The holidays have always been a joyous time with baking cookies, decorating the tree, making gingerbread houses, and listening to children throw tantrums in stores because all the cool new toys are out. These traditions always bring warmth to my heart. The long-debated argument of when the holidays start has been going on for decades; the correct answer is November. The holidays start in November because it's when the weather gets chilly, and in some places, white snow glistens over quiet towns, holiday music soon fills shopping malls, and seasonal holiday-themed items come out in many stores.

I performed a survey with a mix of people and a wide variety of ages,  ranging from 10 to 60 years old. I posed this question to the people I surveyed, “Does the holiday season start before or after Thanksgiving? This includes Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Hanukkah.” The results were surprising to me.  I thought about 60 percent were going to say it starts before Thanksgiving but it was actually 85 percent who said it starts before Thanksgiving. One person I interviewed vworks at Vons, she stated, “Considering I work at a grocery store, I think it’s stupid that I stock Christmas stuff before Halloween.” This proves that even in grocery stores they stock holiday items before Thanksgiving and Halloween.

Holiday music fills the air wherever you are during this joyful season. There are many holiday classics like “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Let it Snow,” “Last Christmas,” and many more seasonal songs. One thing that you don't hear around this time of year is Thanksgiving music. This holiday although popular, doesn't have many well-known songs that we listen to around this time. When searching for Thanksgiving music you don’t find a lot, some of the searches are , “The Thanksgiving Song”, “It's Thanksgiving.” Since there are little songs about Thanksgiving it shows that the holidays are a much more popular season, and many people look forward to it.

Coffee lovers all around love when the holiday season starts, because it means seasonal drinks and seasonal cups. Starbucks enthusiasts love when fall comes about because it means pumpkin spice lattes, peppermint mochas, and many other special season drinks. The actual testimony to the debate is regarding the famous Starbucks holiday cups. This year they came out on November 1st; to many people, this signifies the start of the holidays. You can turn on the heat in your warm car and drink your coffee out of a festive red and green cup.

Continuing with the theme of stores, services, and entertainment: Costco, Spotify, and the movie industry are already coming out with holiday products. Costco has all their items set out for the season, with fake Christmas trees, ornaments, lights, and more already on display for sale. Spotify commercials are coming out to promote their Christmas playlist including all the favorite Christmas classics. There are many holiday movies arriving in November, including “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms,” and “The Grinch.” Movie industries always release their movies when they know they will make the most profit. Both of these films are a big success. These are just a few companies that have already begun to embrace the holiday spirit.

In our area, it is apparent that the holiday season is upon us. The Ojai Lions Club is currently setting up to sell Christmas trees as many people are eager to show their holiday spirit. Many people are eager to buy and put up their Christmas trees. The smell of pine, spruce, and fir fill houses with the sharp, sweet, and refreshing scents of the holidays. Ojai is even putting up wreaths on the main avenue, getting the town ready for the holidays at the appropriate time. Downtown Ventura has also decorated for the season, decking the lamp posts with garlands and ornaments. Even before Thanksgiving starts our own towns, and some around us are starting to get into the joyful season because Hanukkah starts on December 3rd. There is only about a week to set up holiday decorations.

As we emerge into this festive season, the weather gets chilly; many love to snuggle up with a good book or sit next to the fire sipping hot cocoa or drinking eggnog. In many places, small snowflakes are falling from the cloudy skies, creating a blanket of snow over many towns, making it the perfect time to make snow angels, build snowmen, and have snowball fights. To many, the snow screams the holiday season.

The holidays start before Thanksgiving because the sounds of holiday music mixed with screaming children fills the air, seasonal holiday-themed items come out in many stores, and towns are decorated with garland, ornaments, and sometimes even snow. Don’t try to fight the joy of this wonderful season, because when all these traditions start we know tis the season.