Written by Cianna Jay
Some debates have plagued the world seemingly since the beginning of time. The chicken or the egg debate, Edward or Jacob, the great pumpkin spice controversy, cats versus dogs and, of course, the appropriate time to begin celebrating Christmas.
Many will tell you, “Let Halloween breathe. Wait till after Thanksgiving, at least.”
And for most of my life, I would have agreed with this sentiment half-heartedly.
Growing up, my local radio station would begin playing Christmas music the night of Thanksgiving. I remember driving home from my grandparents’ house after Thanksgiving dinner every year, gazing at the stars out my window as Bing Crosby and Michael Bublé told me it was finally Christmas season.
I’ve never had many holiday traditions, so this felt like the closest thing to me.
But this year, I’ve found myself questioning this stubborn decision to postpone celebrating. I love the Christmas season. It’s my favorite time to be alive. So why should I set limits on my time to celebrate when my heart already feels festive?
Here’s the thing. Halloween and Christmas both have seasons, so it makes sense to celebrate them for an extended time. But there’s no Thanksgiving season, not even Thanksgiving music. Christmas shopping has begun. Thanksgiving decor is painfully limited to Hobby Lobby signs about gratefulness and turkey figures. (An almost morbid practice, if you ask me. Isn’t this smiling turkey adorable? Forget about the fact that I’m going to eat their brother in a few days.)
Christmas is so full of good things. Why should I cram them all into one month when they’re gone in the time it takes me to decorate the tree, and I’ve barely had time to appreciate them?
This year, I’ve learned to see beauty in this odd in-between season, the mingling between fall and the anticipation of winter and Christmas. It’s old, crackling Christmas records and lists of gratitude; crunchy leaves and glittering lights; themes of thankfulness and joy and giving and family. It’s looking at Christmas decor in store windows and driving past light displays on the way back from Thanksgiving dinner shopping.
Christmas and Thanksgiving are not enemies or the last in a line of domino holidays. They’re complementary in their own beautiful way.
I brushed off my Christmas playlist the first weekend of November and bought a peppermint mocha with no shame. And I encourage you to reconsider your position on the Christmas celebration time debate. If it’s the most wonderful time of the year, why should we make that time as short as possible?
