The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the position of ZU Media or APU
How early is too early?
When Oct. 31 comes around, everyone is ready to hang out with friends and eat tons of candy. Then Nov. 1 arrives. The music in the stores replace “Thriller” with Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Some people are even nodding their heads to the music. All I can think is one word:
What???
Do corporations and radio stations forget that Thanksgiving is before Christmas? Why is Christmas music playing in the beginning of November? Every time I have these thoughts and bring it up to someone they always say, “It’s never too early to get in the holiday spirit, Kane!”
The way I see it? There is such a thing as too early to celebrate Christmas. Aidan Chesemore of The Jet Stream agrees, saying Thanksgiving is practically ignored nowadays due to early Christmas celebrations. Seriously, what happened to Thanksgiving? I have two suggested days that would be more appropriate to begin the Christmas celebration.
Black Friday
While it’s not a specific date, Black Friday has become synonymous with frantic Christmas shopping. The discounts and deals you can find on this “holiday” make it a must for consumers to shop.
I can understand why this occasion is a good time to start the Christmas celebrations. Thanksgiving will have already been celebrated the day before so it can’t be skipped over. And Christmas is the season of giving, so Black Friday is the push people need to buy things for their loved ones. Another thing to mention is that the e-shopping event Cyber Monday occurs just three days after Black Friday. That entire four-day period is a chance for people to buy gifts.
Now, this does mean that you will need a Christmas list for yourself and gifts for others in mind. If you want those gifts on either Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you need to share your Christmas list ASAP.
This does not mean, however, that we need to have our Christmas trees up in our house or listen to Christmas music before Black Friday. I’m not trying to be a Scrooge, but we still have Thanksgiving to get through before we should shift into Christmas mode.
Is Thanksgiving as eventful as Christmas? No, not unless you make it eventful. Is there a Thanksgiving song or anthem to associate it with? No, there is not. It is, however, still a national holiday that the United States celebrates. Work and school take a day off for Thanksgiving. Singing Christmas music two weeks before Thanksgiving even happens doesn’t give the holiday enough recognition.
December 1
There is nothing necessarily special about Dec. 1 besides the fact that it is the beginning of December. Considering Christmas is 24 days away, however, it would be a great day to begin the Christmas festivities. Emily Clare of the Queen’s Journal agrees.
“Celebrating it for three months straight will definitely cause the holiday to become tired once December 25 arrives,” Clare writes. If we started on Dec. 1, there would only be one month of celebration, which seems to be an appropriate time.
Beginning the celebrations on Dec. 1 is a way to give the day an identity and kick off the holiday season. Not only does Christmas start in December, but Hanukkah and Kwanzaa do as well. Dec. 1 has the potential to be the day to kick off every holiday the winter season has to offer. Decorations could be put up. Christmas music can be played. The problem, however, is time itself.
Dec. 1 may fall on a weekend one year and a weekday the next. Planning around factors like school and work every year would be incredibly inconvenient for people planning on setting up decorations or carrying out holiday traditions.
This problem is what makes Black Friday a better time to begin the celebrations. Black Friday is a day off for many of us (except for the employees who work in the stores). Dec. 1 is just another day of the year. It’s easier to get people to transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas on Black Friday when they shop with Christmas gifts in mind. By Dec. 1, it may be too late to get that special someone their gift because it was gone on Black Friday.
If I had to pick a day to officially begin the Christmas celebration, it would ideally be Black Friday. I recognize there is no controlling how or when people celebrate the holidays, and that’s completely fine. But ideally there would be more appreciation for Thanksgiving when it comes around before playing Michael Buble and Mariah Carey’s Christmas songs over and over.