This has been a reoccurring theme for the past two years for me as a writer, but because I still see it as an issue, it demands to be repeated. Christmas is for December! I have seen people on social media posting pictures of their Christmas decorations (you know who you are) and trees. All too soon. It was the day after Halloween that I saw the first picture/status/tweet go up about decorating for Christmas. Listen, I understand that people like to decorate for holidays and get excited for them. I like decorating for holidays too. Christmas is my favorite holiday. I like to listen to the music while putting up the tree and decorating too, but not in November. Especially the first day of November. I have a strong 'no Christmas decorations until December' rule that I live by.
It is easy to want to put up the Christmas tree in November when it is an artificial one. You don't have to worry about the needles falling out or keeping it watered or having live critters (sorry for the Scandinavian subtitles on the link) coming out of the woodwork. We always had a real tree for Christmas growing up, so we had to wait to put it up because you didn't want to have bare limbs by Christmas morning. We got our first artificial tree living down in Wichita for two reasons. One: it was on clearance when we purchased it. Two: real trees were hella expensive down there. I don't know if you all know this or not, but Kansas isn't well known for it's trees. I mean, sure, they have one or two around the state, but not a ton to pick and choose from when it comes to Christmas trees. And the trees that are for purchase were cut down so long ago, that no matter how much water you put into the tree stand, it wouldn't last. Despite the fact that we have an artificial, our tree never goes up before December first.
Who wants happy winter decorations before the snow falls anyway? Looking outside right now, it is sunny (but cold). The grass is transitioning from green to brown. The leaves are all off the trees. It looks like fall out there. Fall. Not winter. The snow on the ground and trees makes everything look pure and happy. That is when you want to put up the decorations. Once the snow is on the ground to stay. One problem is that there is no full on holiday in between Halloween and Christmas in which people can go all out with decorations. You can decorate for the fall, but it is just a bridge between the two major holidays. Sure, you can decorate for Thanksgiving, but how many cornucopias can you put up in the house?
The retail industry is definitely a root cause to this problem. It seems that the minute Halloween decorations are being sold in stores, there is a small section of Christmas as well. Usually in the back corner somewhere, but then it starts to creep. Slowly gaining more and more space as October turns into November. It spreads like a zombie virus. Before you know it, you are hearing Christmas music playing in all the stores. On November third. The long three day transition from Halloween to Christmas is complete.
Am I going to go around and tear down people's decorations because they feel it necessary to decorate in November? Absolutely not. To each their own. If you feel that you cannot make it the entire month of November without putting up decorations, that's your problem. Am I going to ridicule them for it? Quite possibly. Especially if they are good friends and they know my stance on the situation. My question to those who decorate so early: how long does it take to get use to them being up? How long until your decorations don't make you stop and look at them? When do they become just another fixture on the wall that you stop noticing?
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