Yeah pretty much that. Sure you can say 'traditionally' Christmas should last until the 6th January, but it also shouldn't traditionally start in Early November which in practice it does through the commercial machine.

 

Who on earth feels 'christmassy' by the 6th Jan when everyone is usually back at work/school, not to mention has just heard the festive favourites for a whole two months.

I was having this exact argument in the car with my daughter earlier. She's 12 and she loves everything about Christmas, including hearing Christmas songs on the radio (Mariah is her fave, natch), whereas I'm a bit more of a Scrooge about listening to Christmas songs after the 25th. I don't get why you would want to listen to them once Christmas is over, but surprisingly both Heart and Capital were still playing them today. Is this normal? I could have sworn that in previous years radio stations stop playing Christmas songs from Boxing day onwards??

 

Heart seem to have stopped the Christmas songs now (at least there haven't been any in the last hour and a half) so I guess they only extend it to Boxing Day?

Went to my local HMV yesterday and NOW Christmas 2022 disc 2 was playing in the background

It's totally done for me now, even hearing a Christmas song would feel weird.

I've got 'Snowman' by Sia on lock until tomorrow to help it (in my miniscule way) to get a decent chart position.

I've got 'Snowman' by Sia on lock until tomorrow to help it (in my miniscule way) to get a decent chart position.

That I can get behind :D

Most of the Global stations stopped playing Christmas songs at 12am this morning and also the Heart Xmas station has been removed off the Global Player app.

Edited December 27, 20222 yr by IdentFan101

Most of the Global stations stopped playing Christmas songs at 12am this morning.

 

Wise move.

I've particularly enjoyed the chart show immediately after Christmas Day the last few years, as it's when the songs which have been clogging up the chart for the past month are most likely to get some new peaks - so there is a point to it. Obviously (with the possible exception of when Boxing Day lands on a Friday - the next time being 2025), this will be after most people, including me, have stopped playing them on accord, but it feels like some sort of conclusion.

Some of the TV music channels stopped playing Christmas music on Christmas Day evening. I tuned into a number of stations after 8pm and it was largely top 40 type non-Christmas countdowns.

 

Many years ago, it was still common to hear Christmas songs into January but that was back when not that many charted each year and there wasn't wall to wall Christmas music (this is pre-digital days).

 

1995 was an odd one because both Mariah Carey ('All I Want For Christmas Is You') and Bon Jovi ('Please Come Home For Christmas') re-entered the top 75 just before Easter! I assume some record shop chain was selling off cheap CDs.

 

Going back to the 1970s and 1980s the likes of 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade, 'Lonely This Christmas' by Mud, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid and 'Last Christmas' by Wham! were still charting into February. The last two did have a reason though and the Wham! single was flipped in favour of 'Everything She Wants'.

 

I'll probably listen to a few Christmas songs between now and New Year but only my absolute favourites. The problem with the charts being full of Christmas songs and radio playing Christmas songs in a way that was unheard of 20 or so years ago is that I'm bored of hearing the same Christmas songs day in day out.

For me, Xmas ends on Boxing Day

Some of the TV music channels stopped playing Christmas music on Christmas Day evening. I tuned into a number of stations after 8pm and it was largely top 40 type non-Christmas countdowns.

 

Many years ago, it was still common to hear Christmas songs into January but that was back when not that many charted each year and there wasn't wall to wall Christmas music (this is pre-digital days).

 

1995 was an odd one because both Mariah Carey ('All I Want For Christmas Is You') and Bon Jovi ('Please Come Home For Christmas') re-entered the top 75 just before Easter! I assume some record shop chain was selling off cheap CDs.

 

Going back to the 1970s and 1980s the likes of 'Merry Xmas Everybody' by Slade, 'Lonely This Christmas' by Mud, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid and 'Last Christmas' by Wham! were still charting into February. The last two did have a reason though and the Wham! single was flipped in favour of 'Everything She Wants'.

 

I'll probably listen to a few Christmas songs between now and New Year but only my absolute favourites. The problem with the charts being full of Christmas songs and radio playing Christmas songs in a way that was unheard of 20 or so years ago is that I'm bored of hearing the same Christmas songs day in day out.

 

 

Yeh Wham performed ‘Everything She Wants’ on TOTP on the first week of January 1985 for example!

 

I assume Christmas songs in the lead up is about the building excitement of Christmas Day. That's what it is for me, and I listen to more and more as time goes on from 1st November to 25th December. After that, the excitement's not there anymore as the big day has happened. Christmas officially ending on 6th Jan means absolutely nothing to me, especially when I'm back to work before then...!!! I'll probably still listen to the odd Christmas song this week but nothing much.

 

Basically this.

Yeh Wham performed ‘Everything She Wants’ on TOTP on the first week of January 1985 for example!

They flipped the single over on Boxing Day which was very clever marketing. 'Everything She Wants' was even given a remix which made it a much better track. I think it was a day or two after that when I bought the single. I know it was sometime between the Christmas and New Year. The remix was also enough to get the single to number 1 on the NME singles chart.

Because we’ve become so conditioned by the consumerist idea that Christmas ends on Christmas Day. That we needs to have a months long build up for one day that goes by in a flash so that we can move on to the next thing (Easter products are already in the shops)

 

I’ve seen people discussing taking decorations down on Boxing Day, etc and it really does feel different to how things were when I was younger (mid 90s-early 2000s) when Christmas couldn’t be all over in a day because you kept seeing family and going to events until at least new year. You’d only feel Christmassy in the week or two before Christmas because of school activities, etc.

 

But there are people (Mariah included) who force Christmas from November 1st and these are the same people who pack it up again on the evening of December 25th. All that build up for one day, each to their own but it seems exhausting to me. I won’t willingly seek out Christmas songs at this point as I got new music for Christmas and I’ll be listening to that but I’ve still got the Christmas playlist on in the car and won’t be offended if I hear some classics over the next week.

I've particularly enjoyed the chart show immediately after Christmas Day the last few years, as it's when the songs which have been clogging up the chart for the past month are most likely to get some new peaks - so there is a point to it. Obviously (with the possible exception of when Boxing Day lands on a Friday - the next time being 2025), this will be after most people, including me, have stopped playing them on accord, but it feels like some sort of conclusion.

 

Beautiful way to put it - in fact I do enjoy that chart since you know you don't have to listen to any of those tracks again for 10 or 11 or so months, so it's like you can enjoy them more on their own merit. Wonder if any Christmas tracks will make the top 40 for the first time as well/

They flipped the single over on Boxing Day which was very clever marketing. 'Everything She Wants' was even given a remix which made it a much better track. I think it was a day or two after that when I bought the single. I know it was sometime between the Christmas and New Year. The remix was also enough to get the single to number 1 on the NME singles chart.

 

Didn't they also do that for Rick Astley's 'When I Fall in Love'/'My Arms Keep Missing You' - the A side wasn't strictly a Christmas song but marketed as one with a snowy video. The other song was much more upbeat. Were there any other examples?

Didn't they also do that for Rick Astley's 'When I Fall in Love'/'My Arms Keep Missing You' - the A side wasn't strictly a Christmas song but marketed as one with a snowy video. The other song was much more upbeat. Were there any other examples?

'Heartbeat/Tragedy' by Steps. I recall 'Heartbeat' being the promoted side in the run-up to Christmas 1998 (along with a video with snowy scenes) with 'Tragedy' being the main side after Christmas. 'Tragedy' was the promoted side that took the record to number 1.

 

Beautiful way to put it - in fact I do enjoy that chart since you know you don't have to listen to any of those tracks again for 10 or 11 or so months, so it's like you can enjoy them more on their own merit. Wonder if any Christmas tracks will make the top 40 for the first time as well/

The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole looks to be in with a shout, which would be nice. I guess Sam Ryder’s Amazon exclusive Jingle Bells could get there, and Ava Max’s Christmas Without You shouldn’t be too far off.

Ah of course although I'm sure I heard 'Tragedy' far more than 'Heartbeat' even before Christmas as the latter didn't really take off (although I prefer it). I guess also Atomic Kitten 'Last Goodbye/Be with You' would count.

 

Back to the original thread, I've actually had more time on my hands today so have listened to Christmas/Winter albums by the likes of Tori Amos/Kate Bush and Sia today. I simply wouldn't have the time to listen to those during the pre Christmas build up. In fact you need a truly lazy day to listen to Kate's '50 Words of Snow'.