OPINION

The opinions published by The Match are solely those of the author, and not of the entire publication, its staff, or Collegiate School. The Match welcomes thoughtful commentary and response to our content. You can respond in the comments below, but please do so respectfully. Letters to the Editors will be published, but they are subject to revision based on content or length. Letters can be sent to match@collegiate-va.org.

By Braden Bell

The lights, the music, the feeling. These are the things that make Christmastime iconic and special.  Prime Christmastime is no doubt the best time of year. But the question is: Does Christmastime come too early? 

A classic measure of when Christmastime truly begins is when the number of listens to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” starts to skyrocket. Google Trends shows that the interest rating of “All I Want For Christmas Is You” shot up from a rating of 8 to a rating of 48 in less than a week immediately after Halloween. This means that the song was nearly half as popular as it was at its peak in the past year, and that was still in early November. The massive rise in interest in the song coincides with November 1, when Carey herself released a video of herself defrosting and singing the words “It’s time.”  

Mariah Carey getting “defrosted.” Photo credit: Instagram via @mariahcarey

Many stores have started pushing Christmas-themed items earlier and earlier every year, which has been called “Christmas Creep.” Christmas creep also includes radio stations changing to holiday music, which this year has happened as early as October 19 on a local West Virginia station. The much larger Sirius XM Radio officially switched to Christmas music on November 8, a much less severe date to start playing holiday music. Many stores officially start their switch to holiday displays on November 1, similar to the rise in Christmas music popularity. Searches for other Christmas songs on Google also increased in the hundreds of percent in November.   

Another measure of when Christmastime starts is when lights and decorations begin to pop up. Christmas lights expose some of the most radical Christmas celebrators. Around Collegiate, one house in particular I drive past every day was decorated with a giant inflatable Santa and lights before Halloween. Initially, I thought that they were going all-out decorating for Halloween, but when I took a closer look, the decorations were distinctly Christmas-themed.  

One of the most hardcore decorative displays that I have seen is someone in my neighborhood who never lets Christmas end. This neighbor has a Christmas tree in their front window year-round, and lights it up every night. For some holidays, they put ornaments on the tree themed to that holiday, but most of the time it remains a true Christmas tree. My family and I were puzzled for years as to why this family never took down their tree, and we were all too scared to ask them about it.    

Christmas before Halloween is over the top, but once Halloween ends, it is acceptable for the Christmas season to start. Kevin Johnson (‘24) says that the Christmas season and Thanksgiving should run together, as they often do now. Johnson says that “Thanksgiving gets you hype for Christmas,” so when the Thanksgiving season starts, Christmas starts. Johnson and I both agreed that we love the feeling of Christmastime. For us, the longer it lasts, the better, so the November 1 start date is ideal.  

On the other hand, many others believe that Christmastime starts far too early and that it should start only after Thanksgiving. Eli Billings (‘24) stated that “Christmastime starting before Thanksgiving is disrespectful to Thanksgiving as a holiday.” Billings believes that Thanksgiving should have its own time in the spotlight, and that it should not be infringed upon like it is now.  While this argument makes sense, the feeling that Thanksgiving brings you is just not there when compared to Christmas. Thanksgiving has its own time closer to the holiday, but a three-week period of Thanksgiving cheer in between Halloween and Thanksgiving simply would not happen, and there would be a void of holiday spirit in that interim time.  

Nikhil Depalma (‘24) who is half-Indian and half-Italian, celebrates Christmas fully and “normally.” His mom in particular celebrates both Hindu holidays and Christmas. She is adamant that her house is well decorated for Christmas and that all of the trees are in the right places and looking great. She decorates her house to an impressive level and better than many who celebrate only Christmas.  Their impressive holiday display is a great example of how Christmastime can be for all and not just those who celebrate Christmas religiously.   

Christmastime goes hand-in-hand with cold weather and the beginning of winter.  The overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and coziness is simply unmatched by any other holiday season.  For this reason, I believe that Christmastime should start on November 1. This is the perfect time, because it is when things start getting cold, and it is no longer Halloween, so Christmas naturally fills the gap.  Then Thanksgiving comes along and gives you a sneak peek of Christmas when you gather with all of your family and share a meal.    

Featured image credit: Mohamed Hassan via pxhere.com.