The summer air is fading and the cool breezes of fall are arriving. With school back in session, our free time becomes more and more limited. One thing that gets many students through the changing seasons is the promise of the holidays.
Halloween has just passed, so what’s the next holiday we most look forward to? Christmas. There are only 55 days between Halloween and Christmas, so every year the countdown begins quickly. The debate on when we should start to celebrate Christmas is a hot topic year after year, with the holiday always being rushed along quickly.
At first, I never really cared for this argument. I enjoyed celebrating both holidays with my family and never gave it much thought. Nowadays, I have my own opinion on this controversial debate.
During the month of October we should spend our energy on getting into the Halloween spirit. Visiting pumpkin patches, watching scary movies or even going to Fright Fest are all fun things to do during fall. The days leading up to Halloween should consist of spooky decorations and costume planning. We should take in the cool, crisp air before snow covers the streets and we have to bundle up to go outside.
On Halloween we should enjoy the unlimited free candy and the cute pictures we can post on Instagram. For me, seeing all the Christmas decorations cover the shelves in stores during the month of October is annoying. Living in the present can decrease stress, so why must we constantly think about the month of December and what it will bring? All the Christmas preparation has started to override Halloween.
What about Thanksgiving? Thanksgiving tends to be forgotten—sandwiched between the two most popular holidays, Halloween and Christmas. It’s hard to say if we should drop the Christmas talk and enjoy the warmth of Thanksgiving as we say goodbye to fall. The problem with Thanksgiving is there’s not much you can do to decorate. Sure, you could leave some fall items around your house, but that’s not as fun as spooky jack-o-lanterns or colorful Christmas lights.
When Thanksgiving arrives, I believe we should enjoy our time with family! Stuffing our faces with turkey, corn and mashed potatoes. But with all that time in between, I think it’s okay to start spreading the Christmas cheer.
Rest assured, as December approaches, I can safely say it’s time we get ahead on our Christmas shopping! With the northern weather, who knows when snow will strike? It’s better to decorate in advance than to be safe and sorry. I know that once the snow falls, I’ll be happy to see all the Christmas decorations lighting up the streets. In the meantime, we need to allow each holiday to shine in its own appropriate time.