Jingling all the way into this holiday season can bring up some controversy. Not the controversial topics that can be discussed at family gatherings, but the mixed opinions about when Christmas should start infiltrating our minds and the media. 

For some, there is an unspoken agreement that the spirit and joy of Christmas needs to be contained until December 1st. 

Senior Shelby Widman is one of those people who think that Christmas strictly belongs in the month of December. “I feel like decorating or setting up for Christmas is fine after Thanksgiving, but I’m a firm believer that you can not celebrate or do anything before December 1st.”

Widman ended her thoughts by saying, “I feel like there needs to be a clear separation between fall and winter.”

Another student, Paul Liu, is in agreement with the “after Thanksgiving rule.” “I think before Thanksgiving is definitely way too early to start celebrating Christmas, and maybe you have to wait a week after Thanksgiving too.”

Mr. Steele is arguably someone you can’t out-Christmas. Being one of the Santas on the “Portland Santa Train” in December is not something most people can top; however, Mr. Steele agrees that Christmas celebrations should start after Thanksgiving. 

“I would follow their basic rule, which is the Santa Clause train rule, which is we don’t do it before Thanksgiving is over. But the weekend after Thanksgiving, we were running Santa Train. So I kind of think Thanksgiving should be the threshold for Christmas Celebration,” Steele says.

While Steele supports that the end of Thanksgiving signals the beginning of Christmas, he has a different take on when to listen to holiday music. 

“I listen to more Christmas music during the same timeframe, but I actually will occasionally listen to Christmas music in the summer because it seems almost like cooling and relaxing to hear…. You turn on Christmas music and go, ‘Ooh I feel cooler already.’”

Whether you start feeling festive before Thanksgiving or after, there’s no doubt that this holiday season is a time for gathering together and spreading love to others. According to many Wilsonville students, Santa and his elves should stay in the North Pole until December, but others can say that it’s never too soon to have a cheerful spirit that the holidays bring.