During Christmas/the holidays, people like listening to the music made for it, but what if you could listen to songs, that aren't actually made for Christmas? Is it a thing? find out -- Domino H.C, 7th grade
Christmas (and a slew of other winter holidays like Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, the Winter Solstice, etc) is coming up in less than a month. And obviously when celebrating Christmas (if you do), you might want to listen to Christmas music, since it's so important to the culture. Also, Christmas music has been a thing for CENTURIES, and can liven up the mood when participating in Christmas festivities.
“When I’m decorating the Christmas tree, my parents like to put on Christmas music. It enhances the mood, and makes the experience more enjoyable” says Lilah Aparton, a 7th grader in Literary Arts when asked about the importance of Christmas music.
But really, what on Earth is Christmas music? Does it have to be about Christmas, or remind you of the joyous holiday?
Well, most would argue “no”, a song doesn't even have to reference Christmas directly to transmit holiday cheer to your heart and soul. So what makes a Christmas song?
Most people agree that if a song mentions aspects of Christmas, like the snow, or if there's bells in the background, that’s what qualifies it as a Christmas song, like for example, Frosti by Bjork, an experimental but festive tune, which has plenty of chimes and bells that bring the spirit of Christmas to the song in a slightly eerie and melancholic way. The song is slightly reminiscent of a mellow and passive Christmas song you would hear during an emotional event, and as said before, bells and chimes are what people find most reminiscent of Christmas in a song.
Some could argue, however, that it's sometimes purely a vibe. Take, for example, “Diamonds and Pearls” by Prince, and The New Power Generation. There's bells, festive musical themes, and synth sounds, even the twinkling sound at the beginning but… No mention of Christmas, at all. The lyrics do mention, of course: diamonds and pearls, which are light colored and shiny jewels, which may remind some of the holidays. And with the mentioning of gift giving (the jewels), you could also relate that to Christmas, as the lyrics and music is quite jolly.
But some can argue that to give the Christmas feel, you must mention the holiday at least once. When asked what classifies a song as a Christmas song Alice Stewart, a 6th grader, in the Literary Arts pathway at OSA says, “I’ve got to say there isn’t really an instrumental thing for me, but usually for me [....] a mentioning of Christmas trees or Christmas, but I don’t like the bells.”
“There's a Pretenders song, “Two Thousand Miles” that is on their greatest hits, and it’s not a prescribed Christmas song, but it really sounds Christmas-y, and some of the lyrics are kind of about going home and missing your family,.” Essays Karnes on The Pretenders song, one of the two—amazing MS Literary Arts teachers at OSA.
This can be quite true especially for songs like Joni Mitchell’s “River” and “Two Thousand Miles” by the Pretenders: both songs making a slight remark on Christmas, even if only once. Some songs even mock Christmas or people celebrating the holidays.
Take “Not Quite Almost Christmas Time” by Tom Cardy, a recommendation from Stewart, who says the song's contents are focused around people celebrating Christmas time, in a month other than December. Stewart says, “A song I listen to also is called: ‘Not Quite Almost Christmas Time’ which is sort of not about Christmas, it's about how people think it's Christmas time, even though it's November.”
You could also consider the Sparks song, “Thank God It's Not Christmas,” off of their album Kimono My House (it's a fantastic album guys, listen to it), with lyrics like “Thank God it's not Christmas / when there is only you / and nothing else to do” this song does mention the holiday, but listening to the lyrics, you could find that the song reflects more on loneliness and pessimism, and uses the joy of Christmas to exude these feelings, by making the song depressing, lyric-wise.
Another example of a song that mentions certain aspects of Christmas (ex: the cold, snow, gift giving, missing people, shiny objects, etc), is Walk Out to Winter, by Aztec Camera. The song of course mentions the winter, but also highlights the slightly African Soukous inspired guitar. Soukous is a style of music originating in Congo, which is known for being incredibly joyous, and I think that's what makes the song remind your of Christmas, how happy or festive sounding a certain instrument is, the guitar is ring-y and quick paced, so it may remind you of fast bells that you’d find in an actual Christmas song.
Walk Out To Winter, is about transitioning to the winter season, which is reminiscent of Christmas songs that talk about shifting into Christmas time. The lyrics mention going through summer, and fall, and bittersweet lyrics.
And so, with all being said, It's quite clear that non-Christmas Christmas songs definitely exist, but there usually has to be either an instrumental factor or a lyrical reminder of the holidays for the song. And listening to music during the holidays that's not exactly focused on Christmas is rewarding, since you can still enjoy songs that normally people wouldn’t listen to during Christmas. You can also even exchange songs with a friend that remind you of the holidays, since they aren’t textbook Christmas songs.
For example, your friend could say you should listen to Taylor Swift for Christmas, but you give them a 10cc song they should listen to. But anyways, what makes a non-Christmas Christmas song a thing is quite objective and unknown, so here's a link to a playlist with songs that Domino H.C. and interviewees have linked to Christmas despite, not actually being about Christmas: :D
“When I’m decorating the Christmas tree, my parents like to put on Christmas music. It enhances the mood, and makes the experience more enjoyable” says Lilah Aparton, a 7th grader in Literary Arts when asked about the importance of Christmas music.
But really, what on Earth is Christmas music? Does it have to be about Christmas, or remind you of the joyous holiday?
Well, most would argue “no”, a song doesn't even have to reference Christmas directly to transmit holiday cheer to your heart and soul. So what makes a Christmas song?
Most people agree that if a song mentions aspects of Christmas, like the snow, or if there's bells in the background, that’s what qualifies it as a Christmas song, like for example, Frosti by Bjork, an experimental but festive tune, which has plenty of chimes and bells that bring the spirit of Christmas to the song in a slightly eerie and melancholic way. The song is slightly reminiscent of a mellow and passive Christmas song you would hear during an emotional event, and as said before, bells and chimes are what people find most reminiscent of Christmas in a song.
Some could argue, however, that it's sometimes purely a vibe. Take, for example, “Diamonds and Pearls” by Prince, and The New Power Generation. There's bells, festive musical themes, and synth sounds, even the twinkling sound at the beginning but… No mention of Christmas, at all. The lyrics do mention, of course: diamonds and pearls, which are light colored and shiny jewels, which may remind some of the holidays. And with the mentioning of gift giving (the jewels), you could also relate that to Christmas, as the lyrics and music is quite jolly.
But some can argue that to give the Christmas feel, you must mention the holiday at least once. When asked what classifies a song as a Christmas song Alice Stewart, a 6th grader, in the Literary Arts pathway at OSA says, “I’ve got to say there isn’t really an instrumental thing for me, but usually for me [....] a mentioning of Christmas trees or Christmas, but I don’t like the bells.”
“There's a Pretenders song, “Two Thousand Miles” that is on their greatest hits, and it’s not a prescribed Christmas song, but it really sounds Christmas-y, and some of the lyrics are kind of about going home and missing your family,.” Essays Karnes on The Pretenders song, one of the two—amazing MS Literary Arts teachers at OSA.
This can be quite true especially for songs like Joni Mitchell’s “River” and “Two Thousand Miles” by the Pretenders: both songs making a slight remark on Christmas, even if only once. Some songs even mock Christmas or people celebrating the holidays.
Take “Not Quite Almost Christmas Time” by Tom Cardy, a recommendation from Stewart, who says the song's contents are focused around people celebrating Christmas time, in a month other than December. Stewart says, “A song I listen to also is called: ‘Not Quite Almost Christmas Time’ which is sort of not about Christmas, it's about how people think it's Christmas time, even though it's November.”
You could also consider the Sparks song, “Thank God It's Not Christmas,” off of their album Kimono My House (it's a fantastic album guys, listen to it), with lyrics like “Thank God it's not Christmas / when there is only you / and nothing else to do” this song does mention the holiday, but listening to the lyrics, you could find that the song reflects more on loneliness and pessimism, and uses the joy of Christmas to exude these feelings, by making the song depressing, lyric-wise.
Another example of a song that mentions certain aspects of Christmas (ex: the cold, snow, gift giving, missing people, shiny objects, etc), is Walk Out to Winter, by Aztec Camera. The song of course mentions the winter, but also highlights the slightly African Soukous inspired guitar. Soukous is a style of music originating in Congo, which is known for being incredibly joyous, and I think that's what makes the song remind your of Christmas, how happy or festive sounding a certain instrument is, the guitar is ring-y and quick paced, so it may remind you of fast bells that you’d find in an actual Christmas song.
Walk Out To Winter, is about transitioning to the winter season, which is reminiscent of Christmas songs that talk about shifting into Christmas time. The lyrics mention going through summer, and fall, and bittersweet lyrics.
And so, with all being said, It's quite clear that non-Christmas Christmas songs definitely exist, but there usually has to be either an instrumental factor or a lyrical reminder of the holidays for the song. And listening to music during the holidays that's not exactly focused on Christmas is rewarding, since you can still enjoy songs that normally people wouldn’t listen to during Christmas. You can also even exchange songs with a friend that remind you of the holidays, since they aren’t textbook Christmas songs.
For example, your friend could say you should listen to Taylor Swift for Christmas, but you give them a 10cc song they should listen to. But anyways, what makes a non-Christmas Christmas song a thing is quite objective and unknown, so here's a link to a playlist with songs that Domino H.C. and interviewees have linked to Christmas despite, not actually being about Christmas: :D
