It comes the time of year again for the holidays. Talk concerning Thanksgiving, Christmas and the approaching new year swirls around. It’s a time for celebration and family gatherings, for sharing gifts and giving thanks for what we have. As I’ve gotten older, it seems like the days keep going faster and faster every year up until this point. It still feels like school just started again, and here it’s Thanksgiving! What is coming up sooner every year, though, is the start of the “Happy Holidays” season.
We all know how this works. All of a sudden, things around town and on television switch from fall-season orientations to including snow, winter and Christmas. This year, I’m sure I even saw this come up before Halloween. The other day, I heard holiday music for the first time on the radio this month, in the middle of November. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy Christmas as much as anyone else, and maybe I’m old-fashioned, but would it hurt anything to hold off with it until after the turkey is finished?
It always starts a debate in my family, with some members being fans of the holidays in general and happy to be able to sing their favorite songs and set up decorations without it being “out of season.” For me, though, November just seems a little too early. It’s cold outside, and we usually do get some snow before Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t necessarily imply Christmas to me, just that we are moving toward winter.
We have our different holidays for a reason, and the idea I was always taught behind Thanksgiving was that it’s to celebrate what we have and to share in that joy with our family and friends by coming together. It is also an important part of history, whether you believe the entirety of the romanticized tale of the “First Thanksgiving,” it’s an important event for some of the early European settlers of this country and how they survived in their new environment.
Such a significant day would probably endure as a prominent holiday in its own right were it not in close proximity to an even bigger one, Christmas, a day that has even more history and meaning for millions throughout the country, whether it be religious or just for family get-togethers. And with Christmas’s emphasis on gift-giving, it demands a lot of attention.
At least the shopping deals wait until after Thanksgiving, or do they? There are now Black Friday sales starting on Thursday night, when you think many would be sitting down to enjoy their family meal and catch up with relatives. People line up outside stores for hours hoping for the chance to run in and snatch a good deal on some doorbusters. What’s the point at which we say enough is enough and just enjoy the month we’re in right now?
Thus the situation that we are presently in. If we continue down our current path, perhaps we’ll have to start putting Christmas decorations up in October. It seems like we’re so ready to move on to Christmas that we’re forgetting the holiday that really puts it all into context. Thanksgiving is a good stop brake telling us to stop and think about what really matters in the holiday season before we get into the Christmas frenzy.
But that’s just my opinion. I really enjoy all of the holidays that we have this time of year, and the special significance and memories each one of them brings and creates. I’m just thinking though, that we should try to celebrate each one in their own glory without letting that specter of the holiday season hover over us all. After all, if we’ve gotten here this fast, Christmas will be here before we know it.
Connor Kockler is a Sauk Rapids-Rice High School student. He enjoys writing, politics and news, among other interests.
