Christmas time is amazing; the food, music and decorations of the season put smiles on faces everywhere. However, the magic of Christmas can be destroyed if we start the season too early.

Many things that people enjoy in life are extra sweet because they only are around for a short time; Christmas is one of these things. For example, everyone loves listening to Christmas music… until it comes on the radio Nov. 20 and by Christmas, everyone is sick of it. According to www.washfm.com, the radio station has started playing holiday music on their station earlier each of the past three years.

In addition, once delightful holiday traditions are now getting worn out. Every year, Santa Claus makes an appearance at Montgomery Mall. This year, he began his visit Nov. 15. By Dec. 20, when kids should be most excited for Christmas, Santa is old news.

“Christmas is way more special if we only listen to the music and see the decorations for less than a month,” said junior Darien Henson. Although the holidays are great, more than a month of celebration can make even the most devote Christmas lovers wondering where the true spirit went.

Another annoyance of an early Christmas is the outrageous decorations way before they are appropriate. “It is irritating how people have up Christmas decorations before Thanksgiving even starts,” said sophomore Sam Kane. Driving down the street in the middle of November, we should be thinking about turkeys – not Santa. It would be nice if some members of our community would wait a couple weeks to replace their Halloween jack-o-lanterns with Christmas lights.

Yes, the over advertised holiday season is a result of business capitalizing off of a nation’s obsession with a gift-giving holiday. It is smart marketing, but for the rest of us, put away the trees, cookies and ornaments until the actual holiday dates roll around.