Mariah Carey Would Approve

This post is in defense of all the people who officially acknowledge November 1st as the beginning of the Christmas season. 

It feels a bit odd writing this now, because Boston just so happens to be in the midst of a stretch of pleasant, sunny weather. The view of sunshine outside my dorm window isn't any different than it was in August, when I first got back to school. But judging by all the beanies and red Starbucks cups I pass every day, it is fall, and Halloween has come and gone. For me, that means letting my Christmas spirit out of its tethers. I bought a box of hot chocolate mix at Trader Joe's and made a holiday playlist on Spotify. I rearranged my drawers so that my grandpa sweaters were more easily accessible.

There are always conversations around Halloween in which you discover your friends' opinions about when the Christmas season should begin. There are those, like me, who believe that as soon as the calendars turn to November, it's totally acceptable to have Santa on the brain. Then there are those who wouldn't even speak of the holiday until after Thanksgiving.

My question for the latter camp (of which I probably will never be a part because I'm way too over-eager when it comes to Christmas) is why prolong what is arguably the most cheerful part of the year? For as long as I can remember, Christmas has been a symbol of hope and goodwill for me. It's a religious holiday, but I never cared much about the traditional technicalities; I was more fascinated by what Christmas does to people. It's a time for appreciating the people who love you by giving back to them. For encouraging wonder, imagination, and whimsy in children, and for reminding adults of that whimsy. Everything feels different around Christmas, and though the societal issues that plague our world don't just magically disappear during the holiday season, peaceful solutions feel a little bit  more tangible during this time.

In my opinion, it's crazy not to feel the Christmas magic for as long as you can; why limit the most wonderful time of the year to a single month when you could have two?

So if you're anything like me and you're already thinking about the snow and your tree, check out my Christmas Spotify playlist. Actually, if you appreciate good music in general, it's worth a listen; Fiona Apple, Fleet Foxes, Pentatonix, Sufjan Stevens- how can you go wrong?

https://open.spotify.com/user/124790481/playlist/10H37PjPgFV4qtUKrD6zZn