I’ve always been the type of person who refuses to listen to Christmas music or start decorating for the holidays before Thanksgiving, but that has changed since I came to college. Students go home for Thanksgiving break, and when we come back, we usually have only two or three weeks left in the semester. That doesn’t leave us with much time to enjoy and celebrate the holidays with our friends. Plus, the time leading up to Winter Break can be so stressful because of finals and other work that we have to complete by the end of the semester; I started to realize that there was no point in prolonging the wait for Christmas joy, especially because it can help to cheer me up during stressful times.
This year, my roommates and I got a Christmas tree for our apartment and started decorating for the holidays in the first week of November. I wouldn’t normally do so this early, but for some reason, I was ready for the holidays as soon as Halloween was over. I was also excited because this is our first year living in an apartment, so we can finally have a tree, bake cookies and do many other fun holiday activities together that we couldn’t do before. After Thanksgiving, things will ramp up with finals and we may not have time to do these things, so it seemed best to do them now.
If you’re still not convinced to start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving, don’t worry, I get it. I was like that once too. I understand that celebrating Christmas right after Halloween can feel a little early and that it seems like we forget about Thanksgiving. That’s why I don’t really go “full Christmas” until after “Turkey Day.” I’ve been listening to Christmas music occasionally, but I mostly stick to “wintery” songs like “Winter Wonderland” or “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” As for decorations, we’ve put a few up, but we haven’t put any ornaments on our tree yet. Even at Starbucks, where the holiday drinks came out on November 7, I still have only gotten the chestnut praline latte because it feels too early for the peppermint mocha.
Everybody has their own opinion about when the right time to start celebrating the holidays is, and honestly, I don’t think anyone is wrong. The holidays are a joyful time no matter when you start your celebration. For me, I’ll be slowly starting to get more into the holiday spirit every day. I might even be ready for the peppermint mocha by the end of this week, who knows. I recognize that it’s a little early, but having a little holiday cheer certainly helps during the stressful times leading up to the end of the semester.