‘Halloween’s over, it’s time to put up the tree!’
‘The skeleton’s coming down and the turkey is going up.’
‘Why are their Christmas lights already up…’
As soon as November 1st hits, these are the conversations I hear every day. The day after Halloween, each class has people arguing whether or not they put their tree up or not. Some are overly excited that their Christmas decorations are up while others believe it is finally fall.
For me, I believe that the holiday spirit is only during December. I love Thanksgiving and it does not get enough respect. There are plenty of cute decorations for fall that should be put up during November; however, I considered SPUB’s thoughts on Christmas decorations. There were many good reasons as to why they may put up decorations early, but I found that my opinion to be similar to Olivia Tarvin, 12, who believes November is too early.
“I personally believe that anything before thanksgiving is too early. I can get down with some lights, but your tree should not be up before thanksgiving. I understand the excitement, but let the fall and the pumpkins have their time. It’s such a beautiful time of the year,” Tarvin explained.
There are plenty of students that exclaimed their love for putting up trees, lights, and some even put out early presents. Although this is to be true, some students, even though they love Christmas, slowly ease into it.
“Once Halloween is over I start wearing Christmas pjs and playing Christmas music, but I don’t tend to decorate until after Thanksgiving. This is the way I do it because I love to put decorations up in my room for different seasons or holidays. When fall hits, I put my fall decor out and I want it to stay up until Thanksgiving. I will let the Christmas chaos start afterwards. So basically, I start mentally celebrating Christmas after Halloween but I don’t physically celebrate until after Thanksgiving,” Kayley Tran, 11, said.
Typically, students who do not believe decorations should be put out this early think this because of Thanksgiving right before. However, there are also groups of students who are not necessarily concerned about that, but because of the significance of Christmas. For some religions, Christmas is an important and critical event that they must celebrate. With that being said, there are happy mediums students have found to be respectful of all holidays and their meanings.
“Christmas is one of my favorite times of year because it allows people to show their loved ones that they are loved. This has always been important to me because I am a Christian and celebrating Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus! I love that the season is such a positive time for people of all different faiths and backgrounds. I feel like it’s important that all people know the origins of Christmas. I love Halloween and my family loves Thanksgiving so I strongly believe that Christmas for me begins on Black Friday,” Hannah King, 12, exclaimed.
Overall, Whether you decorate for Christmas early to embrace the festive spirit or wait until closer to the big day, it’s all part of making the season your own. There’s no right or wrong way to celebrate—what matters most is the joy and warmth that the decorations bring, whenever you choose to put them up. After all, the holiday season is about creating moments of happiness, no matter when they start.
