The great Christmas music debate: How soon is too soon to listen to Christmas music?

If you stroll into a department store as the leaves fall and temperatures drop, the chances are not zero that you’ll hear Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” blast through the speakers.

Now that spooky season has passed over, is it time for yuletide carols?

That’s the subject of a great debate. Jolly tunes like “Jingle Bells,” “The Little Drummer Boy” and “Last Christmas” will soon make it onto the radio waves. In fact, some stations have already decided to deck their playlists to spread holiday cheer.

Not everyone thinks Halloween should demarcate the start to the Christmas music listening season. A survey from Bustle found that the majority of respondents think Thanksgiving should mark the beginning of when it’s acceptable to listen to holiday tunes.

Music and podcast streaming service Spotify tracked when listeners start to holiday jams. In the U.S., Spotify said Christmas music spikes around Nov. 13, but worldwide, it’s a little sooner: Nov. 1.

So, the general consensus seems to be that after Halloween and maybe a couple weeks before Thanksgiving is when it’s alright to listen to the bells jingle.

It’s worth noting that other surveys put the acceptable date to start listening to Christmas music even higher. According to a survey conducted by Stylist, 64% of respondents think it’s better to wait until Dec. 1 to start listening to Christmas music.

BBC Radio 6 Music presenter Chris Hawkins told BBC that he waits until after Dec. 1 because he’s noticed a trend of stores starting to play songs earlier.

But some don’t wait until after Thanksgiving to get the festivities rolling.

“For me, the Christmas season starts whenever you want it to, whether it’s in October or the Friday after Thanksgiving,” Connor Youngberg wrote for The Quinnipiac Chronicle. “That’s right, I will blast Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé and watch seasonal classics like “Polar Express,” “Home Alone” and “Christmas Vacation” on my TV from early November through late December.”

Count me as one of the early listeners.

From “Angels We Have Heard On High” to “O Holy Night,” “Fa La La” to “Underneath the Tree” and the other songs ranging from poppy to majestic there’s just too many good Christmas songs for me not to start early to savor each one.

The wide range of holiday music from the classics like “Jingle Bells” to hymns “O Come All Ye Faithful” to pop songs “All I Want for Christmas is You” to country “Christmas Must Be Something More” makes the world of Christmas music rather large.

Some songs do get more play than others.

What is the most played Christmas song?

According to Newsweek, here are the top 10 most-played Christmas songs.

1. “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby.

2. “Silent Night” by Bing Crosby.

3. “All I Want For Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.

4. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by Gene Autry tied with “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid.

5. “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber.

6. “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” by Kristen Bell.

7. “Christmas Eve” by Trans-Siberian Orchestra.

8. “Mary, Did You Know” by Pentatonix.

9. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee.

10. “Blue Christmas/Santa Claus is Back in Town” by Elvis Presley.

What is the best-selling Christmas song of all time?

The best-selling Christmas song of all time is “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby. It’s sold more than 100 million records, according to Guinness World Records.

What were the most popular Christmas songs in 2022?

Here are the Christmas songs that were most likely to be included on Spotify playlists, according to Statista.

1. “Christmas Tree” by V.

2. “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey.

3. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé.

4. “Last Christmas” by Wham!

5. “Sweet Night” by V.

6. “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson.

7. “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande.

8. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams.

9. “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon.

10. “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé.

What are the best Christmas albums?

Here are the top five Christmas albums from Rolling Stone’s list.

1. “A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector” by Phil Spector, Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and The Crystals.

2. “‘Elvis’ Christmas Album” by Elvis Presley.

3. “James Brown’s Funky Christmas” by James Brown.

4. “A Charlie Brown Christmas” by Vince Guaraldi Trio.

5. “A Motown Christmas” by Miracles, Supremes, Jacksons, Marvin Gaye, Temptations and Stevie Wonder.

Entertainment Weekly also ranked Christmas albums. Here’s the top five.

1. “A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra” by Frank Sinatra.

2. “Elvis’ Christmas Album” by Elvis Presley.

3. “The Magic of Christmas” by Nat King Cole.

4. “Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas” by Ella Fitzgerald.

5. “A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector” by Phil Spector, Darlene Love, The Ronettes, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans and The Crystals.

Here are 10 other Christmas albums I think are worth mentioning:

1. “Christmas” by The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.

2. “My Christmas” by Andrea Bocelli.

3. “That’s Christmas to Me” by Pentatonix.

4. “8 Days of Christmas” by Destiny’s Child.

5. “The Christmas Album” by Neil Diamond.

6. “No?l” by Josh Groban.

7. “Christmas” by Michael Bublé.

8. “Sounds of the Season” by Taylor Swift.

9. “Christmas Interpretations” by Boyz II Men.

10. “James Taylor at Christmas” by James Taylor.