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ALEXANDRA CORDILL | OPINION COLUMNIST | acordill@butler.edu
I understand that what I am about to say is highly contentious and controversial. However, I am prepared to defend this opinion with my life: Christmas starts Nov 1. With the currently extremely polarized climate, is this really something we want to be fighting about? Just give into the holiday spirit. Here are five reasons why embracing this simple change can only improve your life.
- Longer time to consume holiday foods
No one can tell me that they don’t enjoy eating a smorgasbord of cookies and other baked good flavored with peppermint, nutmeg and cinnamon every holiday season. Therefore, accepting that the holiday season begins in November lengthens the socially acceptable time to both eat and make these delicious baked goods.
- Decorations
Coming home to a living room full of sparkling Christmas trees, holiday tchotchkes and colorful lights –– don’t tell ResLife –– would brighten anyone’s mood. Imagine waking up to a bathroom mirror fully bedecked in a garland for 55 days in a row, I guarantee your morning will better.
- 55 Days of Holiday Movies
I can’t be the only one that likes to lose themselves in the innumerable cheesy holiday movies that are constantly playing in December. They are always there to lift my spirit and make me laugh. An additional 30 days to enjoy these is incredibly appealing, and even if cheesy movies aren’t your thing you can still watch “Elf” 55 times.
- Being in the holiday mood makes everything better
By putting yourself in the holiday mindset, you are no longer spun into a fit of rage every time you enter a store decked out in its holiday-best before Thanksgiving. Instead, you are lulled into a state of childlike wonder. I understand that this is the goal of stores because it drives sales up, but the feeling is still nice. Additionally, snow becomes less of a nuisance, which is a huge deal since we live in central Indiana. When you’re in the holiday mood, snowfall becomes a magical experience. It’s as if you were tromping around inside a snow globe or somehow ended up in a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. Snow ceases to be the small bits of ice falling from the sky that it is, and instead becomes a swirling, all encompassing reminder that magic may actually exist in this sometimes drab world.
- Finals season sucks, and the warm fuzzies of the holiday season make it significantly better
After a long, cold day where work just continues to pile up, nothing seems better than curling up on the couch with a mug of hot cocoa and blocking the world out for the duration of a bad Christmas movie. The holiday season is less about muddling through and more about embracing the positivity that lurks in the smallest places. A simple mindset reframe allows you to take in all the little joys in the world even when they’re not as apparent.
