As the holiday season approaches and many begin to prepare for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years, there are arguments concerning the timing in which we celebrate certain holidays. The most prevalent and most commonly brought up, however, is the highly controversial question about Christmas: should Christmas come before or after Thanksgiving? Many people wonder about this question- and a lot of people have a very strong opinion towards one or the other. Should Christmas only be celebrated after Thanksgiving? Should we celebrate both of them at the same time? Is it okay to celebrate Christmas before Thanksgiving? Both holidays have important meanings and we should celebrate both- but when?

Let’s start with Thanksgiving. The history of Thanksgiving consists of celebrating the Pilgrims first harvest after the Mayflower landed. This holiday represents the start of history in this country and is important for people to give thanks for the history that happened and gave us the life we have today. This holiday is a popular celebration and we typically celebrate with a feast, certain family traditions, getting together with friends and family, and overall being together with others and giving thanks. 

Now for the long-awaited holiday-Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of Jesus being born- God’s only son. This is usually celebrated longer than Thanksgiving, and some people start celebrating as early as the first of November. Some people strongly believe Christmas should be celebrated this early, but others believe it should be celebrated closer to the actual holiday. Both sides have important views and thoughts on this discussion but the question arises- when do we celebrate it?

As Christmas takes place on the 25th of December and Thanksgiving takes place mid-late November, it would be logical to celebrate Thanksgiving first, and Christmas after Thanksgiving. Where this would seem logical, many people start celebrating Christmas the first of November- when Halloween is over. Countless people think that once Halloween is over, it is time to celebrate Christmas. There is a typical saying that November and December are dedicated to Christmas, besides the 2 days in November meant for celebrating Thanksgiving. This can be seen as good or bad. While many people believe Christmas would be more important, not everyone is Christian, therefore not as many people celebrate Christmas because they don’t believe in it. This would make those people celebrate Thanksgiving much more than they would celebrate Christmas because Thanksgiving is more important to them.

On the other hand, Christmas is very important to Christians so should be celebrated as early as we feel it fit to, because it celebrates Jesus, who died on the sins to save our cross, birth. In this case, there is no wrong time to celebrate Christmas because that would be celebrating Jesus and his birth. Starbucks starts selling Christmas drinks the first week of November and many stores start selling Christmas merchandise or seasonal items the day after Halloween which makes it normal to celebrate early, right?

So, what’s the answer? Do we celebrate before Thanksgiving, during, or after?