When is it too early to begin Christmas festivities?

With the end of Halloween and “spooky season,” the time between Nov. 1 and Thanksgiving is up for debate on whether or not it is appropriate to begin Christmas celebrations. Many argue that anytime before Thanksgiving is too early to begin Christmas festivities, however there is also a large group that believe that the end of Halloween marks the start for Christmas time.  

Sophomore April Boland said, “Before Halloween is definitely too early [to start Christmas celebrations], and personally I think people should wait until after Thanksgiving.” Boland said, “I think the first week of December is the correct time to put up Christmas decor. It makes Christmas less special if you have it up for a while.” 

While Boland has a good point, beginning celebrations in the first week of December leaves only a small four week window for Christmas festivities. This is an extremely small amount of time, especially considering the Halloween season starts on the first day of fall, Sept. 22, and goes through the entire month of October. 

Sophomore Olivia Arriaga said, “Any time in November [is a good time to start celebrating Christmas] because it’s right after Halloween and Thanksgiving isn’t that big of a deal.” Arriaga is right, Christmas is definitely more important than Thanksgiving. 

A poll taken from The Cougar Press Instagram page, @the.cougar.press, asked students of Ventura High their thoughts on the appropriate time to start celebrating Christmas. Of the 190 voters, 73 (38 percent) think that after Halloween is the right time to start Christmas festivities. On the other hand, 117 (62 percent) believe after Thanksgiving is the appropriate time to begin the Christmas season. 

It would be preferable to enjoy Thanksgiving in the actual week of Thanksgiving with little celebration beforehand. Then the Christmas season can restart after the small break. This is the best compromise.

Most retail stores begin setting up their Christmas displays before or just days after Halloween. Stores have always done this with holidays, setting up way too soon before they should. It’s pretty hard not to get into the Christmas spirit when everywhere you go, stores have their Christmas décor already displayed. If you see seasonal decorations everywhere you turn, you might as well begin celebrating with them. 

There are too many temptations to hold off on celebrating Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but right after Halloween is much too early for most people. Because of this, a happy medium can be found for the proper time to start celebrating Christmas, not too early and not too late. It is okay to start celebrating Christmas the week before and the week of Thanksgiving. Immediately after Halloween is a bit too early, people need time to recover from Halloween events and ease into the holiday season. By mid-November, all Christmas festivities should be tolerated and enjoyed.