A dusting of Christmas music can’t hurt
By Caroline Kurt
Opinions Editor
When I awoke to a world of white last week, I knew what I was playing on Spotify that day: Christmas oldies like “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by the peerless Bing Crosby.
I don’t listen to Christmas music in June, and I like to observe Advent with liturgical music like the haunting “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” But here at Hillsdale, we can get a little obsessive over making rules for things that instead need loose guidelines. Christmas music is one of those. Sure — resist the modern encroachment of a commercialized Christmas into Advent and Thanksgiving. But a sprinkling of Christmas music in the long, gray, cold weeks of November and December can give us some much-needed hope and zest for life, reminding us of the great joy this season is preparing us to receive.
And, for the love of God, keep that music going all 12 days of Christmas.
Don’t cheapen Christmas
By Christian Papillon
Assistant Editor
Nov. 1 means only one thing for many people: the start of the Christmas season.
This is a problem.
For one, sellers try to push the shopping season earlier and earlier each year. I got an email advertisement Oct. 29 this year encouraging me to begin my Christmas shopping.
That is completely ridiculous. Christmas season does not start two months before the holiday.
Early Christmas celebrations also distract from November’s main holiday of Thanksgiving. It is silly to celebrate a holiday when there is another one that precedes it by a full month. The end of Thanksgiving coincides with the beginning of Advent, which marks the true Christmas season and still offers a full month of celebration.
The earlier people push Christmas celebrations, the more likely they are to forget about the true meaning of the season. While the vacation, time with family, and exchanging of gifts are all key parts, people must not forget that the birth of Jesus lies at the core of Christmas.
Don’t get overly excited about the future and forget about the present. Christmas season will come and it will be great when it does, but for now, enjoy the last of fall. Spend your Thanksgiving with family. Then, you can go into the Christmas season with full enthusiasm.
Christmas music is the ultimate cure
By Alessia Sandala
City News Editor
To listen or not to listen to Christmas music on Nov. 1? That is the question each and every year. When the Michigan winter weather kicks in and the due dates approach, there’s only one cure, and that’s Christmas music.
Why delay the joy of the best time of the year by forcing yourself to wait until December? Christmas music is the one thing that remains the same every year. Halloween celebrates darkness, so Christmas music is the perfect way to bring hope and happiness back into the world.
Listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving is a crime to some, but last time I checked, there was no Thanksgiving playlist to set the mood, so why not have a very merry Thanksgiving? No matter what we are going through, Christmas offers a reprieve from suffering, as the Italian Christmas song “Bianco Natale” says.