Christmas Music?

For some reason, I've been unnaturally excited for Christmas this year to the point where the dreams of mistletoe and Christmas trees began in late October, a new record for me. Perhaps it's because I'm at college this year, and the prospect of Christmas carries connotations of finished finals along with it. However, as nice as that aspect of the holidays sounds during this particularly brutal week, it is not thoughts of relaxation that invade my dreams when the lights go out. Instead, I fantasize of opening presents on Christmas Eve with my family, sitting around a softly intense fire with "The Christmas Song" unfolding from the speakers. This surreal image brings me to one of the most intensely debated questions in modern American society: when is it appropriate to start playing Christmas music?

My answer is simple: whenever the hell I feel like it. I don't really care if my hall-mates here at school cast suspicious glances in my direction when "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" is thumping down the hallway from my room. At home, I was restrained by conventional thought, suggesting that I'm not permitted to blast the carols of Christmas until after Thanksgiving is over. However, my philosophy stipulates Turkey Day as a rest stop on the road to December 25th. It is certainly a holiday that carries a significant amount of meaning for some, but considering that it falls approximately a month away from Christmas during the calendar year, it shouldn't be the determining factor for when I'm allowed to start enjoying the holiday season.

In the end, the holidays not only represent different things for different people, but they can start whenever the impulse presents itself. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year,and artificial constraints should not be placed on those of us who chose to start the celebration early. If you feel like throwing your Nat King Cole Christmas album in the CD player, just do it. If nothing else, you can capture a small sliver of the pleasure that you can look forward to over the next month.