It’s that awkward time of year again when Halloween is over, but Thanksgiving is still on its way. Some people have been listening to Christmas music since March while others are waiting to feast on Turkey Day before participating in anything Christmas related. Both timelines for celebrating are valid, but I personally start to celebrate Christmas in September, and here’s why that’s okay:
Bob’s Burgers “Christmas in the Car” (gif from www.theodysseyonline.com)
First of all, my excitement about Christmas doesn’t hinder anyone from celebrating Thanksgiving. It’s easy to think otherwise because many things that are Thanksgiving themed are also considered autumn-themed. Christmas and winter are seen as separate concepts, so Christmas is more blatant and obvious. However, by celebrating Christmas in advance, I am not diminishing the validity of Thanksgiving. I, too, will be eating turkey with my family with a thankful heart this coming Thanksgiving.
Second of all, it’s cultural for me to celebrate Christmas early. Although I’m very happy to have Thanksgiving now that I live in America, I didn’t celebrate it in the Philippines where I was born. Christmas was the spotlight holiday of the year. We have a running joke among Filipinos where Christmas starts when the months end with “-ber.” I still adhere to many Filipino traditions, and one of them is to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving.
I have respect for those who like to finish one holiday before moving on to the next, and I also respect those like me who believe in overlapping holidays. Whatever way you prefer, don’t rain on someone’s holiday cheer by correcting the way they celebrate.
Traditional Filipino Christmas Parol (photo from www.m2comms.com)