I walked into Heritage Cafe to pick up my daily dose of caffeine last week when I was surprised by a change in scenery. Snowflakes decorated the wall and one of my favorite Christmas tunes, the instrumental version of “Sleigh Ride,” played instead of the now normal Christian music playlist. Although this is my favorite Christmas song, I could not truly enjoy and appreciate it because Thanksgiving has not passed yet.

PRESSING SKIP

There is a time and place for Christmas music, but that time does not occur until after Thanksgiving Day. I immediately press the skip button whenever Christmas music plays on any of my Pandora stations, even if it is a classic like “Winter Wonderland,” or Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You.”

Nordstrom has a sign in the store that reads “we just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time.” This sign accurately sums up my preference for Christmas music because I enjoy one holiday at a time, and that applies to my music preferences as well.

Celebrating other holidays early does not allow you to truly enjoy the current holiday, which in this case is Thanksgiving. I understand “Thanksgiving” music does not exist, but you can enjoy the music that marching bands play during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and watch all the cool balloons fill the television screen.

NOT TRULY APPRECIATING

Christmas music produces cheer and jubilee during a stressful semester and singing the lyrics to “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” may be the one thing keeping students sane when writing 10-page papers late at night. However, celebrating Christmas early often leads to people becoming tired of anything related to the holiday. You can only hear “Silent Night” so many times on the radio without getting sick of it and wishing the Christmas season was over so it could just stop playing.

As a musician, I am forced to play popular Christmas favorites like “Oh Holy Night” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” each year starting in November. Even though I enjoy listening to Christmas Carols, I have heard the songs repeated so much that by the time our performances roll around, I cannot truly appreciate them during the Christmas season. Christmas music should create joy and cause people to appreciate the spirit of the season instead of making them dislike anything Christmas-related.

THANKSGIVING FIRST

I really do love Christmas and all the traditions that go along with it. Each year, I thoroughly enjoy stringing lights on my family’s tree, hanging the ornaments and wrapping gifts with holiday-themed wrapping paper. However, I think of baking gingerbread or sugar Christmas cookies, decorating the tree, or helping my mom set up her Christmas village when I hear Christmas music. It has no place when eating Thanksgiving dinner in my household, and our Christmas CDs stay hidden in our storage shed until Black Friday.

Go ahead and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, help prepare your family’s turkey dinner and sit down with a great Thanksgiving flick like “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.” Sip on a pumpkin spice latte instead of a peppermint mocha. Take time to think of all the things you are grateful for and spend time with loved ones while playing your favorite Pandora station instead of Christmas tunes.