By Holly Fertsch
November is beginning to look more like December. Wawa has red holiday cups. Starbucks has already decorated its stores with a cardboard Christmas tree. Some cities are even putting up holiday decorations along their streets.
It’s only the first week of November. Thanksgiving hasn’t happened yet, and Halloween was just last week. Colorful fall leaves and acorns adorn front lawns, and most of us aren’t even close to being done with raking.
Here are five reasons why Christmas needs to stay in its lane.
- Thanksgiving hasn’t happened yet.
In a conversation with my grandmother recently, she lamented that Thanksgiving is becoming a “forgotten holiday.” I agree with her; it’s important to have a day to give thanks and show gratitude for one another without Christmas overshadowing it.
Acclaimed UK organist Anna Lapwood
I understand that Thanksgiving is a holiday from an era of genocide against Native Americans. However, many people use Thanksgiving Day to pay homage to indigenous cultures and show gratitude for that part of our history instead.
- It’s still fall!
It’s not winter yet, so let’s celebrate fall while it’s still here. Autumn is a magical season of crisp breezes, beautiful leaves, harvest moons, and warm apple cider.
Why are we squandering this spectacular season of lovely foliage and perfect temperatures by pining for winter? Winter will come in its own time. We can’t rush the seasons.
- Not everyone celebrates Christmas.
I know most commercial businesses say “holiday season” instead of Christmas. However, I don’t think it’s fair to assign blame to other winter holidays for what’s happening this November. Most stores aren’t decorated in white and blue with a cardboard menorah.
I also know people who don’t celebrate any winter holidays in December. For example, some people celebrate the Lunar New Year in February but don’t really have any big celebrations during what is often considered the holiday season.
I have always celebrated Christmas. However, if I’m annoyed by Christmas creeping into the fall season, I can only imagine how people of other faiths feel.
- Increased commercialization cheapens the holiday.
I understand that, in the United States, Christmas is a commercial holiday. However, at the very least, let’s contain that commercialization to the month the holiday is actually in.
My favorite parts about Christmas have little to do with money and presents. I like making my nana’s secret recipe for Christmas cookies each year with my grandma and watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” with my dad each Christmas Eve. It’s the traditions that make the holiday magical, not the materialism.
- There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
They say, “Keep Christmas with you all through the year.” Christmas is most special when it only comes once a year.
When Christmas is a two-month-long affair however, I find myself exhausted and sick of it by the time Christmas Day rolls around. We need to pace ourselves so we don’t burn out.
