We are midway through fall and Thanksgiving is in the next couple of weeks. Around this time of year, many people think it is time to break out their Christmas playlist. However, isn’t it a bit early for that? I understand why people would want to start playing their Christmas music around this time. I mean, Christmas is in a little over a month. However, I believe that it is too early for that for quite a few reasons.
First of all, I will admit that I love Christmas music as much as anyone else. But as awesome as the Christmas season is, I am in no hurry for it to get here. Christmas is a crazy time of year when people are scrambling to make plans and buy presents for their loved ones. This puts a strain (mental, physical and financial) on people during the month of December. Being reminded of this strain too early could cause people to stress out about the holidays more than they already do. Christmas is an awesome time of year but with the stress that it causes, one should not start celebrating too early.
A big reason why I am not a fan of Christmas music being played early is the fact that some people are playing it before Thanksgiving even happens. I understand that after Halloween, Christmas is the next big thing to decorate for but people are overlooking Thanksgiving in the process. Thanksgiving is one of the most valuable holidays of the year and should not be passed over so easy. During Thanksgiving, people enjoy having family and friends over for dinner and give thanks for all that is going on in their lives. By playing music for the Christmas before this holiday is even over, the importance of Thanksgiving is overlooked and people are just trying to breeze through to Christmas without even considering the reason why Thanksgiving is celebrated. We should remember to give thanks on Thanksgiving and not rush so far ahead on the calendar.
The main point I am trying to make is that if you start playing the music for Christmas too early, it greatly takes away a lot of the hype that Christmas is supposed to have. Christmas is about celebrating good times while spending time with family and friends, dancing around to Christmas music and just being thankful for the year you have had. Starting the festivities too early can lead to the hype of Christmas being lost before the holiday even gets here. The music is happy, catchy, meaningful and enjoyable. Playing it too early can cause these feelings to be lost and when the holiday gets here, you care less.
I love Christmas music, but playing it too early just is not right. Between the stress that the holiday season creates, the forgetting of Thanksgiving as an important holiday and the potential apathy surrounding the christmas season if it is celebrated for too long, the holidays just are not the same unless we can at least get through Thanksgiving. We should celebrate one holiday at a time. I understand that people love Christmas and I understand the hype that comes with Christmas music. The music is catchy, enjoyable and very meaningful. However, to end my point, we should respect the holiday of Thanksgiving before we try to move forward to the next holiday season.
Jonathan Joyner
jrjoyner@vwc.edu
