By Kathryn Taleporos | November 7, 2022
Holiday Decoration at local CVS
Photo Credit: Kathryn Taleporos
The start of November means the Christmas season has officially arrived in stores everywhere. Decorations are up, peppermint mochas are back, and Christmas music is playing on the radio. While some mark the beginning of the season the day after Halloween, and most stores start selling their inventory as early as September, some believe Thanksgiving should be given more attention as part of the holiday season. Every year this triggers the same debate: how early is too early for Christmas?
This debate is not a new one, but it becomes relevant every year when people begin to see Christmas decorations in stores, usually causing an uproar on social media. The minute that Halloween is over is when things start to kick into full gear, and every store can suddenly become a winter wonderland overnight.
Nov. 1 is the official start to the holiday season. While many people argue that we need to focus on Thanksgiving before Christmas, Thanksgiving should be considered part of the holiday season and celebrated at the same time as Christmas. The end of Halloween, however, is the perfect transition to start celebrating the holiday season.
The argument that we need to focus on Thanksgiving for the entire month of November before we move to Christmas is flawed. The theory is that Thanksgiving should be the sole focus of our attention as it is a holiday celebrating family and it allows us to take time from our lives to reflect on what we should be grateful for.
Thanksgiving does allow us to spend time with family that we may not always see, and it gives a rare opportunity to reflect on the aspects of our lives that we are grateful for, something that does not alway happen in our busy lives.
However, Thanksgiving is only celebrated in the United States and Canada, while Christmas and other winter holidays are celebrated globally, meaning this is only really a debate in the United States.
Additionally, the history of Thanksgiving is controversial. While the Thanksgiving story is one of coming together, the real relationship between Europeans and Native Americans leads some to argue that celebrating this holiday is continuing a culture that celebrates genocide.
Additionally, Thanksgiving can really only be celebrated on Thanksgiving. There are few, if any, Thanksgiving movies, there are no Thanksgiving songs, and the fall flavors associated with Thanksgiving like pumpkin spice and apple, have been around since the end of August. By the time we arrive at Thanksgiving in November, fall is over and it is winter in Albany, New York.
Another thing that Christmas has that Thanksgiving does not, is the joy and magic that the season brings. When people talk about Thanksgiving, they discuss stressful hours spent cooking food which many people do not even enjoy, and political arguments between family members. But when talking about Christmas, we hear about magical childhood memories, buying and receiving presents, and baking cookies.
Even if you do not celebrate Christmas, there is something magical about seeing the snow in the air, listening to cute Christmas songs, and watching cheesy Hallmark movies.
The Christmas season brings people joy, so we should celebrate it. It has been a long year, and we all deserve to do the things that bring us joy. If that means listening to Christmas songs and drinking peppermint mochas, then people should not ruin the fun by saying it is too early. We should be able to celebrate what we want, whenever we want.