The Christmas season has arrived … well, for some.
Across the nation, there is a light-hearted argument over the proper time to begin decorating for the Christmas season. There are those who decorate their tree before they buy their Thanksgiving turkey, and there are those who strictly wait until Dec. 1.
According to a 2019 poll from ABC News10, eight in 10 Americans start decorating for Christmas before Nov. 1. This year, Good Housekeeping magazine projected that more houses would decorate before Thanksgiving.
Waiting for the right time
For the crowd that waits until December, there are multiple reasons they hold off on the Christmas decorations.
“Christmas is a religious holiday, and therefore Christmas decorations should go up during the Christmas season — so, the start of Advent,” said Emily Miller, ’21.
Emily Miller feels the same way about Christmas music, though there is one exception. “I’ve been a choral student forever, and when you’re a choral student, Christmas music starts in October because you’re normally getting ready for your Christmas concert,” she said.
Another drawback of early decorating is the capitalistic side of Christmas. In the U.S., stores stock their holiday inventory in October and begin advertising their sales for November.
Emily Miller said she thinks that consumerism takes away from the real meaning of Christmas. Aside from religious beliefs and economic opinions, some would rather appreciate the fall season before jumping into Christmastime.
“The fall is such a pretty season and I don’t want to rush through it. I don’t need Christmas in the fall,” Emily Miller said.
‘Tis the season
The excitement of the holidays can be enticing. This is why some Christmas celebrators are drawn in before the Thanksgiving holiday.
“There’s just an air around Christmas that’s just so happy, so warm, so inviting around that time, and I think a lot of people like to stretch that out,” said Kenny Miller, ’21. “They want that time and that season to last a long time because a lot of people have great memories around this time.”
Outside of sentimental connections to the holidays, there is a logistical purpose for decorating early.
“It does start to get really cold towards the end of November/beginning of December, so get your Christmas decorations up so you don’t have to do it later,” Kenny Miller said.
Though he begins playing Christmas music on Nov. 1 and continues all the way through January, Kenny Miller never stated an exact date that he begins decorating. He said that he generally begins sometime between the end of November and the beginning of December.
However, Kenny Miller said that if someone began the Christmas festivities before Halloween, he would consider it too soon.
