Cartoon by Josh Thepsouvanh

Jingle bells are ringing, and peppermint-flavored beverages and candies alike are being stocked on the shelves. The local radio station is blaring Mariah Carey’s iconic “All I Want for Christmas is You” as families string bright lights outside their homes to welcome the Christmas spirit. 

Although all of these actions imply that Christmas is soon approaching, it happens on  the day after Halloween.

It feels as though every passing year the influence of Christmas seeps earlier through November. 

Festive music is one of the most iconic aspects of the Christmas season; the majority of Christmas songs are old classics, but newer artists release covers and original songs to appeal to the masses during the season.

 Unfortunately, this music is hardly enjoyable when the radio plays it as soon as Halloween is over. Nearly two months of what is primarily the same songs they play year after year becomes grating when the actual holiday comes around. 

One song in particular that many have expressed distaste towards is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”, which is overplayed to the point that media often dreadfully refers to the period before her song hits the radio as “Mariah Carey defrosting”. 

This year, Carey even took advantage of the running gag in her yearly promotional video by releasing a video depicting her bursting out of a block of ice guarded by men wearing Halloween masks. Albeit satirical, the video accurately portrays the feeling of hearing Carey’s song for the billionth time.

Additionally, Christmas-lovers express their adoration for the holiday by decorating their lawns, be it with simple string lights, projectors that display snowflakes on their garage doors, or colorful trees. Seeing lawns decked out in Christmas cheer feels much less genuine when the date is November and there is not a snowflake to be found.

 November is smothered by music and decorations to the point that it no longer feels like a unique month. It has become stuck in the awkward stage of being “the month after Halloween” or the prequel to December. It deserves to be regarded as it is- the final month of fall, and a way to get pumpkin spice out of your system so that on December first, Christmas cheer can finally be spread.