By George Schroeder | LTVN Executive Producer
If you are one of the over 32 million people who, since Nov. 1, has watched Mariah Carey transform from a witch into one of the most recognizable Christmas outfits of all time, then you in fact know “it’s time.”
Christmas music begins the day after Halloween.
The start of November not only ushers in the Christmas spirit but also brings up a debate as old as time: When can our ears be blessed with the sweet, sweet melodies of Christmas cheer? All the haters who say “not until after Thanksgiving” will be sad to know Mariah Carey is right — with one exception.
Before we get into what that exception is, why is Nov. 1 the appropriate start date?
For those who claim starting Christmas music “early” makes Thanksgiving obsolete, you’re wrong. Let’s be honest, Thanksgiving and Christmas run together. This is simply a recognition that, as you eagerly await a break from school for Thanksgiving, you are beginning to feel the Christmas spirit.
Pushing the beginning of Christmas music to before Thanksgiving is also important because Christmas music ends at midnight on Dec. 31, and that is not negotiable. If you disagree with that, you deserve to be blacklisted by Santa Claus.
Because of the hard deadline for the end of Christmas music each year, there is no reason to limit the start date to some arbitrary time after Thanksgiving, especially when the Christmas spirit aligns so closely with the values of turkey day.
If you’re in the Christmas spirit for Thanksgiving, you’re doing something right. Keeping things calm and bright while you tell your family what you’re thankful for is never a bad move.
Here’s the other issue with those who would dare delay the world’s Christmas cheer: Advertisers do not care when you want to start Christmas. You hear the same jokes year-round. Each December, “here goes Walmart putting up their Fourth of July decorations.”
While they obviously aren’t putting up merchandise for America’s birthday in December, we all know holidays start very early in our culture of consumerism; all jokes aside, I’m sure Walmart is gearing up for Valentine’s Day right now. If Christmas starts as early as Nov. 1 for your favorite department store, then you shouldn’t be restricted to holding off the holly jolly tunes until late November.
So, I said there was one exception to starting Christmas music on the first day of November. Just because you should be allowed to do something doesn’t mean you should actually do it. This is Texas. We’re still dipping into the low 80s, and it’s literally November. If it’s 82 degrees and sunny outside, no one has any business queuing up the Christmas spirit.
I love Michael Buble’s Christmas album more than you do (I promise), but there is no part of me that wants to sing along in my truck as I wear a T-shirt with rays of sun warming my car. If it’s borderline hot and sunny, you shouldn’t be roasting chestnuts with Nat King Cole.
That being said, if you find me on a grey day after Oct. 31 and I have my AirPods in, there’s a great chance I’m walking in a winter wonderland — and that’s exactly how things should be.
