With the early morning hours still dark (say night) since a week ago when I go to Amsterdam on weekdays, Christmas jitters are slowly starting to bubble to the surface. Thus, I have been cautiously listening to Christmas songs for the past few days. There are, to my knowledge, no Halloween songs, and I have been skipping St Nicholas songs for years, because I no longer celebrate St Nicholas. That leaves only the Jingle Bells, White Christmas and other songs.

I still try to listen to other music, though. My Eurovision Song Contest playlist is still playing from time to time, but after ten months Bing C. and Mariah C. are more often heard through my airpods. I’m not going to deny, nor resist it. The lead up to Christmas has begun. Not that I have ever resisted it in the previous years.