As Christmas break approaches, the annual controversy arises of when the appropriate time for the holiday season is to begin? Should Christmas gain attention before Thanksgiving or after?

Let’s look at the post-Thanksgiving side first. Thanksgiving takes place on Nov. 26 this year, meaning that the holiday season would not be able to begin until the very end of November. This way, Thanksgiving receives full attention for the month of November and the fall season. However, stores seem to toss aside this reasoning as many businesses introduce Christmas displays as early as September.

A poll through Instagram was created for high schoolers to determine when Christmas starts. Sixty percent of high schoolers voted that the appropriate time to begin decorating for Christmas is after Thanksgiving. Senior Carly Burns said her family starts decorating, “a day after Thanksgiving, because you usually only get about a month in between so we have to start asap.”

However, the pre-Thanksgiving side believes that the Christmas season should begin as early as possible. Forty percent of high schoolers said that mid-November is the appropriate time to begin the holiday festivities.

Junior Sydney Andrea says she begins celebrating Christmas, “right after Halloween because it makes me happy to wake up and feel the Christmas season.”

Along with the joy of the holiday season, some students say they prefer setting up for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving for simplicity measures. Senior Lin Sahu and her family decorate, “before Thanksgiving because it is easier to have everything done before the transition.”

With both of the strongly discussed sides of the holiday controversy, one thing that can be agreed on is the joy of the holiday seasons and the long awaited breaks that follow.