MANILA -- Jose Mari Chan feels blessed that many people have associated him with the most joyful season of the year, especially in the Philippines.

While the Chans consider December as the start of the Christmas season, the OPM icon said Wednesday that he doesn’t mind when people start playing his Christmas songs as early as September “because it expresses anticipation for a wonderful season.”

Looking back on why he began to write Christmas tunes, Chan said it was his record producer who suggested to him 30 years ago that he should come up with a Christmas album.

“With the success of ‘Constant Change,’ my record producer suggested to me in 1990, sabi niya ‘Joe, let’s strike the iron while it’s hot. Let’s take advantage of the success of 'Constant Change.' Why don’t you come up with a Christmas album?’” he said in an interview on Monster RX 93.1.

With that, Chan was challenged to come up with originals, among them the widely loved Christmas anthem “Christmas in Our Hearts.”

“It’s always an excitement na sana radio would pick up the songs and play them so that they would become popular and the records would sell,” he said of the album.

With “Christmas in Our Hearts” becoming a huge hit, Chan said he was encouraged to continue writing songs.

While not all of his songs were as successful, Chan said he doesn’t feel bad because “that’s part of the journey of a songwriter.”

Besides, he considers “Christmas in Our Hearts” as a reward from God.

“It’s like a crowning glory that after all these years of being a singer-songwriter, our Lord gave me that gift. It’s an enduring gift, endearing gift,” he said.

According to Chan, it is his hope “that the song will outlive me, that long after I’m gone, the song will still be sung and appreciated and loved by our countrymen.”