People will argue for hours and hours about the age-old debate of when the Christmas tree should be put up, or when the lights should be hung around the house. Many people will eagerly say that they begin playing Christmas music and putting up decorations during the first snow fall in early November. However, others will say that it is a sin to even think about Christmas before Thanksgiving is over. Who is right? Is there even a correct answer? Two members of the University of Northwestern – St. Paul community, Emily Brink and Allie Lind, shared their thoughts on this topic.
Brink, who is a sophomore at Northwestern, said that she firmly believes in waiting until after Thanksgiving to start the Christmas festivities. “If you decorate and celebrate before Thanksgiving then it’s like you’re skipping right over one holiday and going to the next,” said Brink. Her family does not wait long, however, as they typically acquire and decorate their Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Brink says that while she does not like to start before Thanksgiving, she cannot wait until that Saturday comes around.
As far as Christmas music, Brink is still insistent on waiting until after Thanksgiving to start jamming out. “Christmas music can get over played if it is too early,” said Brink. However, she says that most of her car rides between Thanksgiving and Christmas are spent listening to Christmas songs, especially her favorite classic: “Last Christmas”, covered by Taylor Swift. Brink even has an entire Spotify playlist dedicated to only Christmas songs, even if she can only listen to it for one month out of the entire year.
Lind is a recent graduate of Northwestern, and she is excited to be celebrating her first holiday season without the burden of finals and assignments. She also represents the other side of the debate, as she is an avid fan of decorating before Thanksgiving. “We just decorated last weekend,” said Lind. She says that her family is big on decorating, and they like to get a head start because of all the decorations they have to put out. “We have an entire wall of boxes of Christmas decorations in our storage room,” says Lind. These boxes are filled with decorative towels, tree ornaments, yard displays, and even an elaborate model of a snowy town set in Christmas time.
While it appears that some people prefer getting a head start on their decorating before Thanksgiving, others may enjoy waiting until the Saturday following the holiday in order to truly embrace the Christmas spirit. It may be unclear which camp is correct in this debate, but it is important to remember that Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with family and be grateful for what we have.
