“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go.” If you haven’t already noticed the frosty temperatures and the snow falling from the sky, the Christmas season is already in full swing. From radio stations playing Christmas music to shopping malls and grocery stores to even your neighbors’ front yard, Christmas trees and decorations are, and have been, going up.
If you’ve been listening to the radio lately you have probably noticed that some radio stations such as FM 100.3 and FM 106.5 have already begun playing Christmas music.
While talking with various groups of SLCC students about the subject, Pamela Doxey said, “Wow, Christmas music already? I think listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving is absolutely crazy. I know Christmas is one of the biggest holidays of the year but we need to celebrate Thanksgiving first before we can focus on Christmas.”
Fellow SLCC student Brian Sanders retorted, “I listen to Christmas music all throughout the year. It’s always great to get a little bit of the Christmas spirit in your life…I mean come on its Christmas.”
Sarah Anderson added, “I’m listening to Christmas music right as we speak. Once the first snow falls on the ground that is when you can start listening.”
While many people are already counting down the days until Christmas, one of the biggest holidays of the year, the holiday that is often times overlooked because of Christmas is Thanksgiving. Why is Thanksgiving being overlooked? Why are radio stations and stores already gearing up for Christmas when we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving?
“For most retailers, Christmas is where they make the majority of their revenue. Most retailers count on big Christmas sales to help them to set a strong foundation for the upcoming year,” Doxey said.
Christmas is one of the biggest holidays. Many people see the Christmas season as a season of giving, a season of serving, a season of love and spreading that love with your family and friends.
“Too often during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season we forget the purpose of the holiday season overall. Christmas is supposed to be the season of giving but seemingly everywhere you go it is just the opposite,” Carlina Giles said. “Christmas has become all about making the most money for stores and giving and receiving the most impressive gifts. Gratefully there is Thanksgiving before Christmas so people can reflect on all the blessings in their lives before all of the craziness of Christmas season comes.”
When other SLCC students were asked when the Christmas season officially starts, they responded by saying, “Once you finish the pumpkin pie at thanksgiving,” “Christmas begins on Black Friday,” and even “Christmas starts the day after Halloween.”
There is no perfect or definitive answer. Luckily, Thanksgiving is just around the corner, which means we can focus on things that we are all grateful for. The season of gratefulness, the season of celebrating all of our freedoms, counting all of our blessings, with all of our loved ones of family and friends. As a reminder before you start the Christmas season, whether it be before or after Thanksgiving, a table of food awaits you with loving friends and family welcoming you to Thanksgiving. Just remember to take time to remember why we have Thanksgiving and why it’s best suited this close to Christmas.