Everybody knows that Christmastime is a worldwide winter standard, but, unlike other holidays, Christmas is not only reserved for one day. Many people dedicate a month, even two months, to the festivities. Some people like to substitute their Halloween decorations with garlands and tinsels, while some gobble up their turkey and mashed potatoes before they start crafting their Christmas playlist. Others wait until the weeks before Christmas to truly embrace the spirit. Then, there’s the Christmas-in-July people — they’re a different breed. The variation between when celebrators begin their countdowns poses a looming and contentious debate: how early is too early?
Some supreme Christmas-lovers start their celebratory measures on the first of November, the morning after Halloween wraps up. They replace their Jack-O-Lanterns with colorful lights and trade their candy corn for candy canes. It’s sensible — to a certain degree. Hallmark launches their Christmas movie queue at the end of October (before Halloween!), and it’s a well-known fact that you have to finalize Christmas shipping in November if you want to finagle all the good deals. Plus, Nobody likes the hiatus between holidays, so it makes sense why they may skip ahead to Christmas before the first frost has even fallen. However, November is still the tail-end of autumn, and you wouldn’t want to fast-forward through such a memorable time of the year. We still have two more months (three in New England) of winter after Christmas. But, November is fall’s last hurrah — we wouldn’t want to bypass it.
On the other hand, some holiday fiends don’t get in their merry-moods until after Thanksgiving. This is probably the most typical time to start — it’s when the Christmas Tree Farms open, and when the local radio stations swap their Top 40 cycles for 24/7 Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé. A November snowfall isn’t a rarity, either. And, when you begin your celebrations in late November, you’re not overshadowing any other holidays, such as Thanksgiving, which sometimes gets lost in the Christmas mayhem. However, it still amounts to over a month of repetitive Christmas carols, weekly ugly sweater parties, and nonstop chit-chat about Santa Claus. It’s imperative to remember that, at times, even too much of a positive thing could trigger burn-out.
While not as typical, a host of celebrators don’t begin their observances until mid-December. It’s also an understandable choice; advent calendars traditionally begin twelve days before Christmas, and, back in the 19th Century, November headstarts were practically unheard of. Christmas trees and ornaments wouldn’t be showcased until Christmas Eve. According to GoodHouseKeeping.com, the practice originated from a widespread superstition that “putting your decorations up sooner, rather than later, was traditionally meant to bring bad luck”. Starting your holiday season in the middle of December guarantees that you won’t be overdoing it. It’s a lengthy enough amount of time to immerse yourself in the holiday, but not to get too jaded with all the hustle-bustle. Although, for some people, Christmas cheer is long overdue by December.
While many people have unreasonably strong opinions on when the holiday season officially begins, at the end of the day, it’s up to whoever is celebrating. Over the past few years, though especially this year, there’s been so much turmoil and chaos ensuing that some people like to use the holiday season as an escape from all the havoc — and that’s perfectly fine! Ultimately, when you want to begin your yearly rituals is up to you. You can start celebrating after Thanksgiving, on Christmas Eve, or even in July if you so please. Christmas is a time to spread joy, so we should all get into the spirit when we feel ready and when we know the transition will make us happy.
