With the days getting shorter and the wind getting colder, people have one of two things on their minds: Thanksgiving or Christmas. Of course, some people don’t celebrate either holiday and are probably just concerned with the snow.

Christmas is the biggest holiday celebrated in America. Some celebrate for religious reasons while others take a more secular approach. There’s no doubt that you know Christmas is coming when the decorations come out on Nov. 1, or even earlier than that.

A survey was posted on the Jays App to determine what the Elizabethtown College community thought about when starting to prepare for the winter holiday was considered to be too early.

Out of 30 responses, 93 percent celebrate Christmas. The holiday is celebrated by 93 percent of the American population for either religious or secular reasons.

One anonymous student said, “Christmas is a great holiday because of all the giving and receiving. It also has a lot of great food and sweets!”

Christmas of course is not complete without the Christmas tree, a wreath, reindeer, a Nativity scene and other various decorations. The majority was split between setting up decorations in November and December. Both months got 40 percent of the responses.

One student admitted that “Christmas decorations aren’t put up in my house until [late November to] December because my mother is very strict about leaving time for Thanksgiving. Once up, however, they stay up until at least March.”

Another said, “My family starts Christmas stuff the day after Thanksgiving, only because it’s a big tradition in our family that requires Griswalding the entire house, and takes over two to three weeks to complete.”

As for Christmas shopping, 46 percent say that they do their Christmas shopping in November. This makes sense as one student said, “Shopping and shipping can be a nightmare, so it’s better to get a head start.”

Due to the pandemic and the labor shortage, many companies are warning about delays in shipping.

November is mostly the best bet to start Christmas shopping. Of course one of the unofficial holidays lies in November: Black Friday. This day is obviously when all companies hold sales to kick off the Christmas shopping spree.

A student responded, “I personally wait until Black Friday to start doing anything Christmas-related.”

Another element of Christmas is the music. Of course, it bounces between secular and religious music all the time on the radio. Some radios don’t start playing Christmas music until after Halloween or Thanksgiving. Most people start playing Christmas music themselves while driving from store to store or putting up the Christmas decorations. 43 percent of the responses stated that they listen to Christmas music in December.

Right before Christmas is Thanksgiving. Eighty-six percent said that they celebrate Thanksgiving. The big debate with celebrating Christmas too early is that it skips over Thanksgiving when it’s supposed to be a time to be thankful for what they had and be with their family.

One student said, “I find it annoying that so many people skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas. I feel like people should wait until at least halfway through November before starting on Christmas decorations.”

Another student pointed out that “Christmas should have from about December 20th to 30th.” They continued, saying,“That’s plenty of time considering Hanukkah barely even gets 8 days and is always overshadowed by Christmas which is really a day and a night. It’s only two months because of capitalism and exploitation.”

As a counterpoint, someone said, “Honestly, I think people should be able to start preparing for Christmas or any holiday whenever they want. Many people have fond memories of the holidays they celebrate, so they should be free to celebrate them and remember those good times if that’s what makes them happy.”

Overall, no matter how you celebrate it and when you prepare for it, Christmas is definitely a major holiday that impacts our culture and society.