It is that time of the year again. “Halloweekend” has passed and it is that crazy weird span between November 1st and December 25th. Reading that, some of you might have shuttered, which is understandable. It just means worrying about finals, and saving money for Christmas or other holiday gifts for people in your life. For me, this crazy time means anticipating long work days, and the “oh-so” daunting Black Friday, but anyone in retail or past retail workers can definitely relate. Let us take a look at the real topic at hand, involving whether or not Christmas is being advertised too early and how that truly affects Christmas when it does come around.
Do not get me wrong, Christmas is the best holiday of all time, in my opinion. My favorite holiday is Christmas, and if you ask anyone that knows me, they all will tell you how much of a Christmas person I am. I am all for keeping the “Christ in Christmas,” the holiday baking, the smell of Christmas, the beautiful lights, the feelings in the air, present shopping for others, decorations, the cold weather (although in San Diego, we don’t have much of that), and of course the aspect of bringing everyone together for a good time. But, with that being said, I am not for Christmas trees up the day after Halloween or even the first week of November. Holiday decorations should not be up and out in public places until, at least, the week of Black Friday. Even though I am a total addict when Starbucks starts to sell their holiday drinks, those being released right now is still a little much. Halloween was not even over yet and I saw stores with Christmas trees and decorations up and ready to sell. "The 25 Day of Christmas Countdown" was even advertised the day before Halloween on the television network Freeform.
Some of you may be outraged by the fact that I, the Christmas queen, am complaining about decorations being up and Christmas starting early, but in retrospect, what is this early advertising doing to the actual spirit of Christmas and how is it affecting people?
People are unable to enjoy their holiday.
If it falls between the middle of October and basically anytime before Christmas, you can’t really enjoy the full impact of your holiday because it seems like Santa’s elves are already throwing tinsel and gingerbread cookies at you. (My poor boyfriend who loves Halloween falls under this category.)
By the week of Thanksgiving, the word “Christmas” makes people’s eyes twitch.
Because of all the advertising and decorations starting up the day after Halloween, and all the commercials and little jingles popping up here and there, people are already getting fed up and ready to cut the chord with the holiday spirit just to receive a break from all the chaos and Christmas “spirit.”
The battle between “appropriate” lingo starts about two months too early.
Sadly, the argument between “It is Christmas, we can say Christmas,” and “You can’t say Christmas because it’s offensive,” starts way too early. The whole idea of even having the argument in the first place is ridiculous, but we won’t go into that right now. By the time the acceptable time rolls around to start celebrating Christmas, everyone is so fed up with the argument it makes everything so much less enjoyable.
Traffic and the trek to go out shopping is a nightmare.
It is absolutely ridiculous how packed the malls get which, in turn, creates the worst possible traffic situations that makes you wonder if you’re truly in your city or have been teleported to New York City. Everyone is so jam packed and busy rushing around so early on, that even when it’s still happening during the actual “Christmas season,” the spirit of Christmas gets ignored. Some could say that’s a whole other issue in itself, which is true, but I only have so much time to write until I lose everyone’s attention.
The Christmas spirit and true meaning of Christmas is forgotten.
This topic in itself is a huge issue that should be addressed. The whole point of Christmas is to celebrate a joyous occasion, especially if you are religious, and enjoy the feel, looks, and weather (except for San Diegans, because what even is snow and cold weather) that’s around you. By advertising the holiday too early, that spirit and appreciation for the holiday diminishes dramatically. It’s understandable that Christmas gifts and plans have to be made far in advance, but the decorations, music, drinks, etc. do not need to be done as far in advance.
With all that being said, for those of you who are Christmas fanatics like me, help preserve the Christmas spirit and sanity of others by waiting until, at least, the week of Thanksgiving, to transform into Santa’s little helpers and decorate and share the spirit like Christmas is going out of style. People need to start enjoying the holiday season and Christmas spirit again instead of dreading it. Allow others to enjoy their “holiday” if it falls between October and Christmas, how would we Christmas people feel if people took away from our holiday? We would not be happy.
Although some of you may be shaking your heads in disagreement with me, shake those heads while keeping the decorations at bay and not ruining the Christmas spirit or holiday vibe, by waiting until the week of Thanksgiving to go crazy with the rest of us fanatics.
