Tuesday, November 10, 2009

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Why Americans need Thanksgiving in November: A min-thesis on the Holiday Season in Canada and the U.S.

I have been experiencing quite a seasonal shock these past 10 days. It has come in the form of wreathes, bows, bells, twinkly lights... yes, it is Christmas in Toronto or at least the retailers think it is. How did this all arise???

Well lets start at the beginning. On November 1st at approximately 11:15 am Rich and I began the search for that wonderful post-Halloween phenomenon that is half-priced Halloween candy. After scrounging through several pharmacies we were disheartened to find that they hadn't had time to mark down the candy. So the candy was still marked at full price. However, they did have time to put out their Christmas decorations and merchandise!!! I felt a sudden wave of holiday confusion washing over me. How is this possible? My mind was still celebrating Halloween and indeed I am sure that my stomach hadn't finished digesting the Pumpkin Ale or the Halloween treats from the night before, yet here I was faced with "Jingle Bells" and Santa Clause.

All of this mix up led me to a new thesis (since graduate life seems to be all about forming theses). The American tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving serves a much more important purpose than we perhaps realize. Suddenly faced with a world where Thanksgiving falls in October and not in November during that nice spot in between Halloween and Christmas, I realized that Thanksgiving is the perfect transition into Christmas. Thanksgiving maintains the lovely autumnal themes that I love but replaces the spooky with the more merry and familial which is blends nicely into the Christmas spirit. There is no dissonance between the eerie atmosphere of ghosts and blood and the cheery ambiance of snow and holly. Instead of stuffing our faces with candy we move towards the tradition of stuffing our faces with more substantial things like turkey and potatoes which we continue to do during Christmastime.

The other benefit of Thanksgiving is having a delimitation on the Christmas shopping season. While I agree that less than a month is a bit of a crunch in some cases to fit in all the caroling, gifting, and baking, two months of Christmas shopping is insane and unnecessary. Who wants two months of pressure to find that perfect gift? Dad always said, "work expands to the amount of time allotted" and I think this maxim is definitely applicable here. Eventually in your Christmas shopping when you have 2 out of the 25 days left you just say, forget it my aunt's best friend's sister doesn't actually need a gift. And that is probably all for the better because I bet your aunt's best friend's sister doesn't really want whatever gift you might've thought up to give her.

Beyond the retail anxiety caused by two months of Christmas shopping opportunities, my Canadian friends have shed light on another downside of not having Thanksgiving in November: depression. From several different Canadians on several different occasions I have heard that November is the worst month of the year. One friend told me that she always worries about Seasonal Affective Disorder in November. At first I didn't really understand. I love November and I think of it as a nice finish to the fall. When I thought about this more I realized why no one in Toronto likes November. The days are longer, snow is looming in the forecast, and instead of Thanksgiving there is only commercialized, pseud0-Christmas. Psychologically it is nice to have a holiday based all around good food and family during this growingly dark and cold month and the Canadians' November blues attest to this fact.

I would like to note, though, that there is one reason why I would imagine the early appearance of Christmas decorations in Toronto to be pragmatic. As I was walking down one of the restaurant-lined streets in my neighborhood this week wondering why everyone was putting out wreaths and lights, it occurred to me that many of the outdoor decorations would have to be put up before it gets cold and snowy or else Christmas decorating would turn into a much more hazardous ordeal. But besides this practical point, I still see no reason to inflate the giant Santa Clause blow-up thing any time before November 27.

Maybe all this is just me clinging to my American upbringing and my love for tradition, but I genuinely think that Canadian citizens would benefit from a mid-November Thanksgiving to help ease the pain of the onslaught of winter and to act as a good buffer between Halloween and Christmas. One thing is for sure, even if I am restricted to being within the Canadian borders for Turkey Day, I am not going to be giving up my mashed potatoes and gravy any time soon!