Still all-Christmas after Christmas

[golden eagles97]

WMXC Mobile-Pensacola is staying all-Christmas through Saturday. Who else isn't quite ready to flip back?

 

[davideduardo]

WMXC Mobile-Pensacola is staying all-Christmas through Saturday. Who else isn't quite ready to flip back?

KOST in LA announcing "through the weekend" Christmas music.

 

[Avid Listener]

Perhaps those stations are broadcasting Christmas music for Catholic Christians. The season prior to Christmas Day (which in the church calendar begins at sunset on Christmas Eve) is Advent. The Catholic Christian Christmas season starts on Christmas, it doesn't end on Christmas Day. Perhaps you might be familiar with "The 12 Days of Christmas". The first of those 12 days is December 25th.

Or, perhaps they are accommodating the Eastern and Orthodox Christians, who didn't adopt the Roman Calendar and for whom Christmas is on January 7th.

I'm always amazed at how many people jump on the "Keep Christ in Christmas" bandwagon who are apparently clueless about the Christian holiday of Christmas. I'm not suggesting anyone has to believe what the various Christian faith traditions teach. But you'd think that even if someone doesn't agree with the church's teachings, they should still know what it is that they are disagreeing with.

 

[davideduardo]

Perhaps those stations are broadcasting Christmas music for Catholic Christians.

Or, perhaps, research has indicated that the "Christmas Spirit" lasts through the week before the new year, and that they can get better ratings by continuing to run Christmas music then. Somebody at some station likely looked at when the major retailers take down the holiday decorations and thought, "are we stopping the Christmas music too soon?"

Were the motivation to be serving Catholics, your conclusion fails. Look at Spanish language stations... they generally stop playing Christmas music at midnight after Christmas Eve even though most Hispanics are Catholic.

 

[golden eagles97]

I guess this will start a new trend.

 

[Silkie]

Not really a new trend. The twelve days of Christmas run from Christmas Day until Epiphany.

 

[vchimpanzee]

I wish more stations would keep playing some music. "We Three Kings" is obviously a valid choice all the way to Epiphany. But if they started too early, some people are sick of Christmas music. Not me.

My church will likely have appropriate hymns on Sunday mornings but it's not quite the same.

 

[golden eagles97]

I guess this will start a new trend.

I was meaning playing Christmas music after the 25th.

Is Epiphany the same as Twelth Night?

 

[Avid Listener]

Or, perhaps, research has indicated that the "Christmas Spirit" lasts through the week before the new year, and that they can get better ratings by continuing to run Christmas music then. Somebody at some station likely looked at when the major retailers take down the holiday decorations and thought, "are we stopping the Christmas music too soon?"

Were the motivation to be serving Catholics, your conclusion fails. Look at Spanish language stations... they generally stop playing Christmas music at midnight after Christmas Eve even though most Hispanics are Catholic.

I didn't say exclusively say ROMAN Catholics. Besides, since when do radio station management folks pay any attention to anything but bottom line profits?

I wish more stations would keep playing some music. "We Three Kings" is obviously a valid choice all the way to Epiphany. But if they started too early, some people are sick of Christmas music. Not me.

My church will likely have appropriate hymns on Sunday mornings but it's not quite the same.

That's the biggest problem with playing Christmas music during Advent. It has always been a problem for the church, as people keep wanting to skip Advent and go to Christmas early, then they're burned out on Christmas just when the Christmas season is getting started.

 

[anotherguyTN]

The Methodist church I used to attend keeps the decorations up and doing Christmas music until Epiphany. The Disciples of Christ church I'm in now will probably still have some Christmas music and keep the decorations up this weekend but that will probably be all.

Concerning stations still playing Christmas music, WDVW (soon to be WHPP) 105.3 in Humboldt/Jackson, TN was still playing Christmas music today. They're changing formats on Jan.1 to Hippie Radio (60's and 70's oldies) and they're all automated now, so it won't surprise me if they stay with Christmas music until the format change, but they could go back to AC CCM or a few days.

 

[davideduardo]

I didn't say exclusively say ROMAN Catholics. Besides, since when do radio station management folks pay any attention to anything but bottom line profits?

There are not enough "other" Catholics in the US to represent a significant targeting opportunity for mass appeal radio stations. Perhaps the Russian language station in New York sees it differently, but the rest of radio does not.

Radio management is hired with the primary mission of making money. That's why we call them "commercial stations".

But along with that mission come some very important rules:

1. Preserve the license.
2. Serve the listeners.
3. Program to an audience that is big enough and of enough interest for advertisers to want to reach.

Part of preserving the license and serving listeners is knowing, through involvement and research, what listeners want to hear on your station. The objective of making money can not be attained without doing this.

 

[Avid Listener]

There are not enough "other" Catholics in the US to represent a significant targeting opportunity for mass appeal radio stations. Perhaps the Russian language station in New York sees it differently, but the rest of radio does not.

I see. So, you're also an expert on religion, are you? Are you not aware that Lutherans and Episcopalians (Anglicans) consider themselves part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? Are you not aware that all Christians who confess the Nicene Creed confess believing in "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church"? Are you not aware that Lutherans consider themselves "Evangelical Catholics", and that "Lutheran" was a name give to them by others? Or that the Church of England is technically regarded as the English Catholic Church? The fact is that many Christian church bodies consider themselves part of the "catholic tradition", even though they do not recognize the Bishop of Rome as Pope?

 

[Avid Listener]

I predict this thread will soon be closed. After all, no discussion of the music about the holiday where Christians celebrate the birth of Christ should bring the Christian religion into the discussion, right?

 

[davideduardo]

I see. So, you're also an expert on religion, are you? Are you not aware that Lutherans and Episcopalians (Anglicans) consider themselves part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church? Are you not aware that all Christians who confess the Nicene Creed confess believing in "One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church"? Are you not aware that Lutherans consider themselves "Evangelical Catholics", and that "Lutheran" was a name give to them by others? Or that the Church of England is technically regarded as the English Catholic Church? The fact is that many Christian church bodies consider themselves part of the "catholic tradition", even though they do not recognize the Bishop of Rome as Pope?

In the United States, saying "Catholic" almost always means "Roman Catholic". I only use the word "almost" because you will nit-pick on the statement if I don't.

I have family that is Episcopalian. They always refer to their church as such. In fact, I texted one of them and the response was, "If we were Catholic, it would say that on the sign outside the church".

My British friends and relatives are "Church of England" and have not been "Catholics" since one of those Henry's turned everything upside down.

But that is just my anecdotal experience. Perhaps there are Lutherans and Episcopalians here who can tell us if they think of themselves as Catholics.

I don't have to be a theologian to know how people refer to themselves and their church.

And for this discussion, the main point is "how long do listeners want to hear holiday music?" And apparently, quite a few stations have decided that they will follow the listener mood which they believe to continue for a number of days after Christmas. This is separate from the fact that some folks observe religious tradition right to January 6th, for example; "holiday" is not a religion.

 

[davideduardo]

I predict this thread will soon be closed. After all, no discussion of the music about the holiday where Christians celebrate the birth of Christ should bring the Christian religion into the discussion, right?

Yeah, right. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" is a religious hymn, eh?

 

[Mediafrog+]

In the United States, saying "Catholic" almost always means "Roman Catholic". I only use the word "almost" because you will nit-pick on the statement if I don't.

And there is a "Big C" and "Little c" difference in the meaning of "Catholic". The lower "c" version refers to the general body of historic Christianity regardless of particular denomination. Notice that in many Declarations of Faith the word is lower case.

Other branches of Christianity that still use the Julian calendar are usually referred to as "Orthodox" such as Greek, Russian, etc.

Even excluding Roman Catholicism, the more familiar Eastern Orthodox churches, plus all the Protestant denominations, you still have a huge number of Christian churches: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations#Other_churches

Back on topic: KODA "Sunny 99.1" Houston went back to their normal AC on Friday 12/26. They always have a nice spike in their already high ratings while playing Christmas music.

 

[cyberdad]

The Catholic Church does not put a 12 day limit on Christmas. It continues until either January 6 or the first Sunday afterwards. So this year, Christmas continues through January 11. I'm fine with Christmas music until then. Although for my own tastes, I generally stop listening to it on or 2-3 days before New Year's Eve

And, also speaking just for myself, I personally couldn't care less what terrestrial radio does. I don't listen to it for Christmas music. I listen to my own Christmas mixes (religious and secular, contemporary and traditional) on my computer, iPod, Spotify, and streaming audio both at home and in the car. Since people who celebrate Christmas do so in many different ways and reflecting many diverse musical tests, it becomes rather difficult to pinpoint an "ideal" Christmas radio format....broadcast or online. So "build your own" becomes an ideal solution. With me you're apt to hear "Silent Night" followed by "Step into Christmas".

I also don't see starting Christmas music on, around, or even before Thanksgiving is necessarily "pre-empting" Advent. In my mind, there's no reason why Christmas music and Advent can't co=exist. Those so inclined can still reflect on what Advent is all about, while still cranking up the Christmas tunes at home and in the car. Even though the Church doesn't break out the Christmas Carols until New Year's eve.

 

[davideduardo]

And there is a "Big C" and "Little c" difference in the meaning of "Catholic". The lower "c" version refers to the general body of historic Christianity regardless of particular denomination. Notice that in many Declarations of Faith the word is lower case.

In fact, with a "little c" the word can mean "all-encompassing" and is, then, devoid of religious meanings.

 

[davideduardo]

... for my own tastes, I generally stop listening to it on or 2-3 days before New Year's Eve

And that's the part that concerns playing holiday music on the radio.

 

[Unregistered]

We at WRSG have done it several different ways. We finished playing Christmas music today. Usually we run through the end of the year.