🧠 How Mariah Carey Became the Official Kickoff to Holiday Season

Today’s Edition of Captivated: How Mariah Carey Became the Official Kick-off to Holiday Season: the Psychology & Behavioral Science Behind this Global Ritual

“I… don’t want a lot for Christmas…”

There is just one thing I need ...

Yep, it’s officially holiday season per Mariah Carey.

Every year, at midnight on November 1st, the kids all nestled in their beds, Mariah Carey presses “play” on Christmas.

Her “It’s Time” post, part music video, part meme, has become a marker for the start of a season to millions.

But what looks like just festive fun is also a masterclass in marketing psychology and behavioral science. Mariah Carey has built a temporal landmark that reprogrammed how people mark time, shop, and celebrate.

Let’s unwrap how she turned one song into a recurring global event, and what it reveals about memory, ritual, and behavior.

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Scroll all the way to the top and click: Listen Online / Hit the Play icon

📈 FUN FACT: DID YOU KNOW?

Since 2019, All I Want for Christmas Is You re-enters the Billboard Hot 100 every November 1st, hitting No. 1 almost every December.

It’s the first song in history to top the charts in four separate decades.

Spotify streams of the song spike more than 2,000% overnight the moment Carey posts her annual “It’s Time” video.

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.. How Did We Get Here? ..

When All I Want for Christmas Is You debuted in 1994, it was just a catchy Christmas song. But over time, it became the modern Christmas anthem through repetition, nostalgia, and ritual.

In 2019, Carey fueled that with a genius move by formalizing the moment.

Every year, she posts a video at midnight on November 1st. The clock strikes twelve, Halloween fades away, and Mariah defrosts. “It’s time.”

That single ritual did three things:

1: Created an annual cue.

2: Established her as the official authority of Christmas kickoff.

3: Built emotional anticipation that marketers would pay millions for.

In behavioral terms, she made November 1st a temporal landmark, which is a psychological “fresh start” moment that resets habits, emotions, and consumer intent.

(The most well-known temporal landmark is probably New Years. It’s why so many of us proclaim “New Year, New Me” every January 1st).

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.. Brain Science-Backed: The Psychology Behind It ..

🧠 Temporal Landmarks & The Fresh Start Effect:

Research shows that people are more motivated to act around temporal landmarks, fresh-start dates like birthdays, Mondays, or new years.

Carey’s “It’s Time” transformed November 1st into one, the unofficial New Year for holiday spirit (and shopping).

It gives consumers a collective permission slip to start spending, decorating, and celebrating.

🧠 Classical Conditioning:

Through repetition, Mariah paired a specific cue (her song) with a feeling (holiday joy).

Now, the first few piano notes instantly trigger nostalgia and anticipation, similar to the famous Pavlov’s bell.

You don’t choose to feel festive; your brain’s been trained.

🧠 Nostalgia & Emotional Contagion:

The song’s production, sleigh bells, warm harmonies, and ‘60s pop energy, taps into childhood-coded emotions. Not to mention, many of us have 'grown up to' and aged with the song.

Add Carey’s yearly ritual, and it becomes collective nostalgia: millions experiencing the same memory at once.

Emotion shared is emotion amplified.

🧠 Consistency & Authority Bias:

By repeating the same announcement, at the exact same time, every single year, Carey positioned herself as the arbiter of holiday timing.

That consistency built credibility and in turn, cultural authority. When Mariah says it’s Christmas… it is Christmas.

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.. Use this Psychology Strategy ..

Here’s how to channel your inner Mariah Carey in your own strategy:

1: Create a Temporal Landmark
Pick one recurring date or moment you can own. Spotify owns Wrapped in December. Starbucks owns the Red Cup moment. Mariah owns November 1st. Predictability builds ritual.

2: Build the Cue-Emotion Loop
Pair a repeated sensory cue (sound, color, animation, line, or symbol) with a consistent emotion. Over time, it becomes Pavlovian-like with instant emotional recall.

3: Make Participation Easy & Joyful
Mariah’s “It’s Time” moment works because everyone can join in to repost, react, sing, or complain about holidays starting early. The simpler the ritual, the stronger the adoption.

4: Anchor Nostalgia to Now
Blend throwback, feel-good, or familiar emotional cues (music, colors, traditions) with new formats (TikTok, Reels, memes). It keeps ritual fresh without breaking the spell.

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.. tl;dr & captivated wrap-up ..

The Mariah Carey Effect is the psychology of timing, nostalgia, and ritual done right.

By turning November 1st into a cultural reset button, she built an annual event powered by promotion and emotion.

Instead of just launching promotions, launch moments in time, and, own the moment like Mariah.