Whether we like it or not, “spooky season” is over. Temperatures are dropping below 50 degrees, Mariah Carey is starting to gather more streams and fairy lights wrap the trees of Newbury Street.
The holiday season is officially being rung in. But unofficially, it’s felt like the season has been creeping in for weeks.
I’ve always enjoyed the winter holiday season — Christmas and Hanukkah are my favorites to celebrate every year. As a cold weather fan, I love nothing more than sipping hot cocoa, waking up to a white winter landscape and wearing matching red plaid pajamas with my family.
But because of my love for the winter holidays, I feel keenly aware when they start to emerge, culturally and socially, so early that they dip into the celebration of previous ones.
So, now that it’s Nov. 1, I’m posing the question: When does the Christmas season really start? And is it too early to get into the winter holiday spirit?
Families rush to the tree farms and festive drinks are broken out before Halloween costumes are inevitably tucked away into our closets. Everybody I know made their Christmas playlists before we even knew what we were dressing up as for Halloween.
Most cultural conversations about the holiday season also tend to ignore Thanksgiving. As much as Black Friday is promoted, part of the problem is the lack of a Thanksgiving “spirit.” Because of the lack of music to fit the theme, as well as the problematic origins of the holiday, there isn’t quite a Thanksgiving “era” each year. I believe people often perceive it as a filler holiday — serving as a bridge between Halloween and Christmas or Hanukkah.
This is quite valid for some, as Thanksgiving can have more difficult and convoluted meanings to many Americans. However, it only increases the speed at which we rush into December holidays.
Now you may be wondering, why does any of this matter?
When the public starts to get into the “spirit” prematurely we are fatigued by the time Dec. 25 actually rolls around.
Making any festive dish feels tiring, we’re somehow sick of the masterpiece that is “All I Want for Christmas is You,” and the holiday season might not feel quite the same.
Prolonging the winter holiday season is not worth sacrificing the joy and sanctity of it all.
There is no real harm to get into the spirit early, but I say, enjoy each major holiday as they come. Value every moment trick-or-treating, no matter your age, have fun cooking the turkey that half your family won’t eat and enjoy lighting the menorah or decking the halls.
There is something valuable and special about each holiday, so, I say, let each season come and go as it does.
