With the fast approach of the holiday season, it is once again time to ask the age-old question. When exactly is the right time to start decking your halls? For as long as decorating or celebrating the holiday season has been a thing, the debate on when to roll out the festive lights and decor has followed. Despite the longevity of this dilemma, no exact consensus has ever been reached. With so many different “start times” to the festive season, it is virtually impossible to pinpoint a clear celebration day.
Even though opinions vary widely, there are two general categories of answers: “Christmas is strictly after Thanksgiving” and “ Christmas is everything, all the time”. According to eleventh grader Evie Ferguson, the main reason for waiting until after Thanksgiving to celebrate is that she “loves autumn and its vibes more than any other season”. She feels that by celebrating Christmas too early, it takes away from the importance and spotlight of Thanksgiving and the general fall feeling. She asserts that the appropriate time to start celebrating is the “first of December for big things like tree decorating, movies, and other events”. Senior Elizabeth Adams agrees and also starts celebrating Christmas on the first of December. Elizabeth says, “I think that the holiday season is more enjoyable when it’s in a smaller time frame. If the time frame of celebration is too large, the Christmas joy seems to be smaller because it’s distributed over a longer period of time”.
While some prioritize the strict no holiday cheer before due time, it definitely does not equate to an aversion to the Christmas holiday as a whole. Because, despite these opinions, even turkey lovers make certain exceptions to their preemptive holiday cheer. For example, Evie also shared that she begins winter seasonal activities like listening to Christmas music, enjoying scented candles, and themed clothing “any time after Thanksgiving”. Not waiting for the start of December. A happy medium of fully embracing both fall and winter festivities is a common trend in most people’s guide to holiday cheer.
However, there are some who are simply unable to contain their Christmas cheer until the end of November. Like Gabby Taliaferro (11), who responded, “ all year round, baby!” when I asked her when she starts celebrating Christmas. She shares that she starts listening to Christmas music as early as October, November, to which I can much relate, and that she “doesn’t believe in that ‘you can’t celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving stuff’”. What may be a shock to find out is that the rest of Gabby’s family is not as festive as she is and does indeed start celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving! I then asked her what she thought of those like her family, who strongly detest the early celebration of the festive holiday. She replied that “they need to realize that Thanksgiving is the build-up to Christmas,” citing how even her family sometimes puts up their tree before Thanksgiving. Gabby shared that her reasoning for celebrating so early is that the build-up to Christmas is really the main event of the holiday, as “that’s when everybody’s jolly”. She shockingly shared that she actually usually finds herself saying she “hates Christmas” on the day of the 25th. But, on the 26th, she still finds herself saying how much she misses and how she can’t wait for the next one.
With both of these opinions being shared, and both with such strong arguments, it is still hard to state what the definite start for Christmas celebration is. While it is a hard decision to make, it must be made. I hereby declare that the official start of the Christmas season is…whenever you want!! The wonderful thing about Christmas is that it is a time to embrace cheer and togetherness. To spend the entirety of the holiday arguing about the start of it defeats the purpose of the holiday by promoting bad spirits and division. On that note, I wish you all a Happy Holiday and a great New Year.
