“Christmas music” is often defined as a genre all to itself, but even within this incredibly broad genre, there are a few, more specific subsets:

The bangers like “All I Want For Christmas is You”; the classics like “White Christmas”;  and the ones that make you feel both happy and sad all at the same time, like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Blue Christmas.”

There’s nothing quite like a good Christmas mix to put on repeat and get you in the Christmas mood!

But why are we so drawn to this emotional seasonal music, and how can it be used to help instill a love and appreciation for music in general?

Nostalgia

To boil it down to a single word, we love this kind of music because of its strong ties to feelings of nostalgia. That’s why hearing those pop songs from the ‘90s can send you all the way back to grade school, and why listening to certain Christmas songs can make you feel warm and fuzzy all over, and almost child-like again.

In fact, in a study conducted back in 1999, researchers looked into people’s ability to remember memories after hearing a clip from a song. While it’s true the participants weren’t able to think of an exact event from the time the song came out, they could remember the way they felt during that time in their lives. So, listening to Christmas music might help you feel wistful for your childhood, or just feel generally festive and happy. Even if you once went through a terrible breakup over the holiday season, you’re still more likely to feel good than remorseful because your brain has already created a strong positive association with holiday music.

But nostalgia is an interesting sensation. It can make you feel both happy and sad at the same time. As a matter of fact, other studies have show that listening to sad music can help create feelings of comfort – which is probably why some people listen to “downer music” (like Adele) when they need a pick-me-up. When it comes to Christmas music, the sad nostalgic emotions it evokes could, in theory, create the same positive effect as sad music does throughout the rest of the year.

Pleasing Structure

Christmas music also happens to be structured in a way that makes it pleasing – by design – according to Brian Rabinovitz, PhD, a neuroscientist at The College of William and Mary who specializes in music cognition. When you hear a song for the first time, a part of your brain called the prefrontal cortex tracks the melody. From then on, whenever you hear music, your brain tries to match it up with what you’ve heard before, and when it finds a melody it’s familiar with it’s very satisfying.

When compared to other genres of music, Christmas music (and pop in general) tends to have remarkably predictable melodic structures. So, each time you listen to a song its patterns become more obvious to your brain, “Hearing something you know very well, you already have strong expectation. You’re making these predictions, having this moment of tension and then realizing the prediction was correct,” according to Dr. Rabinovitz.

Bringing Them Together

When these two things combine it creates a perfect environment to help kids form an appreciation for music in general.

Although kids don’t quite have the life experience to hear a song and be transported back to their youth, they are building those memories they will revisit right now! Every little thing you do during the Christmas season that involves music is building those connections in their brain. So, when you put on a Christmas playlist while decorating the tree, or baking up a pan of gingerbread cookies, you’re laying down the memories they will be transported back to when they are older and hear the song again during Christmases to come. And as far as their appreciation for music goes, you’re also laying down those positive associations with music, which can be carries forward into other musical endeavors, like playing in school.

What’s more, with every new Christmas song that you introduce them to, that’s another song recorded by their prefrontal cortex, and another song their brain will be trying to predict the next time it hears it.

When you strip it all down to its most basic points, Christmas music acts as the perfect primer for young minds to start to build an appreciation for music as a whole. And you can help encourage this too! Play Christmas music from your own childhood. Listen for the Christmas tunes in your favourite seasonal movies, shows, and specials. Take in a community holiday performance or two!

“Christmas music” is such a broad genre that there are songs to fit every taste, and they can all give these warm and fuzzy feelings, which provides another excellent opportunity for your young ones. Explore the different styles of holiday music this season – especially styles you might not otherwise listen to. This way you can introduce your kids to new instruments, new genres, and new artists, all while staying true to the warm-and-fuzziness of the season’s emotions.

Between Christmas music’s pleasing structure and special ability to make us feel all sorts of emotions, from jolliness to a sort of sad nostalgia, and everything in between, it’s the perfect kind of music to help your kids build a solid foundation of music appreciation. Whether your family prefers songs with a little bit of sadness to them, or need something to help snap your family out of a holiday humbug, chances are good there’s a Christmas song – and a whole Spotify playlist – to match the mood you and your kids are looking for. Try something new and expand their music horizons during this uniquely music time of year!