Every year, Christmas seems to come earlier and earlier. With stores filling their shelves with Christmas decorations and food in early October, Starbucks releasing their holiday drinks on November 2nd, and even Mariah Carey announcing its time for Christmas when the clock strikes midnight on November 1st, it’s not surprising to hear “Thriller” and “Jingle Bells” overlapping each other on Halloween night. While many believe it is socially acceptable to play Christmas music and start decorating once the forks are set down on Thanksgiving, evidence shows that many start celebrating sooner. According to Spotify, Christmas music spikes around November 13.
Those who wait till the socially acceptable time to hang their lights and hear the bells of Christmas songs are making a very wise decision as giving in to the holiday spirit neglects Thanksgiving and may cause Christmas stress and burnout. Stuck in the middle of two major holidays, Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving often gets overlooked. There is no Thanksgiving music or decorations and while some may look forward to Thanksgiving in reality many are actually looking forward to the end in order to begin celebrating Christmas. Though the holiday is built on controversial terms, now it is a holiday full of good food, gratitude, and fewer expectations than Christmas.
To many, Christmas is a jolly time full of gifts, hot chocolate, parties, and joy, but to others, it is a reminder of all the things that need to be done during the holiday season. From gift shopping to meal and party planning, Christmas can feel like a very hectic time. Rather than relaxing, people are running around trying to balance all the events that come with Christmas. Early decorations and music playing will place those people in a stressful state of mind before December comes. The final reason those who wait for Christmas are making a wise decision is they are able to go all out once December hits rather than feeling burnt out.
Let’s be honest; although Christmas music may have a festive and exciting feel initially, it gets old fairly fast with a lack of mainstream original songs, the same songs are played over and over again. While you may be inspired to “deck the halls with boughs of holly” the first time, you may feel tempted to throw the holly in the trash after hearing the refrain for the 30th time. The feeling of cheer the music provides is met with annoyance when played too early. If you want to feel festive all throughout the holiday season I recommend that you wait till after Thanksgiving to begin decorating and listening to music.
While it is best to wait till after Thanksgiving to begin the holiday festivities, the reasoning behind giving in to the urge for Christmas early is not unreasonable. For one, it is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas (excuse the pun), there are colder days and darker afternoons. People associate these changes in weather with the beginning of the holiday season and it brings a desire for an early Christmas. The holiday season lasts about a month and a half from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve; those who love this season may feel like it is simply not enough time to enjoy all it has to offer. Life and the season are too short to waste time not celebrating. For many high school seniors, it may be the last Christmas season they spend with their family and friends so they want to spend as much time in the holiday season as possible. It is a moment to celebrate with friends and family and follow beloved traditions.
The third reason starting an early listen of Christmas music or decorating is not entirely outrageous is actually psychological research. Many psychologists claim that those who fall into the Christmas spirit are happier and more cheerful. A study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology also found that people who were shown photographs of a home decorated for Christmas perceived the people who lived there as more friendly and sociable than houses without décor. Therefore an early Christmas can bring great happiness, love, hospitality, and kindness all things that make no sense to delay.
Christmas is a joyful season for most, full of childlike wonder and comfort. The commercial world (stores, radio, advertisements) aims to push the holiday season up further and further into the fall. Some are all for this change and are completely ready to embrace Christmas music and decorations with open arms. Some have been waiting all year for the holiday season to come around again. And yet I still believe that delaying your first listen to Christmas music and your first decorations till after Thanksgiving is the best choice. Christmas burnout and stress are very real feelings and the last thing you want during the season is annoyance and bitterness when you should be feeling joy and excitement because you started celebrating too early.
