BY COLLEEN RUPP
SC Staff Writer

When one walks into Wal-Mart, a grocery store, a clothing store, or any other form of retail space, it is hard to ignore all of the Christmas decorations that are already hung weeks before Thanksgiving.

Christmas music is already being played in stores and on the radio, and movies are already on all the major network channels.

It is as though we have totally skipped over Thanksgiving.

It seems like every year the decorations, music, and movies begin to appear earlier and earlier.

A few years ago, the norm used to be that all of the Christmas craziness began on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

In the past few years, that day has been coming earlier and earlier, but this year began a whole new appeal.

The Christmas decorations were in stores before Halloween was even over!

Now do not get me wrong, I love Christmas and the holiday season as much as the next person, actually probably more.

I have a Pandora radio station dedicated to Christmas music, watch all the movies on Lifetime and ABC Family, and decorate my residence hall room or apartment every year.

At home, our decorations are inside and out, and our tree is normally the biggest in the neighborhood, taking over almost a whole room.

This causes a problem for me.

I want to get excited for the holiday season, but do not want to overlook Thanksgiving either.

As excited I am for Christmas and all of the commercialization to begin, the earlier this comes, the harder it is to remember the real point of the holiday season.

Spending time with family and friends you do not see often, appreciating what you have, and giving to those less fortunate are just a few of the things I believe are important during the holiday season.

But the media and commercialization trying to get us to spend money, makes it hard to remember these important things, especially when Thanksgiving is beginning to become a forgotten holiday.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds us to be grateful for all that we have. People forget about that anymore, and are simply thinking about getting their coupons and deals for Black Friday.

With all that is going on in life, especially during the holidays, it is hard to remember to take a breath. We tend to forget to slow down and be in the present moment because we are always looking to what we have coming up.

This is more difficult now more than ever because we are college students.

So this holiday season when you go home for Thanksgiving, and then winter break, remember to be thankful for the little things.

I challenge you this year to not get caught up in all of the craziness that society creates, and remember what is important during this holiday season.

Email Colleen at:
cer1810@live.esu.edu