As Thanksgiving quickly approaches and everyone starts getting excited for Christmas, the popular topic of when it is acceptable to start pulling out wreaths and stockings is forever in question. It always seems as if Christmas is the No. 1 topic right after Halloween is over, but is it acceptable to immerse your life in red ribbons and replays of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” before Dec. 1?
Some people argue that they need to get an early start on their Christmas festivities because once December starts, they won’t have time to do everything that is involved with the holiday. When the holiday season officially comes around, many people are busy shopping for gifts, wrapping those gifts and preparing food for all the various dinners and functions they will have to attend. While this is understandable, there are so many wonderful aspects of fall that get overshadowed because of Christmas festivities beginning before Dec. 1.
For most of the people who have an issue with starting Christmas early, their main concern is the fact that it overshadows Thanksgiving. There are many people who love Thanksgiving just as much, if not more, than Christmas. For these people, their favorite holiday tends to turn into a barrier that people just need to pass to get to the main show, Christmas. Why can’t Thanksgiving be just as appreciated and celebrated as Christmas instead of not only being underappreciated, but overlooked?
Most would agree that the popular opinion leans towards getting an early start on Christmas and everything that it entails. However, no one thinks about how this makes people who don’t partake in this idea feel a huge sense of pressure. Personally, as I see everyone around me decorating their houses and playing Christmas music, all I can think about are all of the things that I am now technically behind on, when all I want to do is just sit back and enjoy fall. The pressures of buying the perfect gifts and making sure everything is perfectly decorated should be dealt with after Dec. 1.
Many people want to enjoy all of the wonderful fall things without having to listen to replays of Christmas music and being surrounded by red and green ribbons. There are so many great aspects of fall, like apple picking and getting your favorite fall coffee when it returns for the season. One thing that I love to do during the fall season is to pick and put out pumpkins after Halloween, but does that mean that due to popular opinion, I have to paint them red and green and smack a ribbon on top?
Overall, fall, and the Christmas season as a whole, are magical no matter when you decide to start or stop celebrating; everyone has their different traditions and different times of the season that they begin their festivities. Whether you are a Christmas person year-round or more of an after-Dec. 1 person, your holiday and how you celebrate it will be done in a way that is special to you, and that is all that matters.
