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The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

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Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
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Don’t Get Caught in the Corporate Scheme of Celebrating Christmas Too Early

Dont Get Caught in the Corporate Scheme of Celebrating Christmas Too Early

Coming from a family that puts our Christmas tree up just a couple of days before Dec. 25, it has always struck me as odd when people put their winter holiday decorations out the day after Halloween. I’ve tried to understand what it is that nudges so many Americans to decorate and engage in holiday-exclusive traditions so early. But at the end of the day, I still believe November is too soon to begin investing financially and emotionally in all things related to the winter holidays.

It seems like the holiday season starts sooner and sooner each year. Nov. 1 marks the day Starbucks transfers over to the peppermint mocha from their infamous pumpkin spice latte. Christmas music begins playing on the radio. Holiday deals find their way into retail stores across the country. For a lot of people, maybe it’s nice. Maybe they see it as spreading holiday warmth and cheer for as long as possible. But others, like me, see it differently — as one big financial scheme. While Halloween spending has been growing steadily on average over the years, according to the National Retail Federation, the business revenue generated from Halloween is no match for the winter holiday season, which is why stores press for the season to begin as quickly as possible. According to Brad Tuttle, writing for Time.com, “Kmart launched its first Christmas ad, or rather a coy ‘non-Christmas ad,’ in early September. And soon after, Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, and others rolled out various versions of the season’s ‘Hot Toy’ list,” all to push people to spend more money than they would during non-holiday months for as many months as possible.

The holiday retail competition, as many of you may have noticed, has even pushed Black Friday deals to appear days, maybe even weeks, before the typically scheduled “Black Friday,” meaning people will be pushing and shoving for the best deals, leaving behind their families — and the real meaning of the holiday season — to spend money on often meaningless holiday materials, because there is a limited supply and they’re on sale.

In addition to holiday spending, people are extremely opinionated about decorating for Christmas and other winter holidays starting around Halloween. And I mean extremely opinionated. While I can understand keeping professionally-installed lights up as long as possible, maybe because of how expensive they are to rent/buy and put up, I am definitely a “let’s celebrate Thanksgiving before Christmas” kind of person. One holiday at a time, please.

Doesn’t it undermine the winter holiday experience and novelty of the season to have it last as long as a lot of people and businesses push for it to? My memories of Christmas as a kid are beautiful and distinct, and I think a big part of that is because the winter holiday season was a short period out of each year for my family, filled with levels of warmth and fun that weren’t realistic for the duration of the entire year. To me, it seems like the holidays themselves would be more enjoyable if they were shortened. This way, we could also give Thanksgiving the attention it deserves by ignoring marketing and retailers pushing for us to skip the fall holiday and invest immediately in Christmas and other winter holidays.

This holiday season, don’t forget what it’s all about. Remember what it is you’re celebrating and appreciating — and maybe for some of you that is reduced pricing and market deals. But for those of you who care about friends and family, carefree winter days and the true spirit of the holiday season, don’t get sucked into premature holiday spending or take for granted the memories, joy and happiness that the holidays are intended to bring us. Take each holiday one at a time and give them, along with loved ones, the acknowledgement they deserve.

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Don’t agree? Click here to read an opposing article about why it’s okay to start listening to Christmas music in November.

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