By: Janelle Pantilon, Features Editor
From spooky skeletons and pumpkins to Christmas icons playing on the aux, lights strung, and towering trees, the festive spirit never leaves. But where’s the bright mood for Thanksgiving? November, which falls between these two significant holidays, leaves only a short transition from one celebration to the next.
For a while now, Christmas has been considered a beloved holiday, holding a special place in many Americans’ hearts, with Thanksgiving as a close second. The moment the holiday took the stage isn’t clear as both the fall and winter celebrations emerged around similar times. At some point though, many’s attention began shifting away from Thanksgiving and rather focused on all things Christmas.
Junior Khaycee Carreon explains her belief on the Thanksgiving spirit fading away, “You don’t really do anything on Thanksgiving and I think most look forward to the break.”
As the holiday season approaches, the common question of the right time to decorate for Christmas sparks debate. Some prefer to wait until Thanksgiving has passed to bring out the trinkets, but as Christmas has become more mainstream, many embrace the festive spirit earlier on, eager to transform their homes into a winter wonderland right after October 31st.
Junior Chloe Amayun likes to wait a little and soak in the remainder of the fall season as she says, “I normally begin decorating after Thanksgiving.”
Sophomore Alexa Dunn shares that her family rather enjoys preparing their home early, “I try to find time after Halloween but I’m normally busy so whenever I am free.”
The media has played a vital role in Christmas’ resonance around the word as well. The range of Hollywood productions and advertisements to activities for all in the community has transformed this time into a highly commercialized holiday. On the contrary, there’s not much attention pointed to Thanksgiving festivities nor distinctive traditions for the day aside from those created from people themselves. Stores stock their shelves with trees, lights, Christmas themed foods, and advent calendars as early as October, offering a short opportunity for Thanksgiving to receive attention.
Overall, there’s certainly a correlation between the overall aesthetic of the holidays with their engagement and the masses’ preference. It likely stems from the music or entertainment industry where Christmas is more glamorized and magical whereas that doesn’t apply for Thanksgiving. Rather, the day is more straightforward and largely focuses on the food and guests leading up to it; centered around verbally expressing and showing gratitude. While Christmas promotes similar values such as quality time, positivity, and appreciation, there’s an assortment of fun festivities attached to its name which is what possibly drives its attraction.
All considered, these two holidays are meant to be a fun time where you can create and carry on traditions with those you love. Regardless of which appeals to you the most, with the year coming to close, embrace all the festivities and bright spirits.
