On November first, I saw a ton of Facebook statuses, Snapchat stories and Tweets about getting ready for Christmas. Halloween had just occurred the night before and this weekend, students at Penn State are still dressing up in Halloween costumes for “Halloweekend.”

One of my biggest pet peeves is when premature Christmas activities occur. I just wonder why people like to rush everything in life. My mother always says to, “go with the flow” and I know I have some difficulties with that sometimes. But I remember than Thanksgiving is a holiday and a fantastic one at that.

I love Christmas just as much as the next person does. Winter is a wonderful season. There are so many fun activities to partake in in the winter – but that doesn’t mean I want to rush the fall. Fall is actually my favorite season and two great holidays take place throughout the fall. Christmas is a great time of the year. You get to spend an extended amount of time with family and friends. Many people come home for the holidays. You can spend your time giving to people who want and needs gifts so you can see a smile on somebody’s face and maybe you will get lucky and receive a gift in return.

I also really love Thanksgiving. The food is definitely the best part of the holiday but it is also a terrific time to spend with your loved ones. If you’re lucky, you get to sit around the dinner table and eat amazing food with amazing people and everyone can say what they are grateful for. The most-travelled time of the year is Thanksgiving because people want to have the ability to spend time with their loved ones.

Why do we rush Christmas? I love Christmas music, I really do. But why should I play it on November first? The Halloween season just ended and we have another holiday to experience before Christmas. As soon as Thanksgiving is over and it is Black Friday, I welcome the Christmas music. I cannot wait for winter break when I can go home and see my family, catch up with old friends, and make people smile. But I by no means want to rush the holiday season.

This may get really sappy, but we have one life to live and I feel like we shouldn’t rush it. I am one who always lives in the future and can never focus on the present and it really hurts me sometimes. We are granted with one life and we should experience every day of life one day at a time. Christmas comes every year. The holiday is not going anywhere. The premature Christmas celebrations must be even more annoying for those who do not celebrate Christmas. December twenty-fifth occurs every single year. Christmas will come and Christmas will go and that’s the way the year works. We celebrate different holidays throughout the year. We never rush St. Patrick’s Day. We never rush Valentine’s Day. We don’t rush Easter yet we always seem to rush Christmas.

I love Christmas. I promise. But I will not be celebrating until Black Friday. It is the beginning of November. Christmas is over a month away and I can wait until the day after Thanksgiving to begin Christmas festivities. Happy (early) Holidays everyone and have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Please don’t forget about it.