People everywhere look forward to Thanksgiving as an excuse to spend time with family and take a break from school and work, but how early is too early to begin celebrating Christmas? More importantly, when should people start listening to Christmas music?

In the excitement for Christmas, the wait and hype for Thanksgiving is often skipped over. They begin playing Christmas music on some radio stations right after Halloween, for Pete’s sake, and it only spreads by the time November isn’t yet halfway over.

Christmas music should be played in December, when Christmas is closer, not in the middle November! Playing Christmas music this early adds to the acceptance of forgetting Thanksgiving.

Some of my friends start listening to Christmas music right after Halloween too. One of them even listens to Christmas music throughout the year. January. Summer months sometimes! In my opinion, people should listen to Christmas music only around the holiday season: after Thanksgiving and when there’s snow on the ground. People can listen to Christmas music whenever they want, but I don’t think it’s too much to ask to limit it to winter.

Most stores’ decorating campaigns go to straight to Christmas after Halloween without so much as a nod to Thanksgiving along the way. The mall in Onalaska already has a Santa Claus for people to take pictures with. We haven’t even defrosted our Thanksgiving turkeys or seen a snowfall yet! This Santa started work November 11th and will be there until Christmas- that’s a month and a half!

In the rush of buying Christmas presents and Black Friday deals, stores have started opening on Thanksgiving day. Multiple stores in Minnesota open at around 9 pm Thanksgiving evening. People might not be able to eat a full Thanksgiving dinner because of their haste to stand in lines outside in the cold. This takes away from spending time with family, just to get deals on Christmas presents.

Thanksgiving tends to be forgotten in the tumult of Black Friday and Christmas music. However, it’s important to remember why we get together and celebrate the holiday in the first place. More people need to place priority on being with family and thankful for what they have, not rushing a holiday that will be here in no time at all anyway.