Christmas in November

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I started feeling the holiday spirit a little early this year and decided to throw my decorating inhibitions to the wind and decorate my apartment for Christmas before Thanksgiving. As I walked into my apartment with an armful of Christmas decorations, my roommate gave me a disgusted look and said, “You’re not going to put those up before Thanksgiving, are you?”

It’s become an increasing social problem that people criticize those of us who wish to begin introducing the Christmas spirit before Thanksgiving. People complain about getting sick of Christmas music too soon and being kept up by Christmas lights. Sadly, these “elite” Christmas critics judge their peers for breaking the social norm of decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving.

This isn’t “Mean Girls.”

The truth is, it’s not a big deal. Thanksgiving and Christmas are both seasons of joy and gratitude, and there really is no wrong time to celebrate the virtues these holidays represent.

The solution is to change our mindsets. Instead of garnering hatred for those celebrating early, we can see their efforts as opportunities for us to cultivate our own attitudes of holiday joy and gratitude earlier in the season. Ultimately, we need to avoid judging others for something as insignificant as celebrating Christmas early.

 Mark Zabriskie
Idaho Falls

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