On Saturday, October 29^th, I walked into the wonderful world of Walmart to go shopping for a last minute Halloween costume. I easily navigated myself to the seasonal section, walked down the first aisle, leisurely perusing the face paint, cat ears, and witch hats. Upon turning the corner, the seasonal section continued with the usual spooky Santa hats, haunted red and green lights, ghoulish stockings and wait, WHAT? I was awestruck that not only was there Christmas merchandise on display in October, but that the Christmas items outnumbered the Halloween… already! Being the holiday rights activist I am, I have decided to attempt to answer the question: When is the proper time to start celebrating Christmas and why does it matter?

The first thing we will look at is a sort of days per holiday ratio. It makes sense to treat the holidays as if they are all families on vacation, staying in the same hotel room, but at different times throughout the year. For example, the Halloween family wants to stay at the hotel from October 1^st to October 31^st. That’s a solid 31 days that no one else can be sleeping in their beds. The Thanksgiving family has the room next, November 1^st to Thanksgiving, November 24^th. Now the Christmas family is looking to kick up their feet for a while. They already have an advantage over Thanksgiving, getting to come in before the month of November is even over. November 25^th to December 25^th, Christmas gets 31 days to sun bathe on the beach. In addition to those 31 days, we can’t forget that most kids don’t go back to school until after New Year’s, making the remainder of December following Christmas, still known as “Christmas break.” If we include those days as well, we are up to 38 days dedicated to pure “Ho Ho Ho”-ing and holly jolliness. The numbers don’t lie, folks.

Now I know what you may be thinking. “Jeez, this girl just hates Christmas!” That’s not true at all, I love Michael Bublé’s Christmas album just as much as the next person. What I am searching for is a more equal system for these holidays. In other words, I would love to not have to pick between Halloween Oreos and Christmas Oreos. Christmas having 38 days of prime time doesn’t bother me at all, but overlapping holidays does.

The irony of it is that we are whirling through or completely skipping the holiday that is all about being present with your family and grateful for what you have, Thanksgiving. Our consumerist society drives us to worry so much about the next thing and not what is happening right now. A perfect example of this is Black Friday. Over the past few years, stores have been opening earlier and earlier, some sales starting at 6 or 7 pm on Thanksgiving evening. The concept behind Black Friday is to get your gifts for family and friends early so you don’t have to worry about it anymore, but shouldn’t your family and friends appreciate seeing you at Thanksgiving dinner more than you getting a good deal on a gift for them? Time is valuable and cannot be bought back.

To sum this all up, there is no proper Christmas decorating etiquette. It’s absolutely fine to celebrate Christmas a little early and the “Most Wonderful Time of the Year” fully deserves its 38 plus days in the spotlight. However, make a conscious decision to not get too caught up the glitz and glamour and forget about the important things like being surrounded by family and friends. Take a break from the shopping, unplug from the iThings, and have a very merry November!