My boyfriend’s roommate is obsessed with Christmas. When I visited in August, we found him tucked into bed watching a Christmas movie. He came to school prepared with a box full of Christmas decorations and has been impatiently waiting to set them up in their dorm all semester. On Sunday, the first of November and the day after Halloween, I asked if he’d set them up yet, and my boyfriend immediately dismissed the thought,
“No, absolutely not; you don’t put Christmas decorations up until the day after Thanksgiving, obviously!”
Is that the obvious answer? Should he let his eager roommate put up his decorations now, or should he have to wait until after Thanksgiving? Coming from a Type B household where we decide when to put up decorations for any holiday solely based on vibes, I am stumped by this question every year.
If we look at this from a historical perspective, the Christian Christmas season doesn’t actually start until December 25th, Christmas Day, and the first concepts we have of decorations were set out on the eve. In 16th-century Germany, it was tradition to bring evergreens into the home on December 24th as a symbol of the tree in the story of Adam and Eve. Similarly, Romans decorated their homes and public spaces with evergreen wreaths during the cold winter solstice as a reminder of a warm spring ahead. It wasn’t until the late 19th-century Victorian Era that “Christmas” decorations became commercialized and seen less as a religious symbol and more as a representation of Christmas festivities.
Based on the above research (and all the Christmas movies I’ve seen), the Christmas season is about what it means to you. And if it means so much to you that you want to start celebrating in July, go ahead. BRB, telling my boyfriend he needs to help his roommate decorate immediately, even if it is only his side of the room.