There are some people who believe playing Christmas music any time except the holidays is criminal. But I ask — what’s really so bad about it? Is it wrong to eat candy when it’s not Halloween, or receive gifts when it’s not the holidays?
Christmas music is the same. It may be a hallmark of the Christmas season, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it any time of the year. In fact, restricting the playing of any music to a particular season defeats the purpose of music in the first place, which is to evoke a variety of emotions that captures whatever you’re feeling during a certain moment.
If I’m feeling classical, I’ll turn on some Beethoven. If I feel like making my ears bleed, I’ll play “Thick of it.” And if I feel like hearing someone scream “5 golden rings” at the top of their lungs, I’ll play Christmas music.
The best thing about music is the diversity and freedom it offers. Each song uniquely brings out a certain feeling, and it’s best to have the freedom to experience whatever musical feeling you want. So if you’re feeling Christmas-y feeling during the summer, there’s nothing wrong with vibing to some “Frosty the Snowman.”
All this is not to discredit playing Christmas music during the holidays. It’s true that doing so may enhance how we appreciate the music, but the important thing is that playing it anytime throughout the year in no way detracts from the music itself.
Listening to Christmas music outside of the Christmas season doesn’t foil some grand plan of generating holiday spirit. It doesn’t completely change the effect of the music. It’s simply a way of scratching that Christmas itch when there’s still a couple months until the holidays.
In the end, this is what music is all about. There’s no fixed schedule or season for enjoying a certain song — you listen to a song when you’re in the mood, and sometimes, that mood requires playing some Mariah Carey in July.
