We are now a good week into the month of October, 2016. The wind is starting to blow and a few leaves have started hitting the ground. As the seasons change, you can hear talk about excitement for the holidays. Fall is the season of pumpkins, hot drinks, warm clothes, and the beauty of the leaves glowing bright hues then falling as the cold of the winter comes. Most importantly, Halloween is right around the corner. There's talk of braving haunted houses, visiting grave sites, and of course there's the clowns that have allegedly been spotted across the US. After October ends there comes Thanksgiving, the day of family, friends, and good food, and eventually the "true" holiday season in December.
Fall is an undeniably fun season, however it can be overlooked by those excited for November and December. For Christmas celebrators, there has been a long-time debate of when it is okay to begin to play Christmas music. To be more specific, the question generally settles around whether it is acceptable to play before Thanksgiving or after. Thanksgiving marks an almost even transition day into the winter, as winter begins at the very beginning of December. Should Christmas carols be accepted any day of the year, or should they never be played? So should we be able to blast our carols before the official start of winter or after?
A poll from Buzzfeed shows what many people think about the issue.
Apparently, the most common response was the day after Thanksgiving, followed by the first of December, which lay in close proximity.
I've heard so many people around me talk about their opinion on the matter, and I could understand it in many ways. There's a valid argument on all sides (except for the "never" response, those grinches!), however I believe that Christmas music should be saved for after Thanksgiving, with the slight exception of listening to a happy tune every once in a awhile. There's only one major grievance I have when it comes to pre-Thanksgiving Christmas music.
Fall holidays are cut too short.
The holiday season is "the most exciting time of the year", however it only has one month of a lead-up. It may seem short, but the narrow time of its celebration makes the holidays more cherished and warm. When Christmas music is played in October and November, the other holidays begin to lose their appeal and Christmas becomes the subject. Halloween and Thanksgiving are two fun, special holidays who deserve their due celebration because of how they have unique ways of bringing us together as much as Christmas does.
So here's to Fall and celebrating each holiday in due time. Happy October, and hold off on the Christmas music until Thanksgiving.