Thanksgiving is next week, but there are already people who have fully embraced the Christmas season. They are listening to Christmas music, putting up decor, buying gifts and planning parties. This time of the year always brings about a strong debate on whether people should celebrate and decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving or not.
As someone who has always loved Christmas and can be caught occasionally listening to a Christmas song or two throughout the summer months (I am not going to lie, they are on some of my daily playlists) I am obviously an advocate for celebrating the holiday season before the month of December.
Decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving is not meant to overshadow Thanksgiving but add more time to the Christmas season. I personally think 25 days of holly jolly is not enough and that using November to listen to Christmas music and to decorate is acceptable.
I love the thought of being able to celebrate whenever I want because when I was growing up, I was not allowed to even think about the Christmas season until after Thanksgiving. My family would not let me decorate or listen to Christmas music until the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers were put into the fridge. They wanted me to embrace Thanksgiving and give it its time before we moved to the next holiday, which makes sense, but I just wanted to start embracing the season early because it is so short.
The Christmas season is a time when you can experience childhood nostalgia and have a feeling of home. When you decorate a little early, you have more time to reminisce on those memories. There have also been plenty of articles posted that claim that decorating for Christmas actually makes you a happier person, so I think that some people could use a little early Christmas celebration.
Cultivating the Christmas spirit before December is a personal choice, and I don’t think there is a reason to hate on anyone who does or does not decorate. It is a season full of love, and I think loving your friends and neighbors despite their decisions about decorating is what matters most.
All in all, I think the debate is silly, and if someone wants to decorate for Christmas whenever they want, then so be it. I do not think there is a right or wrong time to celebrate, and you should do what makes you happy and puts you in the holiday spirit.
