It seems like the Christmas holidays come earlier and earlier each and every year. It’s not even Thanksgiving week, let alone day, and already lights are being strung up on rooftops and trees, wreaths adorn front doors, and TV commercials are already holiday-themed.

Traditionally, people would respectfully wait until after Thanksgiving to start preparing for Christmas. Everyone would (and should) give all those turkeys, who give their lives for Thanksgiving every year, their time of glory on this special day. But now it seems that people are simply skipping over the thanks-giving mentality and heading straight for Jesus’ birthday party.

And some Nazareth students don’t like it at all.

“Personally, I feel like it’s too early. From experience, my family has always set up decorations for the Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving. My mentality is to take one holiday at a time!,” Sydney Gent, ‘14, remarked.  Fellow classmate Renee Sone was also in agreement: “I say people start decorating way too soon! People get caught up in Christmas but lose sight of its real meaning. Thanksgiving brings family together so it is important not to ‘skip’ over it by rushing to the next holiday.”

It is easy to see why the retail industry at least grows more and more eager to start the Christmas season earlier. The Christmas season is a gold-mine for businesses and they want to cash in on all the present buying. The notorious Black Friday has expanded over the years to span multiple days including Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday.

But all this emphasis on making money negates the true meaning of the holiday season: family. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks and to be with others, in addition to having an excuse to eat as much as a person possibly can without dying.

So moral of the story: put down the Christmas lights and respect the turkey.