Mariah Carey can be heard everywhere as soon as the day after Halloween. Walk into a shopping
mall or a store: there’s a decent chance that Carey is on the speakers. She emerges from cryo-sleep annually to seep into the minds of anyone who dares turn on the radio or scroll through social media.

We are also reminded about the time when Santa Claus kidnapped a reindeer with a glowing nose to see through the fog rather than springing for headlights. A more energy-efficient solution, I suppose, but maybe not a solution that PETA would approve of.

You could hear the sleigh bells jingling as soon as 3 p.m. on Nov. 1, 2024, as that is when Chicago’s radio station 93.9 LITE FM started playing Christmas music. But at that point, Christmas was almost two months away, so why did 93.9 start so early? Is Thanksgiving being ignored despite our school giving us an entire five-day weekend for it?

Many companies advertise decorations and gifts shortly after Halloween to spread this idea of early Christmas, and I believe that this is a major reason as to why Thanksgiving appears to be overlooked. I went to Sam’s Club on Nov. 7, 2024, and they already had a bunch of Christmas decorations out on display.

America is driven by consumerism. Because of this, many Americans pay less attention to a holiday centered around gratitude and go straight to the holiday that encourages them to buy more things.

For all of my life, I have lived by only one requirement: Christmas celebrations must be started after Thanks- giving. According to a poll of 108 VHHS students, 49.2% of the respondents think that sometime in between late November and early December is the ideal period to begin Christmas.

The exact time to begin celebrations is not too important, but Thanksgiving is a major holiday with a positive message that should get more attention.

AJ Kneir (11) feels strongly against putting up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving and gave a brief description of his Christmas traditions.

“[Christmas] is the biggest family-style holiday, where everyone comes in from all around…It’s the holiday of the year,” Kneir said.

Kneir’s description isn’t too far off from the celebrations of Thanksgiving, when many people travel to visit friends and family. Both of these holidays also have big feasts as part of their traditions. The only obvious differences are the lack of decorations for Thanksgiving and that the message of Thanksgiving is to be thankful for what you have.

It’s pretty much just an early Christmas, so I think it should get more of its own holiday spirit: ugly sweaters with the worst-looking turkey designs ever and movies about turkeys crawling through vents in order to save hostages. If not, at least draw a hand turkey and hang it up on the fridge.

I also feel that there isn’t a need to rush putting up Christmas decorations. Although my family only puts up a tree with ornaments for Christmas, I think the amount of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is plenty enough to decorate.

Kneir said he usually puts up Christmas decorations a day or two after Thanksgiving and starts listening to Christmas music December 5th or 6th — a whole month after 93.9 puts on their Christmas music.

My family puts up our tree with many ornaments on the evening of December 5th. Around that same time, the holiday music CDs, the stockings and maybe a few candles come out of their dusty boxes.

Even the people who go all out on the bright lights and plastic candy canes shouldn’t need a two-month head start. One or two afternoons in early December for decorations should be fine.

But with most rules, comes exceptions, as not everyone can fit all of their holiday planning time into a one month time- frame. Leah Damianov (12) and her family do many things to celebrate Christmas and
require quite a bit of time to prepare for them.

“[In] the beginning of November, we usually set up our Christmas decorations.. start getting ready for caroling, we prep the songs, we sign up, and we also get ready for our New Year’s party,” Damianov said.

This is a legitimate reason for starting so early, since Damianov and her family’s extra preparation for Christmas is needed due to their many traditions for that time of year. In this case, one or two afternoons would not suffice.

What sets Damianov apart from others is that her family starts Christmas celebrations early, not to indulge in consumerism, but to strengthen the connection with their community. They use this time to express gratitude and appreciation for those around them, showing that the true spirit of the season is about giving thanks, not just receiving.

While Thanksgiving and Christmas may have some similar messages about celebrating with family, marketing can make them appear as one big holiday with consumerism being the primary goal.

“It’s called the holidays… Thanksgiving and Christmas,” social worker Elizabeth Peterson said, who likes to be ready for Christmas by the time December rolls around.

I agree with Peterson that it’s the holidays. Even though the main focus is Christmas, some companies do advertise for the holiday “season.”Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a few other lesser-celebrated holidays that are related to Christmas, such as St. Nicholas Day.

Since Thanksgiving is lumped in with Christmas, I say that Thanksgiving should get more attention during the holiday season. Not just because being thankful for what you have is important, but also because nothing says Christmas like a sleigh flying through the air pulled by turkeys. At least they’re a type of animal that can actually fly.