Christmas is a well liked holiday. People celebrate Christmas for a number of reasons such as the birth of Jesus Christ, family bonding, and enriching cultural traditions. Some even just love the idea of receiving money and gifts. People love Christmas so much that they start getting into the spirit even before the autumn holidays begin. But when is it really the right time to be putting Frosty out on our front lawns?
Student Evelyn Renzo ‘28, says that everyone should have some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to digest all the autumn spirit before throwing up the tinsel and ornaments. Evelyn says, “I think people who put their Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving are kind of like jumping the gun almost, because a lot of people are still preparing for Thanksgiving. So when there’s those people who are putting their Christmas decorations out during that time, it’s just kind of like- whoa, you skipped something. Like, you’re missing a step.” Evelyn starts preparing for winter a week after Thanksgiving is over. It gives her brain time to shift into the winter holiday season, now that all the fall holidays have been completed. She thinks the best time to start decorating for Christmas is the first week of December, that way the spirit of Christmas can be felt before the holiday actually begins. She argues that having Christmas decorations up before December leaves more room to start getting tired of them because of how long they’ve been up. Christmas is such a big and bold holiday, how do we know when it becomes too much?
Easton Martinenza ‘27 had some interesting takes on when Christmas begins. For someone who participates in many autumn activities, it doesn’t take much for him to fall right into the Christmas spirit. Easton says, “Fall ends on the last day of October. Christmas starts November first. When fall ends, I am automatically ready for Christmas.” Woah, if that’s not a hot take then I don’t know what is! Easton describes how it’s easy for him to get ready for winter holidays because he doesn’t celebrate Halloween. What people consider to be “Halloween” activities, he just considers it to be a fall activity. Anyone who speaks to Easton about Christmas, would be able to see how much more he loves his winter activities. Easton says, “I feel like a little bit before Halloween- I like to listen to my Christmas music, really get in the mood, you know?” I mean, hey, who doesn’t love Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”? But before the month of December?
Say hello to the Christmas-loving guy who waits until December 1st to start celebrating, Colin Huff ‘28! Like Evelyn, Colin thinks it’s acceptable to begin decorating the first week of December; but who else is surprised that he doesn’t even start getting excited about Christmas until… Winter break??!! Colin says, “Honestly, I start getting excited when winter break starts because that’s when I feel like I can actually relax; because before then, I just don’t feel excited.” Many students might not want to be thinking about midterms and school projects over break when they could be imagining the new xbox or sephora gift card that lies within their future. Something interesting that Colin explained was, why exactly he likes to wait until December to get into the Christmas spirit. To him, November just doesn’t feel like winter yet. He associates December with all the holidays that fall into it; such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. So because November isn’t actually the month of those Holidays, he doesn’t feel spirited towards Christmas until December comes. Colin says, “The first day that I have to wear pants and a sweatshirt. To make it more specific; when the temperature drops below 40. That’s when I feel like winter has started.” Oh! While many people already bundle up in coats and scarfs during November, Colin has a different idea of what’s cold and what’s warm.
I think it’s safe to say that we all love Christmas; and we love it in different ways. Some start celebrating and preparing their shopping list a month in advance, while others wait for that perfect winter feeling. There is no one answer to “When is the right time to get into the Christmas spirit?”, we just feel the spirit whenever we feel it.
Stay warm out there, and have a holly-jolly Christmas.
