Kellen Ott, contributor

Halloween has passed. It’s no longer the season of pumpkins and candy corn. No, the clock struck midnight on Oct. 31, and the spirit of Saint Nicholas got his chokehold over the speakers of retail stores. For the next two months, you’d better believe you’ll be hearing songs of holiday cheer. The same songs. Over and over. 

I recently got my first retail job, starting the week just before Halloween. I found the Halloween mix they played adorable and fun. A Halloween song played every so often, helping to create a festive atmosphere. I worked the night of Halloween and the day after, so I can tell you that not even 24 hours passed before Christmas music was playing through those speakers, quite literally every other song. I’m already tired of the music after only a few shifts, and I have about 2 months of it left to go. The transition from the joys of autumn into the holidays moves way too fast. I get whiplash from hearing “Thriller” one day and then “All I Want For Christmas is You” the next. Starting the music so early just builds resentment.

I celebrate Christmas and enjoy the music; I think it’s a wonderful way to get into the season. I’ve learned plenty of carols from my time in the high school choir. Personally, I adore “Carol of the Bells.” However, current Christmas music is mostly just remixes or covers of classic songs that attempt to sound modern. I’ll tell you, this attempt to make old songs sound modern without much revision of the songs themselves falls flat. One song I’ve had to hear countless times at work is this horrible remix of “Santa Baby” that drives me nuts; even calling it a remix is being generous. 

Now, call me woke, but I get tired of hearing only Christmas songs. Many holidays take place around the same time as Christmas, such as Kwanzaa and Diwali, but you never hear songs for them. Among the carols I learned in high school, only one was about Hanukkah, and the rest were Christmas songs. That being said, “Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah” was a favorite among my choir, and I still catch myself humming the tune. Variety would honestly be really nice to hear; it’s also more fun to get a glimpse of cheer for other holidays at a time when people should be coming together. There needs to be some intersection of the holidays so people of all backgrounds can come together at such a wonderful time of the year.

Now, obviously, listen to all the Christmas songs you want. I think that an individual can choose whenever they want to start getting into the holiday cheer, but stores and public spaces should wait until December before playing the music. Because some of us don’t want to start our holiday cheer the moment October ends. I’d hate to be sick of Christmas music by the time the holiday actually comes around; thankfully, I won’t be sick of my favorite Christmas songs, as they don’t play on the radio or in stores. Every year, “A Muppets Christmas Carol” is safe and an absolute pleasure to watch.