Should Christmas Season Start in November

As the Halloween season quickly fades from view with the October leaves, another season takes its place. Stores quickly stock up on Christmas trees, candies, and decorations. It is like a Christmas explosion. However, some people have opposing views on stores’ haste to start the Christmas season. Are they skipping over Thanksgiving?

One store that is very big on rushing the Christmas season is Target. As soon as I walked into the store a couple of days after Halloween had ended, I was bombarded with Christmas spirit. There were decorations hanging from the ceiling, Christmas-themed baby clothes, and sets of matching adult Christmas pajamas. As I approached the back of the store, I came across the Christmas section. This is the heart of the store’s Christmas explosion. There are faux Christmas trees, stockings, and ornaments everywhere. Christmas lights line the outside isles of the Christmas trees for any easy double purchase. Anything needed for the Christmas season can be found here.

While the sight of these decorations gets customers excited for Christmas, some believe this means skipping over Thanksgiving entirely. There are no longer any fall decorations in sight. The main reason stores skip so quickly from Halloween to Christmas is because Thanksgiving is not a very profitable holiday. In an article from  Penn State, the author points out that money is a huge reason why Thanksgiving is skipped over in stores. The only thing being bought for the special occasion is food, which is regularly bought at Super Targets. 

Halloween brings in people buying costumes, spooky decorations, and of course candy, and Christmas brings in customers buying trees, gifts, and decorations, whereas Thanksgiving is more about family and less about material possessions. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time to sit down and relax, where families enjoy each other’s company. While this may not always be the case, this is the intent of the holiday. The intent of Christmas is to give and receive gifts. Often, people get more excited about getting something new, than just being thankful for the things they already have.

Personally, I prefer to wait until after Thanksgiving to start the Christmas season. I do not like the idea of skipping over a national holiday. However,tThere is nothing wrong with wanting to start getting excited about the Christmas season early. I think this is simply an issue of preference. In that case, it is up to every individual to decide.

So, should the Christmas season start in November?