Every year it seems like people get loads of crap for enjoying singing Christmas carols and getting in the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving.
“It’s too early.” “If you start celebrating earlier and earlier each year, it won’t be the most wonderful time of the year anymore.” You hear it each year, but still, people continue to get in the Christmas spirit the day after Halloween. So, when is an acceptable time to begin celebrating the season? Answer these questions and we will figure it out.
- Do you get SUPER excited for Thanksgiving?
If you don’t get extremely hyped up at the thought of a big turkey and family coming together to watch football or do other family traditions, maybe it’s okay to start getting ready for the holiday that you actually are excited for. Stop feeling guilty for wanting to celebrate what makes you happy. But if you do absolutely LOVE Thanksgiving, pay it the respect and hold off just a few weeks.
2. Did you have a good year?
They don’t call it “the most wonderful time of year” for nothing. It makes up for the rest of your year with cheer, love, and happiness. So if you’ve had a bad year, it might not be a terrible idea to begin celebrating the Christmas season early. I mean, come on, who doesn’t feel a little happier when eating Christmas cookies? And for those of you who love Christmas music, you know it makes your heart sing. If you’ve had a great year, then maybe you don’t need to start celebrating early. But regardless of if you’ve had a bad year or not, a little Christmas cheer never hurt anyone.
3. How religious are you?
So many people forget what Christmas is actually about, Jesus. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is more than welcome to celebrate. But if you’re a Christian, that’s even more reason to begin celebrating early and not feel guilty about it. It’s our Savior’s birthday. Why wouldn’t you be excited?
4. Is it your favorite time of year?
This is the easiest question you will answer. If it is your favorite time of year, don’t feel bad celebrating ASAP. If it’s not, I’m not saying you have to hold off on the celebrations. But it might help answer the question of whether or not it’s okay to begin celebrating for those who feel guilt from others shaming them for getting into the spirit early. If you get all tingly inside thinking about putting up your Christmas lights, sugarplum fairies dance in your head in your dreams, and Christmas movies are your all time favorites, you have permission to begin celebrating Christmas as soon as you’d like.
The bottom line is, if you want to celebrate Christmas early, you shouldn’t feel guilty about it. And if you want to wait until after Thanksgiving or until December 1st, that’s fine too. Everyone has their preferences. But we need to stop dogging on people who celebrate immediately after Halloween… just sayin’.
So I’m going to be ahead of the curve this year and go ahead and say to those of you who are about to begin celebrating… MERRY CHRISTMAS!
