It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but when does that truly begin? There is nothing like Christmas – an entire month of cheesy movies, hot cocoa, lights on every corner and the excuse to listen to non-stop Michael Bublé.
Is one month really enough time to celebrate all that? No matter when you believe the holiday cheer begins, people will always disagree. Personally, my stocking is hung with care the minute Halloween ends — those cobwebs and witches are no more.
Just because stores are launching their December holiday decor, I am not less invested in Thanksgiving. That's the timeline the economy seems to push on us. Who am I to go against it?
If you're a college student, there is a good chance you are leaving Auburn the first week of December. Are you really going to put up decorations Dec. 1 and have them up for one week?
It makes the most sense to string your lights and hang up the mistletoe by the beginning of November. A lot of people like to go to the Christmas tree farm with their roommates. Buying a tree for one week is expensive. As a broke college kid, you're going to get the most bang for your buck if you start sooner.
It's more cost-effective and practical to start early — pretty much as soon as the Halloween bats and witches come down. The alternative is being a scrooge and not celebrating it at all in Auburn.
You don’t want just one week to cram in every holiday activity with your Auburn people. You know you want to build that gingerbread house and go get a Starbucks peppermint mocha with the people you spend most of your year with.
The holidays bring out a joy from within us — whether it's reminiscing on Christmases growing up or getting to celebrate with family members you never see. If that's what makes someone happy, then I say let them be jolly for as long as possible. We need more of that in our world today. What harm is someone's joy and good tidings to you?
Sometimes knowing Christmas is right around the corner is the only hope people hold onto in this busy season. The holidays can stir up many feelings of grief from lost loved ones or just being alone. If it's something that restores people's hope, let them have this holiday as long as possible.
Buying gifts for the ones you love and seeing smiles break out on their faces is a precious moment. Getting in the car after a long day and singing along with Mariah Carey's “All I Want For Christmas is You” is bound to lighten the mood — especially that final "you" that breaks the sound barrier. This season holds such a dear spot in our hearts.
This season is also a time we get to give back to others and show them how thankful we are for them, which goes hand in hand with the theme of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is like the appetizer to Christmas to get our thankful hearts ready for the jolliest season of them all.
Celebrating Christmas allows us to feel happy, youthful and nostalgic. As college students, we are expected to be mature most of the time. We have to worry about real-life things, and most of our responsibilities fall into our own hands. But during this season, we can watch a lighthearted movie and get a break from all the homework and tests stacking up at the end of the semester.
Don’t be a grinch. Let your heart grow three sizes, and let the people have their holiday cheer. The entire point of Christmas decorations is to bring joy, so why restrict that? It's practical, it's good for you and it makes the world a better place.
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