Finally Settling the Debate

Christmas, the 24-hour holiday that seems to extend throughout the duration of the “ber” months, originated as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. However, in recent years, it has taken on an entirely different meaning in people’s hearts, becoming a celebration of family, joy, and consumerism. Young children help with setting up the tree and adding ornaments; teenagers create lists of gifts they saw gain traction on social media; the elderly prepare their homes for family to come over. It is a celebration that brings people together in many domains (whether that’s in the kitchen to help with meals or choosing the Christmas tree from the store). Despite this all of this unity, there is one major aspect that separates Christmas lovers: when does Christmas “start”? Should Halloween decorations still be up by November first? When should the tree be up? 

While the general consensus to this question is that Christmas as a whole should start after Thanksgiving (which is technically celebrated in the US on November 27th, but is usually seen as a five-day holiday starting after school/work on November 26th), many people do not agree. One strong proponent for starting Christmas right after Halloween is Lauren M from houstonmom.com. She claims a big reason for why she’s “Team Decorate Early” is that if she’s going to work really hard and decorate her whole house, she might as well get to enjoy it longer. Lauren also insists that even though Christmas is the entirety of November and December, Thanksgiving gets its own time at their house. 

Yet, some people are not so keen on the idea of Christmas making such an early entrance. A phenomenon discussed in a USA Today article, dubbed the “Christmas blues,” shows that holidays can increase stress. This can be caused by more than one reason. Some causes include financial stress (comes with pressure to purchase gifts), and loneliness to name a few.

Christmas is also not celebrated solely in the United States (therefore, the discussion of start times to celebrate are not limited to one country and seem to be a worldwide debate). According to Rose Kennedy from the Atlanta Journal, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's husband and the man who brought Christmas to Germany, agreed that Christmas officially should start on Christmas Eve. In Italy, according to Italy Magazine, true Italian Christmas starts on December 8th. This is in line with the Feast of Immaculate Conception, a festival created in 1476 by Pope Sixtus IV. Italians also get December 8th off, so many utilize their extra time by putting their trees up and decorating. Belarus celebrates Christmas on two different days- December 25th for Catholics and Protestants and January 7th for Orthodox Christians which make up the majority in Belarus. This divide is mainly created due to the fact that Orthodox Christians living here follow the Julian Calendar. Although Belarussians are split by when they celebrate Christmas day, majority agree that when to start decorating for Christmas is up to each individual family. 

So, if you are stuck between your spiced cider and hot cocoa, remember that there are many others considering when the fall holidays end and when the winter ones start.