Celebrating holiday season should begin in November
by BRITTANY STEGALL//Staff Writer
Christmas decorations, Christmas music blaring on the radio, and sipping hot chocolate are a few of my favorite things during this time of year.
On Nov. 1, I placed my radio station on Mariah Carrie Holiday, because it was time to bring some Holiday cheer into my life. Walking into stores such as Wal-Mart and seeing the clearing of Halloween, then watching the workers as they put up the Christmas decorations, brought a joy into my soul like no other. Although it is not even Thanksgiving yet, it is expected and a must-do to listen to Christmas music while cooking Thanksgiving dinner in my house.
Sitting in the living room while watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, waiting until the very end with anticipation to see the one and only Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, is a highlight of the parade. We also can’t forget about the Hallmark countdown to Christmas, with holiday movies all day and all night! That is one thing I absolutely love about this time of year. Hallmark movies can always brighten up my day with a happy ending.
Let’s not forget about the long lines you get at the stores weeks before Christmas when you finally decide it is time to do a little Christmas shopping. But you could’ve done it before Thanksgiving, or even on Black Friday. It is best to do early Christmas shopping before
Thanksgiving, because you do not have the hassle of extremely long lines, or the items you want running out of stock. You can just simply get Christmas shopping out of the way.
Celebrating Christmas only in December is a “bah humbug” moment. It is not just a time of year when you put up your Christmas trees and hang decorations. It is a time of year to gather with family and to brighten up your life. It would be a shame to just limit that to only one month out of the year.
Some think that people like me just skip over Thanksgiving, when, in all actuality, we celebrate it with just a sprinkle of Christmas added in. Now I don’t go setting up the Christmas tree in my house until after Thanksgiving, but seeing the decorations around town and the joy of listening to the music is something I need in my life after Nov. 1.
Christmas before Thanksgiving is not an abomination. It is something that people like me enjoy and delight in. During this time of year, I feel like a different person. There is a hop in my step, I smile with some holiday cheer, and I sing Christmas music as if no one is listening.
I prepare for Christmas not only to get in the Christmas Spirit, but because it brings joy into my life knowing Christmas is just around the corner. I will not listen to people saying I skip Thanksgiving, or the way I feel is not right. Christmas before Thanksgiving is happening around my house, and I will embrace it.
Christmas festivities must begin after Thanksgiving
by CHANEY ARNEY//Staff Writer
Christmas has no place being celebrated before Thanksgiving.
There is nothing worse than Christmas music and Christmas lights before Thanksgiving even happens. Christmas is the best time of the year; however, the season shouldn’t begin until December 1. When you work in retail, you have fall merchandise arrive in July and Christmas in September. So by the time fall and Christmas actually arrive, they’re worn out.
It’s hard to appreciate the season of fall. November is the time when the weather cools down and the leaves change color and fall. But when Christmas is talked about right after October, it’s hard to think of anything but the cold weather and snow. Thanksgiving is normally associated with nice weather and leaves falling, while Christmas is connected with snow and freezing temperatures.
The worst Christmas traditions that happen before December are Christmas music and movies. When Christmas music come on the radio, or at a store playing it nonstop starting November 1, it’s tiring. Christmas music consists of the same songs, just by different artists. There is no variety of songs. Also, Christmas movies begin airing on some networks before Halloween even happens. It drags out the holiday longer than needed. By the time Christmas rolls around, it has become old news.
Thanksgiving become nothing more than a halfway point between Halloween and Christmas. A time to just eat a lot of food and put up the Christmas decorations. It has become less of a holiday for family and being thankful for what you have, to more of making plans for the next holiday and what is on the Christmas list. Thanksgiving has just become a holiday that comes before the presents.
Christmas is wonderful, it’s a time when most families have traditions, a time when they all come together. However, traditions normally happen during December, hardly before. The traditions that happen before December are Thanksgiving traditions. When Halloween ends, there are eight weeks until Christmas arrives, with 25 of those days dedicated to a countdowns until Christmas.
After Halloween, students are already mentally done with the semester. They forget about the time for Thanksgiving they get off, and they tend to not give the rest of the semester their all. They are looking forward to the Christmas break, but it hurts them in the end because finals come around and they have been too busy getting ready for Christmas plans. So they scramble to finish studying for tests.
Retailers also play a big part in why Christmas is talked about early. Christmas items are put out in stores starting on October 1, and harvest merchandise is put on sale. Before Halloween even rolls around, Christmas has been thrown in customers’ faces for a month.
By putting Christmas out so early and celebrating it after Halloween, it gets people excited for Christmas and ready for the break and time with family. The excitement for the most wonderful time of the year becomes all people talk about. It makes the magic of Christmas a little less magical and a little more of a routine.
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