Henley Castleman
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — It’s the end of November and Christmas trees and festive lights have already been present for weeks; in stores, on street corners and in people’s homes.

Holiday decorations first started appearing around the Charlotte area the first week of November and they started appearing in Rock Hill soon after.

At Winthrop University, decorations appeared on campus Nov. 19, a few days before Thanksgiving. For example, the DiGiorgio Campus Center is now home to a Christmas tree and wreaths decorate the Scholar’s Walk.

Many people, including Winthrop students, feel Christmas decorations tend to show up too early and should be postponed until at least after Thanksgiving.

Cameron Mintz, a senior elementary education major from Cowpens, S.C., said her roommates decorated their house for the holidays on Nov. 1.

“It put me into the Christmas spirit, but it’s a little earlier than I would have put them out,” Mintz said. “I think the whole month of December is a good time to put Christmas decorations out.”

Mintz’s said one of her roommates suffers from seasonal depression and putting up decorations early helps her feel a little less depressed.

“We typically start the day after Thanksgiving. We like to celebrate for Thanksgiving,” said Ashlee Morris, a junior exercise science major from Columbia, S.C.

“I think some people take it a little too far. I think when you skip over Halloween that is a little too early,” Morris said. “But I understand doing it a little before Thanksgiving so you can enjoy it and appreciate the joy of Christmas.”

She said she also saw many of her friends sharing Christmas posts early on social media.

meme
A number of memes on social media, including this one featuring Lindsay Lohan, attempted to show how quickly thinking about the holidays can change (photo: ezmemes.com).

“I saw some posts before Halloween, but the majority I saw were around Nov. 1 and Nov. 2,” Morris said.

A number of popular memes spread on social media, which were intended to show the difference in mentality about the holidays on Oct. 31 verses Nov. 1.

The idea is that in October, people are surrounded with Halloween decorations, but as soon as the calendar turns to November all the Christmas decorations come out.

However, many people feel it’s more appropriate to put up Christmas decorations closer to December, which allows them to enjoy Thanksgiving without rushing through it.

“It’s a very happy time for me; there’s a lot of joy. I love Christmas decorations,” Mintz said.