Each year, Christmas music seems to be played earlier than before. On the first of November, it feels like Halloween is brushed aside to make room for Christmas festivities to take its place. Is nothing sacred anymore? 

I love Christmas as much as the next person, but it feels as though celebrating the season so early takes away from the special holiday season. I’m typically the kind of person to take the holidays as they come, kicking off my own Christmas festivities after Thanksgiving is over.

Besides, there’s no form of torture quite like hearing the same few Christmas songs on loop at work for two months straight. In fact, listening to Christmas songs too much can take away your focus from anything else, so refrain from putting on your holiday playlist while doing any schoolwork (and try to change the music station at work if you can). 

Retail workers are likely to become irritable and worn down by constant Christmas music and have trouble tuning it out. To combat this annoyance and decrease in morale, a shop in England has gone as far as to ban “cheesy” Christmas music so as to not ruin Christmas for their workers. They decided to stick with the pre-1960s holiday tunes instead. Best Buy might be the worst offender, subjecting its employees and customers to this Christmas cheer as early as mid-to-late October. 

According to clinical psychologist Linda Blair, Christmas music can spark holiday-related anxiety, be it stress over buying gifts or visiting with family members you might not get along with. However, on the flipside, holiday tunes can give the listener a sense of nostalgia. It reminds people of their childhoods and simpler times. It can spark happy memories of family fun and togetherness. 

My personal opinion is to save the Christmas jams for Dec. 1, or at least after Thanksgiving. This might make me a grinch of sorts, but my idea is to preserve my love for Christmas and to enjoy the holiday season. This is made possible by not drowning myself in Christmas at midnight on Nov. 1. 

When it comes to Christmas music, I’m not a total hater. I do enjoy a good bit of holiday cheer.

Some notable classic Christmas albums include White Christmas by Bing Crosby, A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra.

In addition to those albums, who could forget the essential Christmas songs like “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey and what might be my personal favorite, Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band?

The festive season is approaching, and it is nearly time to celebrate and partake in holiday festivities—just remember to celebrate responsibly. Not everyone is down to listen to Christmas music before Halloween.