It’s only the beginning of November and the start of the holiday season is already in full effect as Americans can now listen to holiday music in their cars, enjoy holiday flavored drinks with red and green cups at their local Starbucks and witness a variety of festive decorations in American retailers. Even though Christmas is over a month away, there is still a major holiday before Christmas that is equally important: Thanksgiving. Therefore, when is it acceptable to begin talking about Christmas festivities, and more importantly why the jump?
For some, the holiday season begins as early as Oct. 1, where fall has just begun and the transition from summer to winter begins. However, others would argue is it considerably more acceptable that the start of Christmas occurs after Thanksgiving. So, how is the jump from Halloween to Christmas explained? For starters, it is highly acceptable to blame retailers for this phenomenon known as “Christmas Creep”, where merchants and retailers begin displaying Christmas themed items before Thanksgiving. This is why it is not unusual to find shoppers wanting to get their holiday shopping early in order to avoid large crowds as many of these early shoppers try to gain impressive deals.
Another reason to blame for these Christmas occurrences in October is from our favorite coffee chains such as Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. Christmas time has already announced its arrival at both of these places as they have brought back holiday drinks, food, and the renowned red and green decorated cups. Starbucks is selling its five signature holiday drinks again this year: the Peppermint Mocha, Toasted White Chocolate Mocha, Caramel Brulee Latte, Chestnut Praline Latte and Eggnog Latte. Also, newly introduced this year, baristas will be wearing red aprons as an additional attribute to this festive atmosphere.
Overall, don’t expect to see Christmas in Halloween to be going away anytime soon. It has now become part of the culture of Christmas in America. Whether or not we accept it, Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year even if we begin to see it earlier than we would like to.