How soon is too soon to kick off the holiday season? The month of October is fondly referred to as “spooky season”, with various fall festivities leading up to Halloween, when costumes, candy, and cobwebs abound. Recently even, the holiday has unofficially expanded to include the weekend before, now dubbed Halloweekend. But as the first stroke of midnight hits November 1st, some detect a change in the air. Ghoulish delight is replaced with Christmas cheer, and mischief is traded off for peace on earth. Soon, green pine trees will take the place of orange pumpkins as Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” serenades you from the speaker of every store.
It is up for debate when it is too early to celebrate Christmas. There’s a large range of opinions on the topic; one person you talk to will excitedly gush about listening to Christmas music the first week of November, the next will be very adamant in their wait-till-after-Thanksgiving rule. I’ve heard someone firmly argue that Christmas celebrations should be held off until December, and another insist that watching holiday movies in July is acceptable.
Then again, everyone does not celebrate these holidays, and what is a bigger deal to one person might be a more casual event for another. Some people don’t enjoy the horror aspect of Halloween, and people sometimes celebrate Christmas for different reasons. For some, the holiday is an important aspect of Christianity since it symbols the birth of Jesus Christ, but other celebrators focus more on family and gift-gifting, as well as fun like Santa Claus and reindeer. Other holidays that occur in the October to December range include Día de los Muertos, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, St. Nicholas Day, and more. And If you look beyond those months, you’ll get into New Year’s Eve and Day, Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day, Easter, and so on.
So then, when does the holiday season actually start? It’s hard to pin down, and really depends on what you celebrate and what you prefer. When you look at all the holidays, celebrations, and festivals that occur around the world in different places and at different times, it almost seems like the holidays never end.
So if you like to celebrate and have your Christmas lights and hot cocoa as soon as possible, enjoy it and have fun! Just save the rest of us a Christmas cookie for when we’re ready to deck the halls soon too.
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