This Oct. 1, some people are listening to their favorite Christmas songs.
There are already 36.2 million average daily holiday streams on Spotify, according to data from the digital streamer, suggesting that for some, getting in the spirit of the winter holidays is starting earlier this year.
Nearly 100,000 holiday playlists were created by Spotify users in September, while its Christmas Hits playlist rose to No. 64 on playlist charts back on Sept. 25.
Spotify also released its five most streamed holiday tracks so far this season:
- “Merry Christmas, Please Don’t Call” by Bleachers
- “Merry Christmas, i miss you” by Alex Crichton
- “Snowman” by Sia
- “Last Christmas” by Wham!
- “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey
Listening to holiday music before the season officially gets underway is not new. Spotify says the phenomenon has started to take place earlier and earlier over the last five years. The streamer says in 2025, the first noticeable jump in listening to holiday music occurred Oct. 22, a week earlier than it did in 2021.
Hearing holiday music in October is just one part of early recognition of the holidays, known as “Christmas creep.” Stores sell holiday merchandise long before Christmas, or even Halloween. People and retailers may also put up decorations earlier than is typical and, yes, play music before there’s even a chill in the air.
In August, Cracker Barrel announced holiday items were already in stock, Best Buy said holiday savings would begin in October and the United States Post Office kicked off its annual gift donation program, Operation Santa, on Sept. 14.
Retail expert Trae Bodge said retailers try to capitalize early after the summer season ended on Labor Day.
“Now that Labor Day is over, it’s kind of slow, and so for retailers to have buzzy decor in the windows and sales and excitement, it kind of makes sense,” she told Emilie Ikeda on TODAY Sept. 16.
