Student Opinion: Christmas in the Fall
By: Cassidy Hoffman, a senior at Leigh High School
Well, we have officially reached the beginning of November, and you know what that means—no not Thanksgiving…Christmas. Even though the end of October is generally associated with Halloween, and the end of November associated with Thanksgiving, it seems that stores are putting out Christmas merchandise earlier and earlier each year.
I personally view it as ridiculous that stores put Christmas things out as early as October. There is ample time after Halloween and Thanksgiving for stores to promote all their seasonal deals. I like to take it season by season. By this I mean appreciating all the fall colors and the changes in weather. When I see Christmas things out in stores, it ruins the fall mood. The same thing is true with Christmas music; it really bugs me when people start playing Christmas music too early or when it isn’t even Christmas season. I see it as asinine to focus on Christmas when there are other holidays that are just as special and praise-worthy.
As a general rule of thumb in my house, we never put up Christmas decor until after Thanksgiving. My family absolutely loves decorating for Christmas and all the activities that come with this jubilant time of year, but we all agree that it’s a little crazy to put up Christmas stuff before we’ve even celebrated Thanksgiving and all the fun fall festivities.
This may be the reason why it irks me so much to see aspects of Christmas popping way too soon. Retailers know that Christmas sells. But just like every other holiday, there is a time and place for Christmas, and to me, this holiday shouldn’t already be cropping up in October and early November. If you see me anytime soon walking through a department store with a sour look on my face, the reason is probably because I’m a total Scrooge when it comes to Christmas in the fall.