Like most people, I enjoy the Holiday Season. However, there is an appropriate time and place for everything, and it is far too early to begin celebrating the Holiday Season.

Celebrating the winter holidays before Thanksgiving opposes the entire essence of Thanksgiving. Rather than spending time with family, sharing thanks, and eating some of America’s best food, many people brush past the glory of Thanksgiving as a result of the anticipation for forthcoming holidays.

Black Friday shopping is a prime example; millions of people sacrifice Thanksgiving in order to camp out in front of stores to receive sales for holiday presents. In essence, these people are not celebrating one holiday in preparation for the next.

One of the reasons for the preemptive celebration of the holidays is the commercial retail industry. Many malls and stores will begin celebrating the Holiday Season as early as October, for reasons far from spreading the holiday spirit.

In order to maximize revenue, stores stock up with holiday gifts and decorations in advance, hoping to attract customers to buy their products because it is the “season of giving”.

The holidays are a time that only come once a year, so I could understand wanting to lengthen that period of time, but beginning the celebration in November, or earlier, is not the solution.

Christmas music and movies are intended to bring joy and spirit to the consumer, but starting that tradition too early can produce the opposite outcome once Christmas is actually approaching.

Rather than celebrating the holidays prematurely, people should simply make the most out of the time while it lasts.