Coming home to welcoming aromas of festive decorations, warm meals, and cold fireplaces truly encapsulates the saying “there is no place like home” each year the holidays roll around. No wonder people yearn to commence the festivities earlier and earlier each year. Feelings of home and warmth are often lost in repetitive and rather tiresome days filled with stress, anxiety, and more stress. By the end of the year, people are often so tired that the thought such internal and external peace cannot be further delayed. Nonetheless, many wonder when it is too early to begin the decorations, the home cooked meals, and, of course, the fireplaces (yes, even in California).

Although there is no exact date, many Christmas festivities begin to trickle into daily life as early as late October and early November. For instance, malls like the Brea Mall and South Coast Plaza have already begun decorating department stores as well as public centerpieces with decorations, such as wreath-like decor complemented by traditional ornaments. Moreover, Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas,” where they play continuous Christmas movies, begins on October 27th. To accompany such an American tradition, Kost 103.5 begins to play continuous Christmas music around the 10th of November. Commercials flood the television with advertisements displaying the joy and merriness of Christmas, taking an economic advantage of the typical consumer’s infatuation with the holidays.

Despite this, there are two main time frames that society naturally accepts as the proper times to begin celebration: after Halloween or after Thanksgiving. Ironically enough, out of 30 people surveyed, 13 agreed that celebrations should begin after Halloween and 17 agreed that celebrations should begin after Thanksgiving. Linsey Shadoween (10) argued that, without a doubt, Christmas should be celebrated as early as it is being celebrated because, “this time of year only comes around once a year, so why not make the most of it?” On the other hand, Kiarra O’connell (9) rebutted that we are celebrating way too early by explaining, “waiting until after Thanksgiving makes sure that we do not forget about the holidays that come before Christmas, and it makes Christmas itself more special and long awaited.”

Regardless of personal preference, individuals alike should place their common enthusiasm over their differences. As Kamal Shamara (10) maturely explained that everyone can do whatever they want whenever they want and eventually all come together under a common sense of unity, more and more people began to agree with his point.

In the end, the heart of Christmas sits in the chest of you and me. We are the heart of Christmas. So why not love each other during this season of such heartwarming? Why not?