Mariah Carey has announced once again that it is time.
We’re meant to assume that it’s time for Christmas, or maybe time to stream her song. Regardless of what she is telling us it’s time for, it feels like that time comes sooner each year. At least Mariah Carey has the decency to announce her Christmas alter ego returning in November, whereas stores have been putting out their Christmas stock since before Halloween! It starts to feel ridiculous, like a big joke. As a Western society, we’re collectively behaving like a really jolly town in a low-budget Christmas movie, and sure, we’re nice, but something seems off about us.
I don’t wish to shame our jolly/sinister town, there isn’t anything wrong with enjoying a holiday and wishing to get an early start, but isn’t there such a thing as too early? How can we appreciate the holiday season if we’re handing it a glass of that kind of eggnog before it’s even old enough to drive a sleigh!? Or, for a less ridiculous question, if Halloween excitement starts mid-August, and Christmas decor hits the stands at the beginning of October, how can excitement really build? Are we excited, or are we following this strangely constructed calendar forced upon us? Maybe it isn’t time, Mariah.
capitalism
I hate to bring it up, I really do, but it must be done! A cynic’s critique of the Christmas holiday may be that it has nothing to do with “Christmas spirit,” but is actually all about spending money. This isn’t a lie; businesses do make a lot of money during the holiday season, and the heads of companies can usually be seen with giant cartoon money signs over their eyes. Yet, I don’t think it’s fair to say that there is no such thing as Christmas spirit. The excitement that begins like a soda fizzing in the pit of your stomach, while classic festive jingles bounce around your head; it’s that feeling we get when Christmas is coming.
It isn’t about what your money can buy, but appreciating the things we get for free that we often take for granted. Like a light show during a snowfall, or spending quality time with those we love most, and remembering how much fun it is to laugh about nothing. Christmas fuels both greed and innocent pleasure, so could either greed or pleasure act as the reason we want to celebrate so early? Could it be pure excitement, or is it companies force-feeding us peppermint-striped pillows? In the way I believe Christmas has an appetite for both money and joy, I believe the rush to celebrate feeds on both. However, if one had to take the blame, I would argue that businesses would be where to point the finger. They are all for using our jolly anticipation against us.
Stores market their Christmas collections in a way that connects with our so-called “Christmas spirit.” They don’t want us to buy a $50 ceramic tree plate so that they can make money, but so that we can live up to our fullest Christmas potential. How can we possibly have a perfect Christmas if we don’t buy the shiniest ornaments and trendiest bow garlands? The true wonder of the holiday gets lost in the midst of our love for decorating/companies’ desperation for our money. Seriously, how many movies can they make with the same plot? Are they being made to satisfy our red and green needs, or because they know they will make a fortune? The sooner holiday drink menus are revealed, the less special it feels, but they know we will sip. They are betting on our excitement, and it’s a bet they will always feel comfortable making because the best-decorated house will always win.
overexposure
Like store displays, Christmas TikToks begin to pop up on my feed in early Fall. It feels like a competition, and whoever starts celebrating first wins. Maybe one could argue that it all stems from that pure feeling I mentioned, but it feels like more of a performance. We’re overexposed to Christmas: the Holiday, the season, and the endless lists of activities we just have to do to have the perfect Christmas. If we can’t complete the list, if we can’t perform for our own personal Christmas pageant, it can’t be a good Christmas. That’s where it loses what it’s really about. Christmas isn’t about how many Jellycats we can collect, how many crafts—those of which we’ll probably throw away in February—we can DIY, or who can spend the most at Homesense. Christmas can include those things, but it should really be about that rushing thrill and appreciating that we get to experience a kind of bliss only found once a year. That’s what all the songs and movies tell us anyway, and whatever Michael Bublé tells me, I will listen.
I think we rush to celebrate because we do appreciate that sparkling Christmas feeling, and while we may get swerved off the candy cane track, we have our hearts in the right place. I think as long as we keep them there, our urgency for gratification can be slowed, and we can pace ourselves to enjoy the season.
Well, is it Time or Not!?
I can’t say I’m not incredibly excited for Christmas this year, but I don’t want to rush the feeling and let it pass me by. If you do already have your tree up and your hot chocolate steaming in a reindeer-shaped mug, don’t let me yuck your yum! Feel your festive feelings, but this year, try to savour the joy as much as you can.
If you are like me and you want to wait but can’t help but be influenced by your holly-jolly surroundings, I have a small trick that can both temper and boost your Christmas spirit. November can feel annoying for us Canadians who celebrate Halloween and Christmas, as we have a whole month in between the, in my opinion, best seasons of the year. What I like to do is mingle the two together, so that I don’t run away from Fall and miss Winter’s arms on the landing. The best way to do so is the November movie. The November movie, to me, is any movie that features both fall and winter or Christmas, but isn’t directly a Christmas movie. My favourite examples include Little Women (1994), Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), The Holiday (2006), and Love Actually (2003). The last one is a sneak because it is very Christmas themed, but let’s say it’s meant for the end of November and leave it at that!
Happy November and happy holidays! For this month, let’s let it linger.