Emily Reinwald, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, said she remembers sneaking out the Christmas CDs with her mom in November because her dad wanted to wait until December to listen to holiday music. She recalls listening to a CD closely resembling the Billboard Top Hits that had an ensemble of different artists singing top Christmas hits.
While Reinwald is a fan of many different Christmas songs, from “Carol of the Bells” to “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber, she said she typically likes covers of older songs.
“(I) usually like it when (artists) switch it up and make it into their own style, like Pentatonix,” Reinwald said.
The sophomore said she loves Christmas music because it gets her into the holiday spirit, admitted she has not listened to much Christmas music yet this year. However, she said she enjoys hitting shuffle on her Christmas playlist during a walk to class.
Some of her favorite Christmas songs include upbeat tunes like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Deck the Halls.”
While Reinwald is a fan of new covers of classic tunes, Andrew Fairbank, a junior in the College of Engineering, said he prefers classic and earlier renditions of Christmas songs, specifically the original versions.
“I’m not a big fan of covering older Christmas songs,” Fairbank said. “I also enjoy original pieces because they’re unique.”
Fairbank said he feels nostalgic every year when Christmas music first plays on the radio.
“My mom would always put on the radio in the car to go shopping or to go to Grandma’s house,” Fairbank said. “From the get-go, it gets you in the Christmas spirit.”
For Fairbank, the Christmas music he listened to growing up was whatever the radio station played. Fairbank said the music ranged across genres, from Bing Crosby to Taylor Swift.
Along with listening to Christmas music, Fairbank is also involved in the university band and choir and said he really enjoys playing more up-tempo kinds of Christmas tunes.
In his household, Fairbank said his family played self-proclaimed odd songs when it came to playing Christmas music.
“Every Christmas when I was little, my aunt would always put on an odd Christmas song called ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,’” Fairbank said.
He said another classic for the Fairbank family is “Dominic the Donkey,” which is a Christmas song about a donkey who helps Santa deliver gifts.
Though some have strong preferences for specific types of holiday music, Colleen McCabe, a first-year in the College of Education, said she doesn’t have a preference toward either classical or modern songs.
“The classic ones hit Christmas well, but the pop ones are really energetic and get you into the spirit,” McCabe said.
McCabe said she has a few Christmas songs that she really likes, including Band Aid’s “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” and Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe.”
McCabe said she grew up on Christmas music with her older sisters, who love Christmas music just as much as she does.
“I love Christmas just because it makes me happy and it just reminds me (of) when family comes home,” McCabe said.
This story was written by Ariana Madson. She can be reached at [email protected].
