Every year since 2019, when 12:00 a.m. hits on November 1st, Mariah Carey declares that Halloween has come to a close and that Christmas has begun with her iconic “It’s Timmmeee!”

But is it really?

Christmas advertising seems to be coming sooner and sooner each year, a phenomenon known as the “Christmas Creep.” Stores like Hobby Lobby put up their decorations as early as mid-October and Target flips from scary to jolly in their holiday section seemingly overnight.

But while it isn’t wrong to be ready to deck those halls a little early, might it be better to wait a while before going all out on the holiday season? 

Many argue that the Christmas season should be held off till after Thanksgiving, so as to not get whiplash from diving in right after Halloween and to give Thanksgiving its own time for celebration and to not be driven by whatever the current marketing scheme is to sell people a holiday weeks and weeks before the month even is close. 

“Christmas starts on Black Friday,” junior Colin Hartner insisted. “That’s when we do decorations and stuff. November first is too early because it allows too much corporate greed, dilutes the feel of the holiday, and it encroaches on other holidays too much.”

Junior Mia Ford said, “I usually put up my tree and everything with my family the day after Thanksgiving. I think that if you start celebrating too early you’ll get bored of Christmas music.”

However, junior Gabriela Pizon sees the matter differently.

“I start celebrating Christmas on November 1st,” she said. “I put up a Christmas tree in my bedroom. By the time you start decorating after Thanksgiving, it’s too late in the game.”

While the argument is valid, I don’t believe that this should be the exact case. 

In my opinion, both sides are compelling arguments, I believe that Christmas celebration should begin closer to Thanksgiving, as for the whole season not to be dictated by the marketing scheme of businesses trying to make a quick buck off of the holiday cheer and to give each holiday it’s time to settle and be celebrated without feeling rushed.

Without moving so quickly from one thing to the next, it makes it so the season doesn’t fly by as much, patience and waiting lead to a greater reward of getting to live in the moment of the best time of year. One can still make the holiday season last longer through celebrating through the treacherous early-year months instead of pushing it forward and then having nothing to celebrate after New Years.

But in the end, before or after Thanksgiving, it’s all the same season and it’s all in good fun. The escapism from any problems through the celebration of the holidays can prove quite beneficial and can help many get through the changing weather and day-to-day stress.

So whether it is late November or the second Mariah first comes on the radio, Christmas and the other holidays in the season should be celebrated whenever one feels like celebrating, and any joy that it brings shouldn’t be diminished by the judgement of others.

(But also, maybe hold off on the tree for a few days, let the turkey cool before you get ready for the man with the bag, but hey, that’s just my opinion).