In late September, I entered the BHS library one morning only to hear the hauntingly familiar melody of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” echo from the bookshelves before disappearing back into the mysterious place it came from. In early October, I came home to my sister learning Christmas-themed songs on the ukulele. The winter holidays are great, don’t get me wrong, but between waking up way too early for school and the fact it’s still just fall, I was really unprepared for my father to excitedly cheer, “It was right there!” when questioned about his recent purchase of eggnog. While many complain about Christmas overshadowing other celebrations and being thrown into our paths way too soon, others—like my family—welcome it with open arms as the first sign of winter. These different viewpoints led me to my big question for Bothell High School: how soon is too soon for Christmas?
Among 23 poll responses, many agree that Christmas decorations should be brought out in late November or early December to “let fall breathe,” as Hannah Langford (‘25) puts it. Getting out decorations too early can unintentionally obscure other winter holidays, a common concern among the BHS community. As Chris Asmann—a science teacher here at BHS—said in our interview, “You can’t trample those really nice holidays just for Christmas.” There are some outliers, however, such as Kaitlynn Machacek (‘26), who enthusiastically claims “[C]hristmas should be celebrated all year round,” although she does agree that past Thanksgiving is also an acceptable time to bring out decor.
Christmas-themed music is another big contender in the is-it-too-early-for-Christmas debate: should radio stations start playing their Christmas tunes before December? Anton Butenko (‘25) believes that “the time for holiday music starts once the [H]alloween spirit has died down.” Compared with my Mariah Carey incident in the library, not everyone wants or expects to hear holiday music so soon. However, juniors Derek Sabale (‘25) and Nicholas Ang (‘25) agree that people can enjoy Christmas music whenever. Derek reasons these classic songs are “a genre of music like any other,” while Nicholas advocates “because that music slaps.” Two very compelling arguments.
People observe additional winter holidays around the world: Hanukkah, Diwali, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and more. Some people even celebrate more than one, such as Kunal Kumar (‘25), who takes part in “Christmas and Diwali, [although] not religiously,” and Sydney Cole (‘25), who also celebrates Hanukkah. But just because you aren’t a fan of something doesn’t mean you should prevent others from enjoying it. One sophomore says, “if people want to celebrate Christmas they should be entitled to that.” From spending time with close friends and family to attending church services, people have multiple ways of enjoying Christmas. If that stranger in the library celebrates by spooking others with Mariah Carey, who am I to take that away from them?
