Racking billions of streams, songs like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” are often heard during the winter season. This holiday music can set the scene for traditions, activities and other seasonal events in the winter.
Songs focusing on common traditions or referencing famous holiday figures such as Santa Claus or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer inspire memories from childhood experiences. According to the National Library of Medicine, listening to nostalgic music activates brain areas linked to memory and reward.
“I think it’s nostalgia,” choir teacher Evan Ayars said. “It makes me feel, you know, like the time of year and it gets me into the spirit of the season.”
Non-lyrical music also appears during the holiday season. For example, The Nutcracker Suite’s, “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” is an instrumental piece.
“I tend to like the ones with lyrics,” senior Mika Omtri said. “They often describe scenes of the holidays, which I like visualising as I listen to them.”
Some people enjoy older Christmas music from the 1950s and ‘60s, such as”‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, “A Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives and “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helmes.
“I feel like the older songs are more original and unique,” freshman Nikita Ramakrishnan said. “I specifically like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer [because] it’s a very fun, festive song, and I like that it has some humor to go with it”
(Fatima Dafaalla)
Music can vary across multiple holidays including Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, with songs like Teddy Pendergrass’s “Happy Kwanzaa” and Erran Baron Cohen’s rendition of “Hannukah, Oh Hannukah.” Songs about Kwanzaa focus on the seven principles of the holiday: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity and faith. Songs that center around Hanukkah often explore miracles of the holiday and the rededication of the Temple.
“I enjoy listening to pop Christmas albums, nostalgic/classic Christmas albums, and winter jazz,” Omtri said. “It puts me in the mood for the season and really matches the atmosphere. They give me a really homey and cozy feeling when I play them.”
