regular November day, the crisp air marks the time for a beautiful season: the holiday season is upon us. A joyous time for many who wish to celebrate the successes of a year and welcome a new one, this time also marks the entrance of the nay-sayers who will come to mock individuals who come to seek happiness through the beautiful sounds of holiday music. I come to defend those who not only enjoy holiday music, but also those who just want to enjoy celebrations for more than just one month. 

It is safe to say that everyone may agree that the holiday season is indeed short. When witnessing the infinity of Christmas trees in neighborhoods and stores, it may feel like a while; however, the holiday season leaves in a heartbeat. The icy snowball of seasonal sadness then begins, as all the joyous times of the holidays have left to bring everyone back to reality. Now, we can all agree that listening to holiday music AFTER the holidays are over is a crime in its worst fashion. No one wants to hear “Jingle Bells” towards the end of January and if you do, we need to have a separate conversation. Then, why can we not have a light beginning to our holiday celebration in November to truly savor the meaning of the holiday season? We can cherish it for more than just one month before we are forced to relinquish the beautiful sounds for another 10 months of the year. 

“Holiday music” has built up enough clout throughout its years of existence that it has defined its own boundaries as an entire genre of music. That is unbelievable. Holiday music is not classified under one type of beat, as it can range from love ballads to heartbreak songs to originals to the old-time classics. If we, as a society, have loved a set of music so much to create an extensive genre of music, why would we prohibit ourselves to only listening to it for just above 8 percent of the entire year. 

Furthermore, the decision to play holiday music in November is not an attack on the beautiful celebration of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time for friends and family to come together to be thankful and celebrate what we have. There is no chance that anyone would take away anything from Thanksgiving in this argument. It is true, though, that there is a severe lack of relevant Thanksgiving music that could rival the holiday music vibes. Thus, the introduction of holiday music in November would have no adverse effect on the meaning of Thanksgiving.

Now I understand that some may be worried that overplaying of holiday music may ruin the December vibes. Sure, there are some radio stations that may already play holiday music and stores that are jamming Mariah Carey in the clothing section. If this is not your vibe, then don’t listen to the radio station and block out the store tunes! Holiday music is beautiful in the sense that not everyone must be subjected to its tasteful amount of music is enough to provide the perfect introduction to the holiday season. 

So when I turn on my car or earbuds and bump to holiday jams, ranging from Justin Bieber to Bing Crosby, I know that there’s no need to stop myself from hearing the holiday bangers regardless of the fact that it’s November. In fact, one should never feel the need to stop themselves because everyone is completely valid for listening to some of the best created music that can bring a smile at any moment.

By Kendall Peterson

Hey you, turn your holiday music down! Let’s take a minute to remember that Thanksgiving is in less than a week, so maybe take a break from blasting that holiday music, and read this.

There are so many reasons not to listen to holiday music before Thanksgiving. 

First, and most obviously, by the time you actually get into the holiday season, you’re sick of listening to “Jingle Bells” and “Frosty the Snowman.” 

When all the stores and restaurants start blasting those classic holiday songs after Thanksgiving and your whole family is singing Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas,” you’ll not be as willing to join in or enjoy because it is not as special and you do not feel as much in the holiday spirit because you’ve been in it for so long.

It makes the holidays so much more fun when you wait until the right time to celebrate them because it gives you a chance to anticipate and build that excitement for them. Starting to listen to holiday music in October or earlier gets old and you lose that sense of exhilaration.

The essence of the holidays and the winter season in general is so important, but it doesn’t start until after Thanksgiving. That’s why if you continuously listen to holiday music, you haven’t focused on getting excited for Thanksgiving and the music has become too usual for the holiday mood.

Don’t get me wrong, holiday music slaps and I’m all for it, but there’s a time and a place for everything, because what’s the point of having other holidays when we don’t even pay attention to them?

Thanksgiving deserves some respect even though it doesn’t have music that goes with it because without it, Charlie Brown would be way less popular, and it has the best food out of all of the holidays.

Each holiday has its own elements that make it unique: Christmas has music and Thanksgiving has quality food. Even Easter has bunnies and eggs. It is important to try to respect each holiday’s special gifts in order to get the most out of it.

It is so much better to wait to do the different things that celebrate holidays because you’ll get to celebrate with everyone else too. You won’t have to listen to holiday music in your car alone!

All I’m saying is that there is no need to start celebrating a holiday early (preparations do not count) because there’s going to be time to celebrate it, why be excessive?

There will be plenty of time to listen to holiday music, so maybe start listening to the tune of Thanksgiving food.