‘Tisn’t the season
The Christmas season should wait until after Thanksgiving as a matter of respect
Eric Boose / Opinion Editor / The USD Vista
On Nov. 29, my family will drive to the same Christmas tree farm we have relied on in countless years past and cut down our Christmas tree. My sister and I will get our customary cups of hot chocolate to combat the cold Eastern Washington weather. We will dip candy canes in our cocoa, and sing Christmas songs as we drive back home, just like we always have. In doing that, we will mark the beginning of the Christmas season.
Never in my life has the Christmas season started before Thanksgiving. At least, not according to me. Advertisers, television stations, and an annoyingly large chunk of popular culture seem to think otherwise.
The first Christmas-related advertisement I saw this year was broadcast on Nov. 1. That same day, Mariah Carey tweeted a video celebrating the beginning of the Christmas season. On Nov. 7, Starbucks released this year’s holiday-themed cups. There has been a Christmas tree at the Fashion Valley Mall since at least Nov. 3. The Christmas season, apparently, is underway.
However, the Christmas season is encroaching on another holiday. Actually, it is encroaching on two other holidays. Both Veterans’ Day (Nov. 11) and Thanksgiving (Nov. 28 this year) take place before Christmas, with Veterans’ Day coming six weeks before the birth of Christ. Despite both taking place well before Christmas, both November holidays are ignored in favor of the “most wonderful time of the year.”
In fairness, it is much easier to prolong the celebration of Christmas than Thanksgiving. After all, there is little to no popular “Thanksgiving music,” and aside from “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving,” no real “Thanksgiving movies.” That gap in popular culture is therefore filled by the wealth of Christmas music and Christmas movies.
This decision to fill the time before Thanksgiving with Christmas-themed material is not really the fault of the average person. At this point, we must recognize the other event that will take place on Nov. 29: Black Friday. Black Friday, a day for stores to do whatever they can to get “back in the black” — out of any debt they might have accrued through the course of the year — is also a great time to take advantage of ridiculously low prices and do some Christmas shopping. In fact, retailers advertise their Black Friday sales as just that opportunity, and in doing so, put out Christmas-themed advertisements before your little cousin has finished all of their Halloween candy.
Regardless of its cause, the problem remains. Christmas is encroaching on Thanksgiving. While I will freely admit that this controversy is minuscule in terms of its impact on people’s lives, it is a controversy that people, myself included, are quite passionate about.
For me, this is an issue of respect. Christmas is the only major holiday that is celebrated in the lead-up to another holiday which occurs before it. We even wait to start thinking about New Year’s Eve until after Christmas, despite the fact that it takes place only six days later. At the bottom line, the only justification for Christmas season starting on Nov. 1 is decisions made by advertisers. In my opinion, that is not sufficient to justify celebrating a holiday before its time. Even the month of build-up after Thanksgiving is plenty of time to celebrate the Christmas season.
However, not only are advertisers celebrating Christmas far too soon, they are blatantly ignoring the people who celebrate Christmas differently or even not at all. The other two major winter holidays, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa, barely get mentioned in popular culture, save for the days that they actually take place. That day-of mention is nowhere near the months of celebration Christmas gets. Not only is it problematic that other cultures’ winter holidays are completely overlooked, I can not imagine how frustrating it must be to have a holiday you do not even celebrate shoved in your face for two whole months. Respect for other cultures, if nothing else, is reason enough to hold off on Christmas celebrations until at least after Thanksgiving.
If you are looking for something to do for the first few weeks of November, there is nothing wrong with getting a head start on Thanksgiving. Think about the people and things you are thankful for. Get together with family and friends. I’ll be right there with you to celebrate Christmas when the time comes — Nov. 29, and not a day earlier.