Olivia Zimmerman ‘29
Staff Writer
I am ready.
I am ready for warm Christmas lights, scattered pine needles, cheesy Santa Claus blow-ups, and frosted gingerbread houses. I am ready for quiet nostalgia and bustling shopping centers. I am ready to be immersed in a snowy season that calls for peace on Earth along with green dollar bills.
And we haven’t even reached Thanksgiving yet.
The start of the Christmas season is something that has been debated for a long time. Some people have their Christmas trees up the day after Halloween, and others maintain that the holiday shouldn’t begin until after Thanksgiving. It’s no secret that I am in support of Christmas in early November—I’ve already begun listening to Christmas music just to prove my dedication—yet I am often faced with incredulous looks when I say this. But why not celebrate early? With the colder months bringing about a sense of gloom, it is only natural to crave a touch of excitement. I think Christmas offers exactly what we’re looking for, even if we are rushing into it a bit. There is something so inherently joyful about the time of the year, and I think people want to grab a hold of that as soon as possible. And why shouldn’t they?
I often hear individuals say that celebrating Christmas early demeans the value of Thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving is certainly an important holiday, it isn’t much of a season. Let me explain: the heart of the holiday revolves around family, gratitude, and connection. It is an endearing celebration, but it isn’t all-encompassing or comprehensive like Christmas is. Of course, that particular nature of the holiday can be attributed to its mass commercialization, but I’d like to think it is something more than that. I think a lot of it comes down to the nostalgia Christmas brings about. Many of my childhood memories are associated with Christmas—the anxious awaiting of Christmas morning, running around the house trying to find our Elf on the Shelf, handwriting a Christmas list to send to Santa Claus, having a holiday party in school—and when I hear Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” or see tiny warm lights wrapped around the trees outside, my mind goes back to that precious time in my life. I think Christmas can make me feel like a kid again, and that is truly a special feeling—a feeling Thanksgiving does not necessarily evoke, as it lacks the same anticipation and seasonal ambience. While I am not in support of ignoring Thanksgiving altogether, I think it can be appreciated and valued amidst the Christmas cheer. It does not have to be a singular entity, confined to a portion of the year dubbed “Thanksgiving time.” Instead, it can be celebrated alongside Christmas.
I think much of the appeal for an early jump into the Christmas season stems from an aversion to the melancholy of winter. While it is still technically fall, the cold weather has certainly made its way here, and personally, I couldn’t be more disappointed. It means bulky jackets, whipping winds, and icy roads, but you know what else it means? My favorite holiday is defrosting. Amidst the annoyances of the cold, I want to be excited about something. I want there to be something that makes the freezing temperatures worth it. I think it is only natural for the start of the cold to indicate the start of the most wonderful time of the year.
Now, while I say all of this, I can admit that there should in fact be limitations on how early Christmas is celebrated. When I walk into a store in mid-October and see aisles decked out in Christmas paraphernalia, it feels devastatingly artificial. I can get behind the festive season beginning before Thanksgiving, but before Halloween? That is where I have to draw the line. The difference is that Halloween has a completely different (and perhaps even an opposite) “feel” to it than Christmas. Thanksgiving falls into a similar category of joy, gratitude, and generosity, so I believe it functions well alongside the festive holiday. Halloween, however, should be contained in a separate part of the year; there is no need to blend or overshadow it with the immensely popular and highly profitable Christmas.
Whether or not you agree with the timing of the start of the Christmas season, I think we can all agree it is something worth looking forward to in one way or another.
Featured image courtesy of CatlinSpeak.com
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