Among Christmas-celebrating individuals, there is the everpresent conversation of when to start the celebration. For some, like sophomore Lindsey Fortino, the answer seems obvious.
“Everyone should start celebrating Christmas on November 3,” Lindsey said. “I give Halloween its time to resonate; then, the third is Christmas time. I don’t think that it’s right to start Christmas after Thanksgiving because Thanksgiving is a one-day ordeal. And Christmas is just like a whole five-month kind of ordeal.”
Though Christmas may not actually be a five-month occasion, Lindsey’s excitement for the holiday is enough to last for months.
On November 3 and the month and a half following it, Lindsey prepares for the Christmas season in many ways.
“I set up my Christmas tree,” Lindsey said. “I get my Christmas candle, I watch movies, and I have my cozy pajamas. I get into arguments about it, especially with my parents. I don’t understand why we can’t set our Christmas tree after Halloween. How’s that taking away from Thanksgiving? I don’t get it.”
I think if you really get in the spirit of Christmas, you should get in the spirit sooner rather than later.
— Ian Schoonfield
Though Lindsey gets into arguments surrounding her premature celebration, she still believes everyone should celebrate sooner rather than later.
Lindsey’s early enthusiasm surrounding Christmas is not shared by everyone. Senior Adam Gray strongly disagrees with celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving.
“I wait because I like to respect Thanksgiving and treat it as a real holiday as I think I should be,” Adam said. “I don’t want to overlap. I like separating them because I think they’re both great.”
Adam is adamant about celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving.
However, Adam is much less enthusiastic about the Thanksgiving season than Lindsey is about the Christmas season.
“I do nothing to get in the Thanksgiving spirit,” Adam said. “I celebrate the day of. My grandparents host me, my family, my cousins, and a bunch of people together. I really enjoy that.”
Thanksgiving is the kickstart for the Christmas season for Adam. Being around his family embodies the familial component of both holidays.
Even after waiting a month to celebrate Christmas, Adam still does not jump into the festive spirit.
“I don’t get into Christmas right after Thanksgiving,” Adam said. “I’m not like that. Around the Sunday after Thanksgiving, [my family will] put up a Christmas tree, and then, that’s when I start celebrating.”
Despite their strong differences in opinion, Lindsey and Adam both enjoy the Christmas season, even if one may not enjoy Thanksgiving as much.
Among all of the debate around the holidays, some, like sophomore Ian Schoonfield, don’t see the reason for all of the drama.
“I feel like [Thanksgiving and Christmas] are relatively overrated,” Ian said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I mean, I feel like Christmas is overhyped. I know everybody sees it as a great time to meet up with your family and stuff, but I don’t know. I feel like it’s overrated.”
Even though Ian dislikes the hype of the season, he still has opinions about when people should begin their Christmas celebrations.
To start, he sees one holiday as more significant than the other.
“I think [Thanksgiving] is really over-exaggerated on how important it is,” Ian said. “It’s a great time to get together with family and friends. But I don’t see it as a very important holiday. Instead, I see it more as a side holiday like April Fool’s. But I think if you really get in the spirit of Christmas, you should get in the spirit sooner rather than later.”
Though not everyone agrees on when to start the Christmas celebration, and the debate is sure to run strong for years, the upcoming holidays and surrounding seasons are sure to be a celebratory time, no matter when it starts.
“[Christmas is] a festive time,” Lindsey said, “and I feel like everything is happier on Christmas. I find that I’m not happy all of the time, so I want to be happy and spend time with my family all united at Christmas.”
