Does the sight of Christmas lights in October make you want to scream “bah humbug” or instead deck your own halls with boughs of holly? Whatever side you’re on, you’re not alone. We all love a little holiday magic in our lives, but some people believe that there is a right and wrong time to celebrate. For a lot of us, Christmas is a magical time, a time of innocence, a time of joy. No wonder people want to celebrate it so early. However, it is important to understand where the Grinches of the world are coming from.
The most common rebuttal to celebrating the holidays early is that poor ol’ Thanksgiving is left in the dust. “You shouldn’t be allowed to have anything Christmas related until after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a really important holiday in our country’s history, and it’s important not to overlook its significance. Plus, if historical significance isn’t enough for you to enjoy Thanksgiving, there is a literal feast all for the taking. You don’t get this type of deliciousness in December,” senior Michael Pugh said.
The other common support for the Scrooges of the world is that by celebrating the holidays early, you are spoiling the actual time of the festivities. “By the time Christmas actually rolls around, the songs are overplayed and the cookies are bland. Especially with my job, it’s really hard. It’s annoying listening to the same 10 songs on repeat for hours on end. Yes, they’re catchy, but their memorableness isn’t always a good thing,” Pugh said.
As much as people complain about the increasingly early start to the holiday season, the celebration bring much needed joy into our lives. By the end of the year, everyone has been through a lot of turmoil. A relaxing end to a turbulent year is vital to mental health. “This coming Christmas season isn’t much different from every other celebration of life, joy, and togetherness. Everyday needs to be celebrated and every moment, considered the latest and most memorable time in your life. Christmas and New Year’s is set aside as the crowning moment in our year and the very apex of happiness we should feel. It’s important to take advantage of these times,” according to psychreg.org.
Regardless of whether you’re a Grinch or an elf when it comes to the holiday season, your behavior can be attributed somewhat to the nostalgia factor. “If you’re someone who has happy childhood memories of the holidays, then you’re more likely to want to re-create that feeling sooner rather than later, which you might do by hanging up Christmas lights, for example. There’s a flip side, though. If holidays dredge up bad memories from childhood, then you might be the person who hates when decorations pop up in the grocery store before October,” according to Today.com.
In reality, the reasons used in justification of despising the early holiday season are just masks. “Thanksgiving is not getting its fair shake”. Psshh, Thanksgiving has its day. “Too much Christmas somehow makes it less special”. No, it doesn’t.
This is the most notable time of the year. Personally, I envy people who happily celebrate the holidays earlier because I wish had their joy. We shouldn’t hate these people. We shouldn’t mock them. We shouldn’t bring them down. We should embrace them and let their happiness lift us up.