Christmas Music in July

There are moments when I can really tell that I am my mother's son. Many of my habits and quirks can be traced back to my childhood. One of which is the urge I get every July to listen to Christmas music.

My mom used to listen to Christmas music every July when I was growing up. She still does. During the hottest part of the year, you enter the house and are greeted by the sounds of "I will be home for Christmas" and "Blue Christmas."

For the life of me, I do not know why she started to listen to Christmas music in July. Most people associate July with the Fourth of July, waving American flags, and the local rodeo. Your average person would place Christmas music in the month of December, November at the earliest, preferably after there is snow on the ground. But for me and my siblings, songs about snow, Santa Claus, and the little drummer boy are also part of our associations with the month of July and hundred degree days.

I have tried to resist this family tradition; family tradition being defined by me as a habit that you picked up that you find oddly comfortable despite the strange looks that other people give you. And I have gotten some strange looks over the years. Not all of my music listening is done with headphones on.

Now, there are some times that it is ok to listen to Christmas music in July. For instance, it is ok, though still strange, to listen to Christmas music if you are working in a retail store and one of the big yearly promotions is the annual Christmas in July sale. C'mon in, listen to Christmas music, buy a fridge.

But unless you are a Christmas in July salesperson, and perhaps even then, listening to Christmas music in July is weird. Or so I have been told. By my wife, my friends, my employees...if my cat could talk, he probably would tell me the same thing.

Now, I have not picked up all of my music listening habits from my family. For instance, I have a low tolerance for country music, classic and show tunes. It does not mean that I never listen to such things; it just means that I can only handle about an hour before I am trying to chew my way though the stereo speakers. I did pick up a habit of listening to talk radio from my dad, though I listen to podcasts and not stuff buried on the AM radio dial. I occasionally will sing a country song to mock people, and an opera or musical number to annoy my wife, in the interests of entertaining myself. But I can control that urge---especially when my wife glares at me.

So why is it that I get the urge to listen to Christmas music in July. It is not like my childhood was particular happy. In fact, I remember it being pretty horrific. In fact, I have no urge to listen to Christmas music in December; and on my block, my house is the anti-Christmas house (no lights, no tree). I guess Christmas music in December reminds me that I was told that there was no Santa at an early age (so my siblings could have presents), got gifts I could use (coats and socks), and was hungry and cold a lot of the time. There was no way that December could be a happy memory for me.

And that just leaves July for me. December's Christmas music is a reminder of the dark place I came from---poor and outnumbered. July's Christmas music on the other hand is a reminder that occasionally times were not so hard, and the family could actually be fun. Please try to remember that when you show up to my house in July and are greeted by the sounds of "Goyim Christmas" coming from my iPod.