Imagine this: you go inside a Target to get some discounted Halloween candy on November first and you hear a bunch of Christmas music playing. You may be thinking to yourself, when did the day after Halloween turn into the holiday season? 

This scenario has become all too familiar. With the Halloween season in the rearview mirror, it seems that many of us have gotten the memo that it’s time to get in the mood for the holidays, but not everyone is ready to make the switch from one holiday to the next. 

“I am one of those people who likes to celebrate one holiday at a time,” LRHS art teacher Ms. Linda Barhydt said. “I do not put Christmas decorations up until December 1st. It actually aggravates me to see Christmas merchandise before Halloween! What’s the rush?” 

Senior Adrien Stoeckel agreed. “I feel like we are rushing too quickly,” said Stoeckel. “I don’t like when people just completely skip over Halloween for the holiday season, because there’s still Thanksgiving to celebrate.”

Whether you are in stores shopping for ingredients for your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes like your grandmother’s famous macaroni and cheese or grabbing a coffee at your local coffee shop, you will undeniably hear holiday music playing in the background all throughout the month of November. While society transitions from one holiday to the next, it begs the question, is it too early to blast your favorite Mariah Carey Christmas songs or hear Wham’s “Last Christmas” as you browse the aisles of the grocery store before Thanksgiving is here? 

“I think it’s a good idea for businesses to start holidays early so they can make a lot of sales and continue that through the season,” said senior Melanie Jeffery. 

Still, some people say that it’s way too early to start focusing on the holiday season.  

“We’re definitely rushing the holiday season, and in doing so, the meanings of both Thanksgiving and Christmas are becoming lost (if they haven’t been lost already),” English teacher Mr. Donn Reeves said. “It bothers me that we pretty much skip over a holiday about being thankful for what we have in favor of a holiday that encourages us to buy more, more, more.”  

This year, shoppers started their holiday spending early due to major sales and discounts according to Forbes. U.S. consumers began their holiday shopping to take advantage of the summer sales and even Amazon’s July prime day according to a survey from the Trax retail website. Statistics show that 38% of Americans started their holiday shopping the first week of September while 70% started their holiday shopping earlier than expected due to these deals, the fear of price hikes, or even the thought of products being understocked or encountering shipping delays. 

 “I used to work for big retailers so I understand why this is done,” said business teacher Ms. Candace Urbanski. “It drives sales earlier and gets the consumer thinking in advance. I also noticed Starbucks red cups came out [over a] week [ago]. This has always culminated in the beginning of the holiday season for me. It’s commercialism at its finest.”

 People Camping outside a Best Buy on Black Friday.

It is sad to see that big corporations just see Christmas as cash grabs instead of days of being together and celebrating with friends or family. People still spend so much money on gifts in today’s society, even with inflation. The average American spends about $1,638 on gifts according to DemandSage’s article, “How Much Money Is Spent on Christmas” and 76% plan to spend the same as last year or spend more even with price inflation. 

Another downside of corporate greed taking over before Thanksgiving is that fact that Black Friday has become anticlimactic. Black Friday has been watered down to a bunch of online sales throughout the week rather than a mad dash to run to stores for the biggest deals. In previous years, it was funny watching people riot over a Lego Star Wars set that went from $49.99 to $24.97 overnight or pushing one another to get inside the nearest Best Buy for the latest technology grab. Now, Black Friday is just a series of online shopping days where you can get good deals no doubt, but you may have to pay for shipping and wait for your coveted items to arrive. Instead of going out and camping outside a Target, Walmart, or Big Lots, consumers are casually scrolling on their phones and devices for “Black Friday sales” that started in many retail websites in mid-November. For instance, Amazon is running their Black Friday promotion from Nov. 20-Dec. 1 this year. According to USA Today, Target started early Black Friday sales for several days in the first week of November and will resume online and in-store sales on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27-Dec. 2. Walmart shoppers can get an early start on Black Friday deals starting Nov. 24-27 online. All of these early deals make Black Friday seem like any other day shopping and lessen the anticipation for those who traditionally wait until Thanksgiving to begin their shopping. 

“The earlier they advertise and put merchandise out–the more people are going to be pressured to spend money,” said Ms. Barhydt. “I don’t give in. I don’t start shopping for anything until late November.”