Snow falls on the windshield glass on the way to school in the morning. The hustle and bustle of people going to work early slow down traffic more than usual. The lane comes to a full stop, and the driver decides to entertain themselves with music on the radio. The second their hand makes contact with the button, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You,” comes on full blast. Holiday cheer traps them once again.

Holiday music surrounds everyday life during the month of December. The joyous tone brightens the days of many, but that one song comes back for vengeance. Whether the popularity, meaning or sound cause the dislike.

One reason for the humbug spirit toward holiday songs stems from how often a person hears the song. Even though holiday music gets played exceptionally during a certain time of the year, it doesn’t exclude them from annoying listeners with the frequency. Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas” is loved by many, but also despised because “it’s played too often and it gets annoying after a while,” said junior Bryce Breen. This trend occurs in ordinary music. “That’s what happened to the song “Happy” [by Pharrel Williams]. It wasn’t horrible, but I hate it now that I have heard it so many times,” added Breen.

Deeper listeners of merry music may find that the lyrics are the source of their dislike. Some songs scared students as kids. “If you’re nice this will decide if you get a present or not. And I understand that is meant to be good, but it traumatized me as a kid because, like, I don’t want Santa Claus to come to my house,” said senior Poonam Morgan about a song titled “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” 

Other songs have become outdated over the years. “I think it was written a while ago and that maybe we should do some lyric changes or stop singing it because it’s a little much,” said junior Alice Jerome about a song titled “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” They acknowledged many consider this a classic, but this shouldn’t stop the song from being judged fairly in a modern-day setting, Jerome added.

The sound itself in the songs can make or break the holiday season. Songs with more high-pitched voices and child-geared audiences can ruin the song. For example, The Chipmunk’s “Christmas Don’t Be Late,” is seen as for little kids and just isn’t appealing to an older generation, said senior Will Nelson. 

Some people have an adverse reaction to an otherwise good song being sung. “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas,” in junior Robin Yost’s opinion, “Sounds whiny the whole time. She sounds like she’s two years old.” However, if the song was sung by Katy Perry, the song would much improve, added Yost. 

In any case, inescapable holiday music can make or break holiday cheer. Many factors go into why people may like or dislike songs. Holiday cheer will continue to grow until the holiday season ends and the music retires in time for another December to roll around again.