The holidays are right around the corner, and that means Christmas music is everywhere, whether it’s through radio stations or specially curated for Spotify playlists. This is especially true for students at Lambert High School as this type of music is constantly showcased through concerts, events and even on speakers playing in the hallways. However, opinions on Christmas music vary a lot from student to student. So that raises the question: What are some of these students’ favorites? What about least favorites? And what is their opinion on Christmas music as a whole?
The first thing to take into consideration is Lambert’s diversity. Most Christmas music stems from Christian churches, and while a number of Lambert’s students are Christian, there is also a very significant number of students that are of different cultures and do not celebrate Christmas. However, around the holidays, Christmas music is heard in many places, including at Lambert. The repetitive and sometimes unavoidable nature of Christmas music, as well as being surrounded by a predominant Christian community, can allow these students to familiarize themselves with it and even form their own opinions after some time.
“I think everybody in the school probably knows Christmas music,” senior Juliana Laury said. “Especially in the area that we are growing up in.”
So, what are these opinions? According to a survey conducted around late November and early December, students who had stronger opinions towards Christmas music had very specific favorites, such as “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses. On the contrary, people who were not as familiar with Christmas music or did not have strong opinions tended to gravitate towards more popular songs or artists, such as “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson. Even teachers were shown to have very differing opinions when it came to Christmas songs, all depending on familiarity and personal preference.
“I like The First Noel a lot, and I also like the traditional sort of sacred-based songs, or the ones that are called the Christmas carols,” music theory teacher Mrs. Alvarez said.
Popularity and familiarity tends to influence people’s opinions quite a bit, but there are so many versions of these songs that it feels like there is a lot more to offer out of the same song. For instance, the song “White Winter Hymnal” was popular among survey respondents, however some preferred the original version by the Fleet Foxes, while others preferred the Pentatonix version.
“There is so much music available now that it’s recorded that there’s different versions,” Mrs. Alvarez said. “There might be a slow version, a fast version, an instrumental version (…) So, you can play the same tune without playing the exact same song.”
Despite Lambert’s diverse opinions, this kind of music tends to connect these students under its simple themes of joyfulness or family, to name a few. No matter what culture or religion is involved, songs like these remind students of what is important to them.
“I think that the messages of Christmas songs that we listen to each year are good reminders of being joyful and remembering the reason of the season,” Laury said. “Not just Jesus, but also any other religious beliefs and remembering what’s important to yourself around this time of year.”
So, Lambert’s take on Christmas music is shown to be incredibly diverse, either through specific favorites, different versions of the same song or songs tailored to students’ favorite artists and ideas. However, these students are all still united under the unanimous meanings of family and joy with whatever holiday they celebrate. No matter how the students spend their holidays this year, they’ll be sure to be accompanied by their own wide selection of favorite holiday music.
