The celebration of Christmas can be traced way back to the time of the Roman Empire; it is thought to have been celebrated as early as 336 CE, but the ways in which we celebrate the holiday have changed frequently throughout human history. Today, Christmas is regarded as one of the most beloved holidays in America. While other holidays are fun and unique, none other than Christmas features multiple weeks filled with festive music, movies, food, and decor. Christmas is more than just a singular holiday; it’s a season. And whether you realize it or not, the Christmas season runs concurrently with, what I like to call, Mariah Carey Season. 

Sure, you may only see festive decorations and the holiday spirit begin to spread after Thanksgiving has passed, but way before then, on November 1st to be exact, Mariah Carey has already commenced her very own season. Each Halloween night, just after the clock strikes past midnight and November 1st officially begins, Mariah releases her annual high-spirited video to all of her social platforms telling her followers that “It’s Time” for the celebrations to begin. All I Want for Christmas Is You almost immediately begins to play throughout stores and households throughout the nation, while Mariah Carey reclaims her title as the Queen of Christmas. It becomes impossible to dodge the song and if anyone makes it to December 1st without hearing the hit single, or at least hearing their peers talking about it or Mariah herself, I’d be shocked.

Both Mariah Carey and her single All I Want for Christmas Is You have become a staple in the modern world’s celebration of Christmas. Each year, since 2019, the song has hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and it is likely to do so yet again this year. The artist has sold over 15 million copies of her introductory Christmas album Merry Christmas since 1994, which makes it one of the best selling Christmas albums of all time. The artist has done well on streaming platforms as well; twice now, Mariah has broken the record for the most streamed single on Spotify within a day. In total, All I Want for Christmas Is You has been streamed over 1,225,000,000 times on Spotify alone. The song is so successful that numerous other hit singers/bands (including Dolly Parton, Pentatonix, My Chemical Romance, Michael Bublé, and Idina Menzel) have taken their turn covering the track, which Mariah wrote in just about 15 minutes. Mariah herself has even released numerous versions of the song, including a duet with Justin Beiber, a remix with Jermaine Dupri, and her very own “Extra Festive” version of the hit. 

Each year, Mariah Carey makes a fortune off of her Christmas sales. Between 1994 and 2016, the artist made $60 million alone just from her “All I Want for Christmas Is You” royalties. This doesn’t even include the money she makes from other Christmas songs, her own web-store, promotional deals with companies, and public appearances. It’s safe to say that Mariah is the most successful Christmas performer of all time, at least when it comes to the financials of it. While the singer was already highly recognized before her Christmas feats, Mariah has built a whole separate brand for herself solely around Christmas music. When you think of Christmas time, you most definitely think of Mariah Carey as well; the two are now like a package deal. 

This is not to say Mariah is confined to Christmas music alone, as many have claimed in recent years. Mariah has already proven she is a talented artist numerous times: she’s the only singer to have a number one single in four separate decades, she has more number 1 singles than any other solo artist (19 in counting), she’s sold over 145 million records, and she is the only artist to have a number one song in every year of a singular decade. Mariah has already proven her musical talent and earned her spot in the record books. Now, Mariah can focus on being the Queen of Christmas; after all, no one does Christmas quite like Mariah Carey does.