There is always a holiday to celebrate, but why do people celebrate some longer than others? Arguably each holiday holds the same importance, but as for a couple, people often put more effort and time into preparing for them, celebrating them and reminiscing about their significance.
The long-standing debate on when each holiday should begin and end only becomes more intense as people get older and certain holidays hold more significance. As a kid, people don’t really think about it that much—Christmas starts when everyone gets their elf on the shelf or when they start their advent calendar. But as people grow up, they fill the lull between holidays with the celebration beforehand. Baking, watching movies, making your holiday playlists and planning trips all take the place of the excitement we had as a kid, but it starts too early.
“I don’t really care how much other people celebrate a holiday or not but I think there are certain timeframes for each holiday,” said Summit junior Anthony Kocher.
Christmas is one of the most celebrated, loved and thoughtful holidays of the year. The joy around Christmas lifts the spirits of many across the world with its festive drinks, movies, songs and decorations. But when should it start?
“You have to start Christmas [on] Nov. 1,” said Summit junior Ella Kissell. She listens to Christmas music, watches holiday movies and bakes as much as she can on the first day of November. But what about Thanksgiving? Doesn’t it deserve the same amount of attention?
“The day after Thanksgiving, start decorating everything for Christmas,” Ainslie Knox, a senior at Summit advised. She gives Thanksgiving its own day to be celebrated and then moves straight into the beloved holiday.
Since the first celebration of Thanksgiving, the holiday has been a time for people to reflect on the things they’re most grateful for. Thanksgiving is about celebrating many blessings such as family and friends, food, safe travels and recognizing victories the nation has made.
“I start listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies on Nov. 1 then start decorating shortly after. I don’t love Halloween so I don’t put a lot of effort into celebrating before the actual day and same with Thanksgiving,” said Summit sophomore Stella O’keefe.
While Christmas began as a wholly religious holiday, it has since evolved into a celebration for many, regardless of spirituality. Christmas has a lot of different meanings for why it started, the main significance of Christmas is that Jesus was born on Dec. 25. Some people celebrate their religion and everything they believe in while others celebrate the big guy dressed in red who comes through chimneys, eats our cookies, drinks our milk and leaves us gifts. Same with Halloween, people spend months planning their costumes, watching scary movies and decorating houses, but is Halloween really a staple in history? No.
Halloween can be a fun day for all ages, at a young age, people can trick or treat all night filling up pillowcases, as they get older, people can go to parties, and as an adult, they can hand out candy. The day is a holiday, but we don’t get school off for it, we don’t get breaks, it’s just a celebration, so there is no reason to spend months in preparation for it.
Thanksgiving is more of a day celebration as well but without the months of planning. People gather, drink, overeat and spend time with the ones they love while maybe watching some football and eating pie. So if it’s just going to be overlooked then why do we get a week off of school? It’s necessary. Students and teachers need that break to be able to celebrate with their families and enjoy the holiday, it can be used as a prep for Christmas, a time for a family getaway or even just a relaxing week for everyone.
Both Christmas and Thanksgiving are only the beginning of this problem but they are also two of the most popular ones out of the bunch. Christmas is huge and Thanksgiving is smaller but they both hold a lot of meaning. The more time we spend on a holiday doesn’t take away from the meaning of other holidays, as long as we recognize each one’s unique history and celebrate it.
