The Great Christmas Music Debate: How Early Is Too Early?
A new study suggests people start searching for merry tunes to add to their playlists sooner than you may think.
To be clear, I do not wish for fall to pass any faster than it already does. I’m a fall lover through and through — give me all the pumpkin spice lattes, spooky lore, and leaf-peeping. But here’s my confession (or maybe betrayal?): I’m an utter sucker for Christmas music. And as you’re probably aware, it’s a contentious topic this time of year. How early is too early? When does Christmas music start playing on the radio? Well, according to a new study, it’s probably a lot sooner than you think... despite what may be considered socially acceptable.
FreeSpinsTracker pored over Google search data about Christmas music, and the exact dates Americans start searching for yuletide songs is enlightening. Data shows that U.S. searches for “Christmas songs” start to climb in earnest at the same time every year, Sept. 17 to Sept. 23, soaring upward through October and November before peaking from Dec. 17 - Dec. 25.
In other words, the very merry jingle jangle has already begun, baby.
“There’s always a debate among friends and families as to when is the right time to start playing Christmas songs, so it’s interesting to see that searches start to increase from the mid to end of September,” a spokesperson from FreeSpinsTracker said of the findings. “Usually, we hear radio stations begin to play festive songs from the beginning of December; however, as Americans are beginning to search for songs months before, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear Michael Bublé a bit earlier this year.”
Not surprisingly, searches for “Mariah Carey” also skyrocket around this time of year, really picking up momentum the last week of October.
If you’re ready to go ahead and fire up that holiday playlist and are wondering what everyone else is listening to, look no further — here are the top 10 most played Christmas songs, according to Newsweek:
- “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby
- “Silent Night” by Bing Crosby
- “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey (I mean, right?)
- “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry tied with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid
- “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber
- “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” by Kristen Bell from Frozen
- “Christmas Eve” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- “Mary, Did You Know” by Pentatonix
- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee
- “Blue Christmas/Santa Claus is Back in Town” by Elvis Presley
Search data be damned, though, many people refuse to even entertain the thought of Christmas music until at least after Halloween has passed. According to Stylist, 64% of people polled on the subject believe you should wait until Dec. 1 to cue up the Christmas playlist. Then again, in a poll performed by Bustle, only 9% of respondents thought you should wait until Dec. 1. The larger majority of poll-ees (52%) stated that any time “after Thanksgiving” makes sense.
Then there are the people like me, who honesty feel like everyone deserves whatever little bit of joy they can find in the rolling garbage fire we call reality. Before you tear me to teensy, tiny, holiday-tinsel-sized shreds, just know I don’t actively pursue Christmas music this early — but if it happens to find me, I’m not turning it off. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Considering searches for Christmas music don’t plummet until Jan. 2, I’m clearly not alone in holding on until the last possible minute to let the holiday spirit fade into the static.
