APU faculty and students give their opinions on the “right” time to celebrate.
The debate over when the right time to start celebrating Christmas has been argued for years. My own definition of celebrating includes decorating, listening to music, eating festive food, buying presents, etc. For some, their decision is based on weather; for others, it’s surrounding holidays. But is there any “right” time to celebrate?
I used a few methods to get opinions on this topic. I asked my teammates, classmates and Instagram followers the same question: When is it acceptable to start celebrating Christmas? From these groups, I found the most common answers were “whenever I feel like it,” after Halloween and after Thanksgiving.
The most popular answer I received to this question was after Thanksgiving. Many reasoned with the fact that it’s a holiday too, and it would be wrong to neglect it. I have to agree with this mentality because I firmly believe that it’s bad luck to skip over Thanksgiving. For those who don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, I found that their decision is still after the holiday.
Ismael Lopez Medel, a Communications Professor and Department Chair at APU from Spain, explained how his home country begins their celebrations around the first weeks of December. In Spain, students get out of school during this time, which marks the start of the festivities. Also, Halloween and Thanksgiving aren’t celebrated there, making their calendars a bit different from the U.S.
Another popular answer I received was directly after Halloween. For many, this time of year is when the weather shifts to colder temperatures. The desire to be warm and cozy triggers the instinct to decorate for Christmas. Halloween kicks off a series of major holidays, so why not get a head start?
Morgan Faranov, a junior from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, didn’t see the point in celebrating Halloween after graduating high school. Last year, she spent Halloween weekend watching Hallmark movies with friends. By starting in October, Faranov found a fun tradition that allows her to fully enjoy Christmas.
“With the longer celebration, I really focused on the hope of the birth of Christ,” said Faranov. “It allowed me to form a special bond with God that I still feel the effects of today.”
For others, their love for the holiday trumps every other condition. Erika Pickett, a sophomore from Lewiston, Idaho, swears by celebrating Christmas as soon as possible. Her love and excitement for the holiday give her the green light to start decorating as early as September. As soon as temperatures drop, she’s putting up her tree.
“I would rather have a full season of Christmas for months than just the month of December,” said Pickett.
For Pickett, a full season of Christmas incorporates all the activities one would associate with the holiday and more. Her personal favorites are setting up the tree, watching movies and making gingerbread houses. With a longer period to celebrate, there are more opportunities for fun activities and memorable moments.
There isn’t a definite right or wrong time to start celebrating Christmas—it’s more about your culture and your love for the holiday. While there are strong believers in celebrating for a few months, most seem to wait until after Thanksgiving to start their merriments. But make sure that whenever you start to feel the holiday spirit, celebrate and embrace it with pride.