And so this is Christmas
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas everywhere you go with Christmas lights, eggnog and snow.
Christmas is less than a month away, but students like Sarah Amundson, sophomore in accounting, say it just doesn’t feel like Christmas until certain things fall into place. Amundson said she personally can’t feel like Christmas is coming until she sees people putting up Christmas lights.
“Sometimes I hate Christmas because I work in retail,” Amundson said. “Although sometimes I hate Christmas, I love driving down a street when all the houses on both sides have lights. It is the most comforting feeling in the entire world. It is just lovely.”
Matt Jaggi, undeclared sophomore, said he feels the same way about Christmastime. It isn’t Christmas until the whole world is covered in lights, he said, because the lights help make the atmosphere.
“I don’t even know hot to describe what I love about Christmas,” Jaggi said. “I love the excitement, everyone is so excited. Everyone just seems happier.”
Mike Jaggi, senior in graphic design, said he thinks it isn’t the Christmas lights that make it feel like Christmas, rather it is the traditions families celebrate together that make the season fun.
“Eggnog makes it feel like Christmas,” Mike Jaggi said. “My family drinks eggnog every Christmas morning, and so when I drink it, it starts to feel like Christmas.”
Cami Hunsaker, junior in family consumer and human development, said she doesn’t think the Christmas spirit has to wait for anything to fall into place. She said she thinks Christmas happens as a natural progression of the holidays.
“As soon as my family is done eating on Thanksgiving, it is Christmastime,” Hunsaker said.
Dustin Petersen, freshman in human resource management, said he disagrees. He said he feels like Christmas is a matter of timing and the Christmas season can’t start until December.
“It is not Christmas time until December,” Petersen said. “You can’t even buy clearance Halloween candy anymore, because the day after Halloween, all the stores are covered in Christmas things. It just doesn’t feel like Christmas until December.”
Hunsaker said even though she thinks Christmas starts right after Thanksgiving, it’s her family traditions that keep the spirit alive.
“I love Christmas food,” Hunsaker said. “Every Christmas season, my family dips chocolates. The food is always so good.”
Paul Carter, freshman in mechanical engineering, said even with everything people do to try and prepare for Christmas, Christmas just can’t happen until there is snow.
“I like getting stuff, but I like the snow better,” Carter said. “I love to ski, and so it is just not Christmas without snow.”
Mark Nance, junior in elementary education, said he feels like Christmas has gotten out of hand and that it doesn’t even feel like the holiday has special meaning anymore.
“It makes it feel like Christmas time when people keep asking me what are you going to get for everyone and their dog,” Nance said. “Christmas should be more about giving service instead of giving gifts, like giving of your time and gifts instead of things. Look at the commericials and tell me if you think it is too materialist, the focus has gone to giving the priciest things instead. To Christians, Christmas is about Christ, and it is not really ever going to be Christmas until so much stress is not placed on the material things of the world.”
-debrajoy.h@aggiemail.usu.edu