Hear from students on the Mt.A campus when they think the holiday spirit can begin!
Feeling the pressure of midterms and final exams? Struggling to find joy in the sea of final assignments and testing? Luckily there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and for those who celebrate the Christmas holiday, that light just might happen to be the glow of a freshly done up Christmas tree! With the excitement of the holiday season growing, one question shines brighter than the rest: when is the right time to start decorating? The Argosy ventured across the Mt.A campus, asking students if and when they planned on putting up their Christmas tree. With those answers in mind, we have put together the ultimate guide to choosing the perfect moment to bring some holiday cheer into your home.
Though student answers were vast, many fell into a clear set of categories. The first group insisted that decorating for Christmas should only happen after the ending of Remembrance Day celebrations. Many students emphasized the importance of honouring the day without overlapping Christmas celebrations, noting that the holiday deserves its own space and respect. With that in mind, several noted that Christmas begins as early as midnight on Nov. 12! Students Kayla Trites and Judith Cane shared this enthusiasm. With Trites admitting, “my tree was up at 1am this morning [Nov. 12],” and Cane adding she wants “her house to look like a Hallmark Christmas.” Other students took a slow approach to gearing up for the holidays, only agreeing to start decorating around two to three weeks before Christmas Day. These students agreed Christmas only starts to feel real around Dec. 1, with several students highlighting it feels strange and unnecessary decorating anytime before that. Mt.A student Spencer Powell said decorating only feels necessary “around late November early December.”
Another strong marker in Sackville is the Moonlight Madness celebration, which took place on Nov. 14. The community welcomed the holiday season with food, hot chocolate, and various promotions of local merchandise. Many Sackville locals see this as the beginning of the holiday season, with many shopping for loved ones during the event.
Finally, we have the die hard Christmas enthusiast. These students who all insisted that Christmas began the moment the last piece of Halloween candy was accounted for. So, Nov. 1 is not just another day on the calendar, rather a green light to haul out the tree, untangle the lights, and turn on some Mariah Carey! To them, embracing the holiday spirit early is tradition, acts as a mood booster, and is the perfect cure to the dreariness of mid-semester stress. Students Laura Torriero and Aiden Woodin highlight a need to decorate “as soon as you can,” says Torriero, with Woodin agreeing, saying decorating can begin “right after Halloween.”
In the end, there is no universal rule for when you should officially put up your Christmas tree, only the personal traditions and instincts that feel right to each individual. Whether Christmas begins directly after Halloween, the week before, or any time in between, one thing remains clear: Mt.A students are eager to embrace the joy, warmth, and community that the holiday season brings. As exam stress starts to pile up, the glow of a lit Christmas tree might be exactly what everyone needs.
Make sure to check out @theargosypod on Instagram to see more student answers!