Yes

It’s the time of the year when the weather gets chilly, classes near their end and you can hear Christmas music on almost any radio station.

Unlike winter’s cold bite, I welcome these seasonal songs. The recognizable jingles set my mind at ease while the rest of my body tries to stay warm. But Christmas music is more than a distraction from the nippy conditions.

As far as content goes, I don’t hear Christmas music and think strictly Christmas. I think of the holiday season and the camaraderie that follows. Warm memories of family and friends enjoying each others company flood my mind and remind me what it’s like to be merry.

My birthday as well as my parents’ birthdays are in the caroling season, and Christmas time has always been an additional opportunity to celebrate our family.

I love jazz music, so hearing the comforting voices of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Nat King Cole is a pleasure and a gift.

In high school, I was in my school’s wind and jazz ensembles, and reading through Christmas music was the culmination of the semester. Hearing Sleigh Ride on the radio brings me back to the few great moments I enjoyed back then.

Christmas melodies are simple yet carry the power of memories. And for those who find solace in celebrating Christmas day, songs like Silent Night facilitate teaching moments for young kids.

And like any sort of music, hearing the same songs on repeat can become annoying, but that’s different from the rest of the year. If all I have to hear is three different Iggy Azalea songs six times every hour, I’m definitely going to pick the seasonal music over what I would have to deal with otherwise.

— Austin Mai, staff writer

No

My annual fear was onset last week. It’s a fear I have been dealing with since I was 16, and the state of Minnesota, for some reason, granted me a drivers license despite me managing to hit every single cone when attempting to parallel park during my driving exam.

I digress, it’s a fear of scanning between radio stations and stumbling upon holiday tunes. I don’t care for Christmas music, and I don’t care if that makes me a grinch.

The original religious hymns have been adapted by every successful musician ever, and they all assure us this is “the most wonderful time of the year,” which I just don’t understand how anyone who has trekked across the footbridge recently can agree with.

Even the king of rock and roll himself brought us Elvis’ Christmas Album in 1970, an album that went diamond, by the way. Christmas music is nothing more than an attempt for musicians to make a quick million dollars or more. The same five songs we have all heard five million times are suddenly sung by Michael Buble and everyone lines up to buy it.

In 2001, the world was graced by the 6x platinum album “Now That’s What I call Christmas.” What is not to love about a CD that features ‘N SYNC assuring teenage girls everywhere that “they don’t have to be alone on Christmas?” Additionally, for your listening pleasure the CD wraps up with Boyz II Men’s rendition of “Silent Night.”

I don’t only find the tunes wildly annoying, I also think it is strange that we live in a society that literally demands the separation of church and state 11 months out of every year but then openly promotes a Christian holiday as soon as Thanksgiving is gone.

So, while I hope all have a lovely time celebrating whatever it is you celebrate, I will not be listening for ringing sleighbells or dreaming of a white Christmas.

­— Courtney Kueppers, managing editor