Is Thanksgiving Its Own Holiday?

As a college student, I recently returned back to school from a nice, relaxing fall break. This drastic slowdown got me thinking about my next trip home, Thanksgiving break! In conjunction, I started to ponder my personal take on Thanksgiving: that it’s not only a precursor to Christmas, but an integrated portion of the Christmas season. As such, one can prolong the Christmas season into the beginnings of November and even October. Extending the lead-up to Christmas extends one’s joy and merry spirit through an otherwise gloomy month.  

        Most people tend to say that Christmas is their favorite holiday, so why do those same people refuse to extend the holiday season into November and make fun of those who do so? While this is a lighthearted topic, I am definitely tired of being judged by my family for my Christmasy movie choices in November. Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to gather with family and friends, and it’s also a great time to pick your secret Santa out of a hat! Thanksgiving provides the same food, conversations, and people as Christmas does. It’s basically a mini-Christmas. Santa even arrives at the end of Thanksgiving Day parades all across America.  

        I believe that extending the season makes the lead up to Christmas, with all the last-minute shopping, cleaning, and cooking, much less stressful. Any task becomes less distressing when it is accomplished throughout a longer time frame; at least, that’s what I get told when I complain about my procrastination. In addition, November is a characteristically dreary month that could use a string of colored lights here and there. A final point, adding the job of putting up decorations to a December to-do list can seem daunting with all the hustle and bustle. Why not put in the work earlier, so that December can be that time for focusing on family and friends? 

       An extreme argument would be that one could start celebrating in October. In that case, you’d have an even split of the fall and Christmas seasons, with Fall encompassing September and October and Christmas also getting a full two months, November and December. Some “extremists” even mark the beginning of their season with the first Hallmark Christmas movie on October 16th. While this may seem odd, it prolongs a feeling of joy and excitement.  

        The opposite side of this argument would be that prolonging the season reduces feelings of excitement closer to the actual holiday. People get tired of Christmas so to speak and get annoyed by the music and the movies they’ve seen a thousand times before. In any case, make sure you don’t start celebrating so early that this happens to you. 

        I may not have convinced you to put up your Christmas tree on November 1st, but as November begins soon, maybe consider taking a few moments here and there to plan, listen to a holiday tune, or pull out a box of garland from the attic. Christmas can bring so much joy; why not start feeling that joy a little early.