In the coming days and weeks, it will become impossible to go into a public place without hearing Christmas music.

For some, hearing “Jingle Bells” over the speakers while grocery shopping is annoying. But for others, like myself, the sounds of the holiday season are what make it so special and exciting.

No matter how early people start playing it, Christmas music is good.

It would be wrong to assume that everyone associates the holidays with happy memories; however, Christmastime is commonly referred to as “the most wonderful time of the year” thanks to the 1963 Andy Williams hit.

With age, the holidays seem to lose the sense of magic the season possessed when we were children.

Christmastime feels extremely nostalgic for this reason — some people continue to chase that magical feeling at the end of the year, while others just let December pass by like any other month.

I have a secret for you: the seasonal music is where that nostalgic childhood Christmas feeling can be found.

Whether listening to modern-day musicians cover Christmas classics and attempt to create their own holiday hits or to the original version of a Christmas song, the magic is in the music.

Christmas music spans practically every musical genre, from love ballads, religious hymns, rap songs, pop hits, rock ‘n’ roll and so many more. 

There is holiday music out there that everyone can enjoy, no matter the feelings surrounding the holiday itself. 

Music is always playing around us, whether we notice it or not, which remains true during the holidays. So many of my Christmas memories are accompanied by a specific carol, which makes me love those songs even more.

The songs that spun out of my Grandma’s record player as I visited for the holiday, the hymns I sang with my church and school choirs during Christmas concerts and the tracks that played in my favorite holiday movies and TV commercials all remind me of what Christmas means to me.

Sure, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You,” can get old after a few listens, but Christmas music is so much more than annoying songs for kids. It is powerful.

Malls and in-person shopping have become less common; yet, walking into a department store and hearing a holiday pop hit like “Last Christmas” by Wham! can arouse a sense of consumerism in me and make me reminisce about accompanying my mom on a Christmas shopping trip to the mall.

Some Christmas music evokes an emotional response. Hearing Bing Crosby sing “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” for the first time of the season as a freshman in college nearing the end of the first semester is enough to make a grown man, or maybe just me, cry. 

As the holiday season begins, it is the perfect time to reevaluate opinions on Christmas music. For those chasing that sense of childhood nostalgia, try curating a playlist of Christmas songs from that time in life. For those who may not have the happiest holiday memories to associate with Christmas music, now is the time to create new ones and explore the vast array of songs the holiday has to offer.

If you’re bored on a “Silent Night,” remember “Christmas Time is Here,” which means it’s a great time to listen to Christmas music. You might find yourself “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” and you’ll definitely “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”