The holidays lead to countless pleasant things like family coming together, grand meals, festivities, classic films and positive feelings. For some, holiday music is not so pleasant. Music is surrounded by much more controversy than normal around this time and many people harbor strong opinions about when it is appropriate to start playing it.

“It’s fine before Christmas, but not [before] Thanksgiving,” sophomore Natalie Clayton said. “I feel like that’s a little obsessive.”

Sophomores Bess Carr, Rachael Casper and Ally Chase feel similarly, coming to a consensus on how they feel about people who choose to listen to the music too soon. 

“My sister plays Christmas music this early, it’s kind of annoying, I don’t understand why people play Christmas music this early,” Chase said. “Sometimes we don’t even bring out our Christmas tree until the 23rd [of December].”

Although people generally tend to agree on acceptable timing and might disapprove if holiday music is played out of season, they don’t necessarily believe the music is bad. 

“I wouldn’t say I hate any Christmas songs, they’re all okay,” sophomore Matthew Pollock said. “I’d just say I prefer the classic Christmas songs by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.”

Even without having heard any Mariah Carey yet this year, sophomore Sam Testerman reveals that Mariah Carey’s presence has managed to reach social media in the form of memes. While he’s not a big fan of her music, he does appreciate the music that his dad puts on at home.

“I tend to like all the older Christmas songs,” Testerman said. “Like the Frank Sinatra ones and all the ones from the old movies.”

Some other crowd-favorite classics include Jingle Bell Rock, Father Christmas, Last Christmas and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. But it’s best not to openly play or admit to playing any of these songs until long after Halloween and even until after Thanksgiving just to be safe.

“It’s fine [to play Christmas music] when December starts,” Elder said. “Stop playing Christmas music in November.”