Christmas has arrived for Triangle radio listeners.

Officials with WRAL-FM (Mix 101.5) this morning converted the station's broadcast to all-holiday music. They had planned to wait until Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, for the annual switch but decided to do it a few days early.

The station has been streaming holiday music at its website and on its HD sister channel for several weeks. The volume of listeners on those outlets and an "enormous number of emails and calls from listeners asking that we start sooner" prompted the earlier switch,  program director Barry Fox wrote in an e-mail.

The Christmas carols are coming.

Every year, at least one radio station in the Triangle converts to playing all holiday tunes -- 24/7 of Rudolph, Feliz Navidad and White Christmas.

This year, WRAL-FM plans to make the switch on Nov. 26. That's the day after Thanksgiving, known as Black Friday and treasured by eager retailers as the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

That's later than last year, and WRAL (101.5) might do it sooner if a rival radio station jumps in, said program director Barry Fox. In the meantime, WRAL started streaming Christmas music from its website this week.