The day after Thanksgiving ends, you can bet on hearing bubbly, festive Christmas music playing on the radio. While these cheery tunes often get a lot of flak for being involuntarily earworms, they are critical parts of our childhood that we have never forgotten. You can likely sing along even if you haven’t heard Christmas music since the previous year.
The songs often evoke feelings of community and youthful childhood idealization. As children, hearing the sounds of the music would make us imagine Santa Claus himself flying through the sky with Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. “Jolly Old St. Nicholas” by the band Chicago kept us up, dreaming of when Santa would arrive at our chimneys.
Often characterized by swinging, jazzy beats, Christmas music is typically accompanied by a plethora of sleigh bells in the background, reminiscent of the tingling snow falling outside. The music generally is in a major key with simple chord progressions. In other words, they are written like folk songs with winter lyrics and instrumentation. “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” by Coccole Sonore are perfect examples of an upbeat, snowy song.
However, exceptions like “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire” by Mel Tormé evoke the same cozy Christmas nostalgia without the constant jingling and fast-paced nature. Warm, smooth voices and fire crackling rhythmically in the background take us right into a warm room, exchanging gifts with family over cups of cocoa; they bring out the cozy-despite-cold joy many of us experienced growing up.
The timelessness of the holidays is truly revealed through its distinct, compelling music. Each tune uncovers the nostalgia we buried as children: leaving cookies for Santa and hanging ornaments on the tree. And even though we may cover our ears when the oh-so-familiar melodies ambush us in December, we can’t deny that the music is perfectly, magically, Christmas.
