Dear Editor,

I remember seeing my first Christmas advertisement outside of the Student Credit Union Oct. 1, stating, “Christmas comes early this year! Apply for your holiday loan today!”

Appalled at this sight, I continued about my day as per usual, but not without the persistent nagging that the holiday season is around the corner.

There is much debate over when exactly Christmas should begin to be celebrated. Many claim that it isn’t OK to celebrate it until Thanksgiving has come and gone, while others celebrate it the day after Halloween.

The fact of the matter is that it shouldn’t really matter.

The global community – not the U.S. – celebrates Thanksgiving on days that usually fall before Halloween, which leaves Christmas as the next holiday to be excited about – logically.

Why should the United States be an exception to that when the rest of the world – at least the Christan world – has moved on?

I’ve started a tradition on Nov. 1 that involves hot chocolate, watching “Elf,” and snuggling together under blankets.

Although the weather wasn’t necessarily conducive to this event this year, it didn’t mean that Christmas spirit wasn’t spread and loads lifted for just a brief peek at the break to come in about six weeks.

I received some backlash about this celebration. If people say that I’m completely ignoring an important American holiday, I respond with a simple and stern “I’m thankful for Christmas.”

This matter has yet to stop consumerist America. Christmas has become a time for endless sales, packed parking lots and commercials clamoring over each other for things as mundane as which candle smells the best and is the best value.

On top of that, if you can’t afford any of these things, or buy gifts for everyone you know and their cousin, then you’ve done society a disservice and deserve to be chastised.

Not only that, but the earlier you buy, the bigger the savings and the more likely a product is to be in stock. This double standard is infuriating, and it’s hard to pick sides for either of the argument when both are so obstinately opposed to the other.

Again, if both sides refuse to see the merit in the other, then what point is there in arguing in which is better? A holiday is a holiday, and people should be able to celebrate it in whatever way they see fit.

Matthew Higginbotham

Music therapy senior