From the beginning of November, possibly even earlier, Christmas decorations begin popping up around town. Many Americans celebrating Christmas enjoy displaying their Santas’ early in the season, however, I strongly disagree with this practice. 

While everyone is welcome to their own opinions, mine is this: Christmas decorations should not be put up before Thanksgiving. 

Eyvie Desautels, a sophomore at State High, shares this belief, explaining,“It is November. It is Fall. I feel like we are not that close to the winter solstice.”

The fact is, Christmas is a winter holiday, always celebrated on December 25. The month of December is absolutely fair game for caroling and wrapping presents– however, November is still fall. 

The last day of fall is Dec. 1. The winter solstice, the day of the year with the shortest day and longest night, takes place on Dec. 21, 2023 — four days from Christmas. 

Not everybody celebrates Christmas. In a way, the Christmas craze takes away from winter holidays such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, St. Lucia Day, Las Posadas, and many others. It’s important to remember that people hold different beliefs and to respect them.

To show representation of different traditions, many stores have decorations for different holidays, not just Christmas. 

As previously mentioned, the fixation with the holiday starts early. On Nov. 16, there is an annual Christmas tree lighting in downtown State College. 

Furthermore, the seasonal color palettes do not mesh. Fall consists of warm browns, reds, oranges, yellows, and even some purple. On the other hand, winter has cool blues, purples, and grays. When adding Christmas’s red and green, it is simply all wrong.

Along with the colors not aligning, neither does the weather. This year, temperatures have been very high, resulting in low chances of snow. 

State High librarian Mark Morath agreed, “When you see decorations that aren’t lining up with the season, it can almost be confusing.” 

In spite of all these objections against early decoration, Morath’s opinions resonated with me when he said, “We can’t throw any shame at anybody for decorating at any point in time or holding on to a certain bit of spirit they might wanna have all year long.” 

Nothing written here is meant to discourage or criticize any individual. Everybody is welcome and encouraged to celebrate in whatever way they like. 

As previously mentioned, the boom of Christmas decorations can take away from holidays meaningful to others. It is always important to be mindful of different traditions and how to respect them. 

The easiest way to celebrate mindfully is to decorate in a timely manner, giving time and space for other traditions to be celebrated.