Hang the stockings and say some prayers because Santa Claus comes tonight… No, he does not, not yet at least. People get ready for Christmas way too early. As much as Santa is loved, there is a time and place for everything. Frankly, the day after Halloween is not the time. 

Getting ready for Christmas so early causes people to overlook other festive holidays. Normally, people wait until after Halloween to start getting into the Christmas spirit, but there are still large, inflatable reindeer decorating department stores during October. In October, people want to see pumpkins, fall leaf decorations, ghosts and candy. There is no need for Santa and his elves to be invading people’s lives so soon. These two holidays are very different. October’s weather isn’t even close to late December’s weather. Even if someone wanted to get into the Christmas spirit so soon, the weather is discouraging them and shows the difference in times. 

What happened to thankful time? Why are people passing over Thanksgiving? Around Christmas time, people become materialistic and care most about gifts. Thanksgiving is a holiday to be thankful, but people look over it by making lists of expensive gifts that they want. Instead of living in union with neighbors, people drive their narcissism by trying to one-up their neighbors in a house decorating contest. By Nov. 1, people shouldn’t be thinking about, or ready, for Christmas. Most should still be cleaning out their fresh candy stock from Halloween. 

Mariah Carey, singer of the iconic Christmas song “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” posted a Tik Tok video about moving onto Christmas times quite early on Nov. 1. The video started with three carved Halloween pumpkins and other spooky decorations. Together, the pumpkins spelled out, “It’s not time.” As a menacing and ominous bell sounded, Carey stepped into view with sparkling red heels and dress. She then snuck into a room holding a baseball bat decorated with candy cane stripes. Then, Carey flashed a sly smile as she smashed the pumpkins, and “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” started playing. The video ended with the scenery changing into one of a typical Christmas morning with presents, lights and snow.  The end of the video said, “… we still gotta get through Thanksgiving.” This video was a perfect example of people skipping over holidays for Christmas. “We still gotta get through Thanksgiving?” That makes the holiday seem like a chore. 

Carey also went on to post a shout-out and clip of her new Christmas song. It features Khalid and Kirk Franklin and is called “Fall in Love at Christmas.” The song came out on Nov. 5. While Carey will certainly profit from this song, given her reputation, releasing it so early in November was too soon. People are not in the Christmas spirit yet. Releasing it in early December would have been more time-appropriate. 

When walking into a Costco on early November days, seeing advertisements for Christmas decorations and a giant, inflatable Santa is not an optimum situation. October is for Halloween, November is for Thanksgiving and December is for Christmas. Maybe getting a head start on gift buying is needed for some, but not all. Enjoy the moment. Santa needs to slow his role.