Soon the halls will be decked and carolers will sing their favorite Christmas songs.
Dixie Sun News polled 100 Dixie State College students about the right time to start playing Christmas music. The majority of students prefer to begin after Thanksgiving.
For 16 students, anytime of the year is the perfect moment to begin listening to the festive tunes. Five students prefer waiting until after Halloween, once the seasons have turned, to break out the classic holiday music.
Seventy-two out of 100 students polled believed Christmas music should be played after Thanksgiving.
“I feel like having it played before Thanksgiving overlooks the holiday of Thanksgiving,” said Caprice Christensen, a junior biology major from Enterprise. “I think that’s a time to gather around with family and focus on what you’re thankful for more than looking past it and hoping and dreaming about what you’re going to get [for Christmas].”
Some students said they believe the holidays should each be celebrated separately.
“Don’t start a holiday until it’s past,” said Tracy Anderson, a junior art major from Sandy. “It’s like cutting in line. Wait your turn, Christmas. We will love you when you get here.”
Other students are more conflicted about when Christmas music should start.
“Part of me likes it all year while another part of me can get really annoyed by it starting before Thanksgiving,” said John Nelson, a sophomore physical science major from St. George. “I like that kind of music – I’m a big fan of music – I like all music really, but when I hear too much of one kind of music I get really bored with it.”
The weather plays a major role for some students about when it comes to the right time to begin. They prefer to play Christmas music in autumn, right after Halloween.
“I don’t play it in, like, July,” said Raegen Campbell, a junior elementary education major from Salem. “It doesn’t feel right. As soon as the weather gets kind of colder, I like to play it.”
Those who greatly enjoy Christmas music believe anytime of year is the right time to begin playing it.
“I think Christmas music should be played all year,” said Allyson Harris, a freshman music major from Delta. “Then you’re always in the mood for Christmas, so then Christmas doesn’t sneak up on you.”
Others appreciate the festive feelings Christmas music creates.
“Well, Christmas music just makes me feel good,” said Sears Gallery Art Curator Kathy Cieslewicz. “It makes me feel like I’m in the spirit of the holidays, and it sets that time of the year apart from the rest of the year. And I even think about who wrote the songs and arranged them, all the artistic background that went into that, the talent, the time, the inspiration. It creates a visual picture in my mind.”
It creates the feeling of the season of giving for some.
“I think it has a lot to do with the feeling,” said Timothy Francis, assistant professor of music.“One of the things that sets Christmas apart from other holidays is that it has a special feeling, and that feeling is part of what stimulates so many people to do so much more to help those around them. Music can help instill those feelings in us and stimulate us to do more good during that time of the year than we normally would.”
There is a diverse mix of Christmas music enjoyed on Dixie State College campus. Students enjoy tunes from “I Want Hippopotamus for Christmas,” “Merry Christmas Baby,” “Blue Christmas,” and “All I Want for Christmas is You,” to classics such as “Silent Night,” “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song,” and “Christmas in the Trenches.”
“Christmas in the Trenches” is a song commemorating the true event of the 1914 WWI ceasefire. The English and the Germans were fighting trench warfare in the fields of France on Christmas Eve when the Germans began to sing “Silent Night.” The British joined in and harmonized in the night air. This caused a ceasefire to be called in some locations for the soldiers to celebrate Christmas.
“It’s a gorgeous story,” said Matt Russell, a senior theater major from Las Vegas. “It’s my favorite. And the song is absolutely beautiful. It’s one of the best Christmas stories ever.”
