Christmas is a time of celebration that millions of people enjoy year to year. The Christmas celebration time includes various activities such as decorating a Christmas tree, baking, wrapping presents, etc. However, debate arises over when the right time to start preparing and decorating for the occasion is.
The general consensus amongst students is that the best time to put up decorations and get in the Christmas spirit is right after celebrating Thanksgiving. Students feel like that’s the best time, allowing Thanksgiving to be given proper recognition while also embracing Christmas festivity. “My family and I usually start preparing for Christmas after Thanksgiving, but it’s not like the tree will go up right after we start. We slowly started putting decorations out…My family likes Christmas a lot, but we think, sometimes, Christmas decorations get old if they’re out for too long,” sophomore Julia Morrissette said.
Thanksgiving is seen as the time too early to start preparing. Decorations too early, often causes the other holidays of the season to be overlooked and lose their importance. “If you’re celebrating Christmas in October, that’s extreme. I think once Halloween has gone, then it’s okay to start getting festive…with Halloween, you still have an extra two months until Christmas. I feel like no one does that for any other holiday, and we can just let Halloween have its time to shine,” sophomore Taylor Hasling said.
Many students start gradually preparing for Christmas as fall festivities wrap up, and the snow starts falling. Whether it’s buying presents early before items go out of stock, or listening to Christmas music, BSM students find many different ways to prepare for the season. They agree that they prefer getting their tree later so it doesn’t die or lose its luster. “Early on I would just get decorations out. I like to start listening to Christmas music. I like ordering and wrapping presents,” Morrissette said.
Although some students feel strongly about when the celebrations begin, others don’t see it as something to debate over. “I think if people want to celebrate Christmas early, then that’s fine. They can do whatever they want. I think people need to be less harsh on people and stop policing them on when they should be celebrating and when they shouldn’t be,” Hasling said.