Miranda Smith, Campus Carrier Sports Editor

Society has made it a necessary stance that Christmas music is not allowed to be played publicly until after Thanksgiving, and I am here to let people know that Christmas music is just like any other genre of music and should be allowed to be freely played.

Christmas music is usually played to signify that it’s the holiday season and is a primary method of how people express their feelings. It can be upsetting to people if it’s played before Thanksgiving, because it can give the idea that Thanksgiving is skipped over if people are already listening to Christmas music.

Christmas music also can cause upset is if it’s played as soon as the calendar hits October and it’s before Halloween. Halloween is another holiday and if Christmas music is listened to before yet another holiday, then the stigma of “holiday skipping” could be argued again.

I for one, enjoy listening to Christmas music all year round, because I associate the feelings and messages within the songs, and I just enjoy feeling it all in any moment. Whenever I hear Christmas music, I immediately go back into that mindset of when I was a little kid and get all excited and giddy all over again.

Christmas music shares themes throughout the holidays that I think should be appreciated all year around. I think people can forget the importance of the holiday in comparison to the unimportance behind the shopping and decorating.

Themes such as being home with family or children waiting for something exciting to happen, and believing in yourself or just anything good happening. Time with loved ones all cozied up by the fire are just some of many things that can be easily forgotten when stressed from shopping.

Religious themes such as worshipping God, giving what little we have, hoping the best for humanity, and peace on earth also aren’t always appreciated during the season when the holiday discounts and who can have the best decorations is mostly emphasized by society.

I don’t understand the societal stigma that the music can’t be publicly played until after Thanksgiving. It helped myself to be more thankful for the things that matter the most and helped have an even better and more meaningful understanding of Thanksgiving.

The two holidays emphasize traits such as gratitude, kindness, generosity, love, and friendship. If people are more concerned with the pilgrims or Native Americans not getting recognized and forgetting the real purposes of both the holidays, then what’s the point?

Christmas music is just another genre of music. Both holidays are becoming so commercialized and so specific to acceptable expressions, it can be hard to be acceptable of non-conformist expressions of something out of the norm.

There isn’t a designated season for Christmas music to be played, but it sure does emphasize the Christmas spirit during the holiday season. There is nothing wrong with getting excited or prepared for the holidays, because music isn’t exclusive to one season or one day.

I agree that Thanksgiving and Halloween are important and deserve the gratitude of the emphasis of each holiday, but there’s nothing wrong with listening to some good jams.