Only a couple of days after Halloween, I started to hear Christmas music being sung in the halls. Some people got very excited, belting Mariah Carey and getting in the Christmas mood. Others, however, had a strong opinion against these carols so early in the year and refused to bear it. How early is too early? Many argue about this strongly controversial question: when should the Christmas season begin? There are many different thoughts as to how this question should be answered, and Montrose is just a microcosm of all of these judgments. 

I conducted a quick survey around the school to see what our staff and students had to say. Almost half of the people who answered the survey said that the Christmas season starts after Thanksgiving, which I believe is the overall most popular opinion. Nevertheless, there were still some people who said mid-December, after Halloween, the start of Advent, and even others said all year long. Emma Dorich ‘28 is a strong believer in celebrating Christmas year-round. She believes that the Christmas season “doesn’t start at any time, as soon as it is December 26 you can start listening to Christmas music again! Christmas is all year round!”. 

Many of the people who responded said the Christmas season started at Advent, but according to the Catholic Church, the Christmas season starts on Christmas Eve. During Advent, we prepare for Christmas, but once we get to December 24 Christmastime has begun.

Then I asked everyone when we should start listening to Christmas music. Again, the votes for after Thanksgiving dominated over all of the other times of year, with almost 60% of the responses saying right after Thanksgiving. Though surprisingly, a solid 15% voted for directly after Halloween. About 1/20 of the votes read all year long, still an unpopular opinion. 

I myself am guilty of listening to Christmas music and starting my Christmas wishlist before Thanksgiving, although I do believe that Christmas carols should not be sung until after Thanksgiving. Once you finish the Thanksgiving meal it’s time to binge all of your favorite Christmas movies and get into those red and green pajamas. I do really love Christmas in all of its glory, but I think that Thanksgiving should not be rushed through or forgotten. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and should be enjoyed without having a mindset of Christmas the whole time. 

Those who argued about Christmas coming too early made some important points. They mentioned that it would be awkward to have Christmas decorations put up during your Thanksgiving meal! Holidays should be celebrated in the order that they come in the year and should not be randomly hyped up. In addition, Christmas should not be celebrated too early because once it actually comes people get tired of it. We need to “enjoy the moment instead of waiting for something better”. Because of Christmas Thanksgiving is always neglected, even though Thanksgiving is a great holiday and starts off the Christmas season. It is also annoying holidays are so commercialized and hurried and that stores should wait to bring out their Christmas items. 

On the contrary, other people that responded to my survey had many things to say and points to make. For example, one mentioned that most people think that Thanksgiving is skipped because of Christmas, but one can listen to Christmas music while cooking the Thanksgiving meal. Others mentioned that “Christmas is a season; Thanksgiving is a day” and that Thanksgiving is “just pre-Christmas”. Christmas is when Jesus’s birth is celebrated so we should not have to wait for a certain time of year to celebrate it. Finally, someone made the comment that Christmas break should start earlier (when December beings)…

Lastly, although some people make their opinions sound like a fact, when to start listening to Christmas music and when to put up the tree are really just personal preferences. The part of Christmas that matters the most is to celebrate Jesus’s birth and rejoice in the Lord.

Victoria Florez ’28, Staff Writer

28vflorez@montroseschool.org