Without fail, every year when the clock hits 12:00 am on November 1st, a deeply rooted debate between Americans is brought to the surface. Is it too early to start celebrating Christmas, or do we need to wait until after Thanksgiving? I feel like there are no people who are in between sides of this argument. There is the side that starts listening to Christmas songs, watching Christmas movies, and decorating for the holiday in early November, and there is the side who goes totally Ebenezer Scrooge in early November and complains that we need to wait until after Thanksgiving to start all of that. Based on my descriptions, I am sure you can tell which side I am on. I love Christmas and it makes me genuinely happy to start celebrating early. I am not super extreme about it, I listen to some Christmas music, watch a couple of Christmas movies, and put my decorations up a week or so before Thanksgiving. But, I do know some people who are very extreme about it, and they already have all of their Christmas decorations up and are blasting Michael Buble as we speak.
The advantage of the pro-Christmas side is that the media totally buys into it. Radio stations start playing Christmas music early, Christmas commercials start to play, and decorations are put up at most stores. The pre-Thanksgiving celebration started all the way back in the mid-80s when nobody even thought about Christmas until at least the day after Thanksgiving. Before the 80s, the Christmas season didn’t really start until a couple of weeks before Christmas. In the movie A Christmas Story, they don’t put their Christmas tree up until a few days before Christmas! Anyways, when certain retail stores started decorating for Christmas early in the mid-80s, the term “Christmas Creep” was coined. This means that the Christmas season started creeping backward, making it start earlier and earlier. This phenomenon was entirely economically motivated. Most retailers make the most money around the Christmas season, so it makes sense that they would want to expand on that as much as possible.
In defense of the pro-Thanksgiving side, I do understand where they are coming from. Because of all of this early Christmas celebration, it feels like Thanksgiving is completely forgotten when that shouldn’t be the case. I actually really like Thanksgiving. For me, Thanksgiving is about spending time with your family, which I find extremely important. Plus, if you celebrate Christmas for too long— listen to the music all the time, and watch the movies over and over— by the time Christmas actually gets here, it’s likely you’ll be sick of it. Celebrating Christmas earlier makes the actual days of Christmas feel a lot less special. I also understand that there are some people who don’t like Christmas at all, whether they have a reason or not. The holidays can be a tricky time for some, and if that’s your case, then I completely understand if you don’t want to celebrate at all! But, I do not like how grumpy some of the pro-Thanksgiving-ers are! If you don’t want to celebrate early, that is completely fine, and I understand, but don’t hate on people who do. Let people live and do things that make them happy!
If I have not made it abundantly clear enough yet, I am definitely one of the pre-Thanksgiving celebraters. The real reason I do it, which I wish people would understand, is that it gives me so much joy. I am an extremely nostalgic person, and all those Christmas songs and movies remind me of a time in my life that I am very fond of. It reminds me of when Christmas was simple, you still had holiday parties at school, you still (kind of) believed in Santa, and you got to spend time with your whole family. That was such an amazing feeling, and anything Christmas-related sparks that feeling in me now. In November, it starts getting darker, it’s a lot colder, and it’s just plain gloomy. The idea of Christmas being on its way, and letting yourself bask in that excitement, makes the month of November so much better. If listening to the song “Last Christmas” by Wham makes you feel pure joy, then why would you deny yourself of that? Psychologist Deborah Serani confirmed to TODAY that people who begin the Christmas season early are generally happier in the months of November and December than those who don’t. So there you have it. Be happier.
To be fair, this is a pretty silly thing for people to be arguing about. I get the tension, but in the end, let’s just let people do what they wanna do when they wanna do it! If you want to watch Elf 100 times and listen to Bing Crosby all the time, then go ahead! And if you want to save up all of your Christmas spirit until after Thanksgiving, do it! It’s none of my business. But, in case you were wondering what I’ll be doing, I think that The Polar Express is calling my name this weekend, and I may or may not be listening to “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney right now.
Sources:
TodayShow. “Ready to Start Decorating for Christmas? Go Ahead – Science Says It Will Make You Happier.” TODAY.Com, TODAY, 18 Nov. 2022, www.today.com/health/decorating-christmas-early-makes-you-happier-science-says-t119186.
Mayer, Beth Ann. “What Is ‘Christmas Creep’ and Why Can It Stress You Out?” Healthline, Healthline Media, 4 Oct. 2022, www.healthline.com/health-news/what-is-christmas-creep-and-why-it-can-stress-you-out.