Is November Too Early for Christmas Music?

By amazon Wednesday, November 20, 2019 Comment Edit

While most Christian radio stations still wait until after Thanksgiving, Spotify proves that most listeners are busting out their jingle bells earlier than that.

Weary of Christmas tunes freezing out fall celebrations? You’re not just imagining the jingle bells and carols coming earlier each year. Spotify reported that most places now start their surge in seasonal listening November 1.

In the United States, Christmas music makes up 2 percent of all songs streamed on the service by around November 12. And it’s not the earliest to break out the holiday hits.

That designation would go to the Philippines, heavily Catholic and among the most devotedly Christian nations on earth. The Pacific island chain starts its Christmas music as early as September 1, reaching 2 percent of its Spotify plays by October 9. One favorite is Jose Mari Chan’s song “Christmas In Our Hearts.”

Scandinavian countries, among the most secular in the world, are also early to the party. Iceland starts Christmas music around October 29, according to data reported from Spotify, with Denmark and Norway bringing the Christmas cheer by early November.

By December 1, 31 countries had passed the Christmas music threshold.

Spotify’s 2017 data shows that South American countries like Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil don’t start their Christmas music in earnest until Christmas Eve of Christmas Day, while little Liechtenstein ends on a high note: In the days leading up to Christmas 70 percent of music streamed in the country is holiday music, triple the global average.

Once the holiday music begins, listeners can expect one song to dominate: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” is the most-streamed Christmas song on the planet. (You have to go much further down the list to find a distinctly Christian Christmas song, with Pentatonix’s “Mary ...