Which activities do you look forward to during the holiday season? Putting up decorations? Watching movies? Building gingerbread houses?
What about listening to Christmas music? Are you the type of person who can’t wait to turn on your holiday playlist each year? Or would you be happy if you never heard a Christmas song again?
In “Why You Love (or Love to Hate) Christmas Music,” Derrick Bryson Taylor writes about why the genre can inspire such strong reactions in us:
It’s been a little over one year since the Backstreet Boys released their Christmas album, “A Very Backstreet Christmas,” and Francine Biondo has had it on repeat ever since.
To be fair, Ms. Biondo, 39, a child care provider in Ontario, Canada, is a fan of Nick Carter and maybe even a bigger fan of Christmas music. The Christmas season was in full swing for her by mid-November, with plans to decorate a tree. Although she typically begins listening to holiday music after Halloween, she is known to sprinkle in a little Christmas cheer during the summer.
“It just puts me in a happy, feel-good mood,” she said by phone of songs like Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” adding that they invoked happy memories of her childhood.
For Ms. Biondo, the songs do more than get her into the holiday spirit, they also boost her productivity. “To be honest, I need music to just get me through the day,” she said. “I need music when I’m cleaning the house and just doing the daily things, it kind of helps motivate me. Christmas music, especially around that time of year, it just more fun.”
She might be on to something.
Daniel Levitin, an author and musician in Los Angeles and a professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at McGill University in Montreal, said research has shown that most people in Western countries use music to self-soothe. “They know that there are certain kinds of music that will put them in a good mood,” he said. “Christmas music is a reliable one for a lot of people.”
But, Mr. Taylor writes, Christmas music doesn’t evoke good feelings in everyone:
Conversely, if negative memories and feelings are associated with Christmas, the same songs could cause the brain to release cortisol, the stress hormone that increases the heart rate, and trigger the amygdala, the brain’s fear center. “There are a lot of people who, when Christmas time comes around, they just want to run home and put their head under the covers and wait it all out,” Mr. Levitin said.
Christmas music, like all forms of music, is powerful. But this genre is perhaps more potent than other forms of music because the holiday season itself is emotionally charged. It represents the ideals that most humans strive for like equality, tolerance, love and tranquillity. “For some of us, that’s an inspiring message,” Mr. Levitin said. “For others of us, it just draws in stark relief how far we are from achieving that.”
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
How do you feel about Christmas music? When you hear “Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night” and other seasonal songs, do you feel warmth and happiness? Dread and frustration? Or something else?
Do you have a favorite — or least favorite — holiday song? Why?
One person interviewed for this story said that the song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” always makes her think of her grandmother. Do you have positive — or negative — memories associated with certain holiday songs? If so, tell us about one.
If you don’t celebrate Christmas, do any other holidays you celebrate have music associated with them? What feelings and memories do those songs bring up for you?
Ms. Biondo, a lover of Christmas music said, “To be honest, I need music to just get me through the day.” Do you feel that way about music? Why do you think that it can evoke such strong emotions in us?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
