THANKSGIVING: TURKEYS DESERVE LOVE TOO
By Lily Obhob
As October ends and Halloween is left behind, the scramble for the next holiday is immediate. Skeletons and pumpkins are quickly being traded in for lights and trees as many prepare for December. However, in the rush to Christmas another holiday is left forgotten: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving should not be overlooked in favor of the Christmas season, and the red and green holiday needs to wait its turn.
Sophomore Colette Snell believes that Christmas celebrations should wait until after Thanksgiving.
“We have a rule in my house: Christmas does not exist until Black Friday,” Snell said. “I believe that Thanksgiving encapsulates all the fall, cozy vibes of just being around the people you love and just eating good, warm, cozy food before winter and Christmas starts.”
Sophomore Claire Jopperi agrees that Christmas has to wait until after Thanksgiving, and that the holidays should be celebrated in their respective seasons.
“Until after Thanksgiving, it’s still fall. Like, fall isn’t until the turkeys are gone.” Jopperi says. “Christmas starts December 1st, in my opinion.”
Along with being an important part of fall, Thanksgiving is a part of history. It commemorates the harvest festival celebrated by the Pilgrims. This holiday was first celebrated between the Wampanoag people and the English settlers, and it is important to remember the past and the holiday’s history. When people overlook Thanksgiving they are ignoring the past.
Thanksgiving is also a time to be grateful for all that people have in their lives, whether it be other people or just things that bring happiness.
This holiday is a day to count blessings and live in the present with friends and family, instead of thinking ahead to the month after.
Specifically, people should wait until December to begin the Christmas season, or Black Friday at the earliest. Thanksgiving should be given its time to shine, and the Christmas season should not start until after this fall holiday.
CHRISTMAS SHOULD HAVE MORE TIME
By Griffen Waugh
As November rolls in, “Christmas creep” is upon us. Stores swap Halloween decor with Christmas decor earlier and earlier each year, and memes about Mariah Carey “defrosting” in November flood “for you” pages. From there, the question remains: should people start celebrating Christmas immediately after Halloween, or should they wait until Thanksgiving is over to do so?
Sophomore Christian Nemr argues that people should start preparing for Christmas in early November.
“Honestly, Christmas is such a good holiday that I think we should have more time to celebrate it,” Nemr said. “My family decorates before Thanksgiving, a few weeks before.”
Theology teacher Amie Mancine also agrees with the view of preparing for Christmas in November.
“Our lights are up the first warm day we can get in November,” Mancine said. “If they’re up, they’re on!”
Christmas should simply not be confined to just 25 days of December, give or take a few after Thanksgiving in November, as that feels too short of a timeframe to build sufficient excitement before the holiday arrives. A good example of why beginning to celebrate Christmas in early November would work is that Halloween spirit usually builds up around August-September, coinciding with the end of summer and the coming of fall.
Furthermore, as days get darker, spreading the Christmas spirit in November can bring cheer to those lamenting the loss of more sunlight in the evening.
Finally, celebrating Christmas early should be de-stigmatized because it gives people more time to think of what their loved ones may want for Christmas, allowing them to go Christmas shopping early and avoid the rush of Black Friday.
Of course, nobody should be forced to abandon Thanksgiving altogether. Rather, for a variety of reasons, including getting more out of the Christmas season and avoiding the rush of Black Friday, it simply makes much more sense to start getting into the Christmas spirit immediately after Halloween rather than waiting until after Thanksgiving.
