By Aaron Earls
Some start dreaming of singing “White Christmas” before the leaves begin to fall, while others are staying away from the manger until well into December.
As it turns out, your propensity to play Christmas music early has a lot to do with where you live.
If you are among the first to blare “Feliz Navidad” in your office, you might consider moving out of the United States.
According to EveryNoise, which tracks songs according to their number of plays on the music streaming service Spotify, Americans don’t really embrace the holiday spirit until well into November.
In 2018, the United States crossed the Christmas music threshold—playing at least 2% Christmas songs on the music platform—on November 15.
The day after Thanksgiving last year, Christmas music jumped to over 5% of the music played on Spotify. By December 1, it was just below 7%.
Currently, the United States ranks among the top 10 nations most in the holiday spirit, but several nations far outpace America.
If you want to feel at home listening to Christmas music in September, visit the Philippines.
The heavily Catholic country has a spike on September 1 each year and becomes the first to cross the Christmas music threshold.
By the time we enter November, nations that more resemble the North Pole tend to dominate the rankings.
In Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden on December 1, 2018, more than 15% of all Spotify songs played were seasonal.
If you prefer to wait and binge on Christmas music just on Christmas day, Liechtenstein may be the place for you.
After barely listening to Christmas music leading up to the day itself, almost 70% of the songs played on December 25 were of the Christmas variety—triple the global average.
In the U.S., for example, 22% of the songs played on Christmas Day in 2017 were holiday related.
Currently, secular seasonal pop songs, like “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Last Christmas,” top the global Spotify Christmas playlists.
Americans are most likely to be listening to classic songs like “A Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
AARON EARLS (@WardrobeDoor) is online editor of Facts & Trends.
