Ever since I was a kid, I've been an avid advocate for waiting until the day after Thanksgiving to start celebrating the holiday season. Every year it seems that the holiday season is pushed back earlier and earlier. However, it was not until coming to college that I discovered that there is a large portion of the population that starts celebrating Christmas the day after Halloween.
To these people I say: WHAT ARE YOU DOING???
The “holiday season” is supposed to encapsulate the period of time around the winter solstice when several faiths, traditions, and cultures celebrate special occasions. It is supposed to be the lead-up to Hannukah, Christmas, Quanza, and New Year’s (and other holidays, like the Buddhist Children’s Day). It is exciting, wonderful, sentimental, and my favorite time of the year.
Which is why I need it to remain contained. How am I supposed to focus on my homework when I’m busy getting swept up in the romanticism of Christmastime? Halloween, Thanksgiving, and all things autumn have a very particular mood to them. The holiday season has an entirely different vibe, and getting into it too early will leave me either confused or impatient. After all, winter doesn’t even technically start this year until December 21st!
If there is anything I learned from watching The Nightmare Before Christmas, it’s that trying to bring Christmas into Halloween is dangerous. They are both wonderful holidays, but they are best celebrated separate from one another, where they belong.
Think about Thanksgiving. What a lovely holiday, right? One that caps off fall with family, turkey, and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving aims to make us feel grateful for all that we have, and yet we lust for the next holiday before this one has even passed. Don’t make Thanksgiving feel like the unwanted child!
Look -- if you need to play All I Want for Christmas is You first thing in the morning to get through the day, then go for it. What you do in your own home on your own time is your business. Honestly, with how stressful this election season has been even I might be tempted to listen to a holiday song once or twice in the next month.
But do not bring them into our stores, classrooms, radio stations, or commercials. Please do not force me to get myself into a full-out holiday state of mind before I am ready to.
Let’s learn from Jack Skellington and revel fully in the beauty of each individual holiday, just as Santa intended. Pretty please?