If it Isn’t Obvious Enough…
People like the holidays. There is no judgment here, as it is “the most wonderful time of the year,” but one thing strikes many people’s curiosity: Why does everyone get excited so early? Every year, it seems like people stampede over Thanksgiving as a whole and go straight to craving that Christmas cheer. Why is that?
Feelings of joy From Family.
Imagine sitting at a table with your family, hands grasping a fork and knife as you prepare to devour Christmas dinner. The smell of vanilla, seasonings, and baked goods flows throughout your house, the sound of some random Christmas movie blaring in the background. Best of all, everyone you love is in the room. Many people in this scenario would feel a sense of joyousness or well-being. That feeling specifically is what people crave during the cold, dark winter months.
To “Escape” Depression.
Statistically speaking, only about 4-6% of people have winter depression. That being said, 10-20% of people have SAD or seasonal affective disorder(American Academy of Family Physicians). This combined with feelings of stress from school, home life, or work causes people to desire the happiness they feel during the holidays. To them, Christmas may be the only solution to their problems.
Nostalgia.
Another cause of this holiday fever may be the feeling of missing different events or emotions from a certain time, otherwise known as nostalgia. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, about 76% of Americans feel nostalgia during Christmas time. The nostalgia from Christmas could very well be combined with the two topics above to create some sort of “winter sucks, I’m depressed and want Christmas right now!” type of deal. At the same time, there could be a completely different reason.
An Extreme Hatred for Thanksgiving.
Everyone knows how that one Thanksgiving story goes. Pilgrims came to North America on the Mayflower, met some natives, and were invited to eat this huge feast with them. This story in particular has been told to little children for years to make them thankful for what they have and to get them to be nice to others. Pretty cool right? Not so much. Let’s consider what happened when the pilgrims came to the Northern United States.
In 1620, pilgrims did travel to modern-day Plymouth Massachusetts. They did not bond with the natives though. Instead, they brought corruption and death. They, along with other people from the eastern hemisphere believed that they could take whatever they wanted, so whenever the native population decreased due to disease and the slave trade, the pilgrims believed that it was God’s way of telling them that the land they had stumbled upon was theirs.
Today, Thanksgiving can be seen as controversial in a way. While many people see it as a day to give thanks, others see it as a dark reminder that our modern world was born from genocide, slave trade, disease, and colonization.
Conclusion.
Christmas is exciting to people for a variety of reasons, whether it concerns wanting to see family, escaping winter depression, or forgetting about Thanksgiving as a whole. As Christmas comes closer, let’s take the time to celebrate together, no matter how late people have joined the game. Happy early Christmas and Happy Holidays!
