It’s that time of year again: the air is cool, the lights are shining, and somewhere in the distance, you hear the opening notes of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Meanwhile, Santa Claus is busy making his toys, fine-tuning his sleigh, and preparing for his annual world tour. But as Mariah Carey emerges from her yearly hibernation to reclaim the holiday spotlight, we’re left to wonder: is Santa still the king of Christmas, or has the Queen of Christmas taken his throne?

Santa Claus has been the spotlight of Christmas for centuries. From his humble beginnings as St. Nicholas, a wealthy man who believed in the spirit of giving. The legend of St. Nicholas has now emerged as the jolly old fat man who delivers presents today. But in 1994, this spotlight would be shared. Mariah Carey had dropped her single most popular song of all time, ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ This groundbreaking song was sure to take the spotlight away from Santa. 

Every year after Thanksgiving, her song becomes a number one hit again. It is played on radios, CD’s, and vinyls. Is this song more iconic than Rudolph’s red nose? More iconic than Frosty? This song racks millions of dollars every year, but is it truly enough to beat Santa? 

I posted a poll on my Snapchat story asking ‘Santa or Mariah Carey?’ and the responses were interesting. Santa had about 58% of the votes and Mariah Carey had 42%. The actual number of voters was lost, but all we know is that Santa has the majority among the people who voted. 

Fellow Tahoma High school student, Kaiya Crawford, was one of the Santa voters. When asked why, she said, “because Santa delivers our presents and he is basically the whole meaning of christmas. He made Christmas, he’s the one who made Christmas real.” Another student and Santa voter, Natalie Mitchell, says “Mariah Carey is so overhyped and her music gets played so much during the Christmas season. It’s not even that good.” But some students may beg to differ, like River Viaene, who believes that Mariah Carey is the real MVP. “Mariah Carey because she can hit that whistle note, she wears the suit better, she’s a woman, she’s a singer.” 

I personally don’t think that Mariah Carey owns Christmas, she may have a billion dollar Christmas song, but Santa is the true root of the holiday. He is the mascot on big company logos and even has a whole business around Santa pictures. No little kid is going to take a picture with a mall Mariah Carey, but they will take a picture with mall Santa. Santa gives them presents and joy, Mariah Carey could give them joy through her music. But as we know she doesn’t want presents, all she wants for Christmas is you.