In a little less than a week, Christmas will have come and gone. It seems as if time flies at warp speed, but it also feels like the Christmas festivities started forever-and-a-day ago. Each year, the Christmas commercials start earlier and earlier. Some even begin airing before Thanksgiving. Some stores even start selling their Christmas merchandise before Halloween starts. Each year it feels like Christmas gets more and more commercialized, and because of that, it becomes overwhelming.

Regardless of whether one celebrates Christmas or not, this is the season of festivity and joy, but is it getting to be too much?

Holidays vary from person to person depending on family traditions and personal beliefs and opinions. The general consensus is, however, that Christmas is the biggest holiday in the United States, despite the fact that the US has no official religion. Everywhere you turn, there is Christmas: people put wreaths on their cars; an entire radio station plays Christmas music 24/7, and even the MHS Commons puts up a ‘holiday’ tree. It can feel like the world is suffocating under a pile of mistletoe and candy canes. This isn’t necessarily bad, but does it go a touch too far? And, does it go too far especially for those who do not celebrate Christmas?

As much as Christmas is discussed, many Americans are taught to avoid using the word “Christmas” specifically and to instead focus on “holidays” in general. Indeed, this is why MHS has a holiday tree instead of calling it a fairly obvious Christmas tree.

Recently, the University of Minnesota College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences has sparked a controversy by releasing a memo at a diversity inclusion conference of a list of suggested holiday items to avoid. This list includes mentions of Santa Claus, dreidels, and doves. It is important to note that this list isn’t on the behalf of the entire University and isn’t mandatory. Yet, the attempt to be more inclusive backfired by polarizing multiple religious groups.

Despite Christmas being so in-your-face, it is important to recognize it as an important cultural holiday in the United States. Referring to the season as the holidays is perfectly correct, but instead of chastising people for saying Christmas, we should recognize how prominent it is in our society.

What about the students who don’t celebrate Christmas and/or celebrate other holidays? Becky Rosen, ‘18, is an MHS student who celebrates both Hanukkah and, more recently, Christmas. She says that Christmas is indeed materialistic in America, but also cultural.

Rosen also raises an interesting point by stating, “Since Christmas is very popular and happens to fall roughly around the same time as Hanukkah, it is given more attention to Hanukkah.”

Christmas’s prominence may actually bring more attention to other holidays instead of overshadowing them.

Rosen also says “Most people don’t know this, but Hanukkah is one of the most minor holidays in Jewish culture and is really not a Jewish Christmas.”

Overall, Christmas has brought attention to other holidays, but it still dominates the American culture. With companies commercializing the holiday, this may seem inescapable, even with efforts in place to be more inclusive. Despite this belief, make sure to be respectful of other people’s religious celebrations this holiday season.