By Charlotte Hoffman, Staff Reporter
The day after Halloween marks a turning point in the second half of the year. Symbols of the ‘Holiday Season’ begin to creep into stores and onto social media during the last few weeks of October, but on November First, this is all exacerbated. Christmas music starts playing on the radio, fake trees pop up in stores, and holiday deals are featured on television. This transition period happens before Halloween decorations are even taken down, or carved pumpkins are thrown out. People are eager to get a taste of ‘the most magical time of the year’, probably because it reminds them of their childhoods, their families, and memories that they hope to recapture.
Probably most importantly, the Holiday Season gives people an excuse to splurge and attempt to buy happiness for their family members. Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, a slowdown in consumer good shipments have already begun to dictate this year’s holiday season. As a consequence of the pandemic, global supply chains and shipments slowed, clogging up orders. At Green Mountain High School alone, the Cross Country team ordered gear from the BSN company in August and didn’t receive their orders until the first week of November, two weeks after the season had ended. Many local businesses – such as furniture upholsterers, bike shops, and jewelry shops – are dependant on parts overseas, which have become more and more expensive during the pandemic. All of this has culminated in the pressure to purchase holiday gifts earlier in the season, speeding up the timeline of the holidays and inserting holiday propaganda into early November, before many trees have even lost all of their leaves.
Denver, Colorado, also broke the record for the most days between the last day of snow (sometime in the spring) and the first day of snow (sometime in the fall) this season. Lakewood is regularly still sunny, with some days reaching into the seventies. This makes it feel much less like the holidays in Lakewood. Yet what feels most different about November this year is how rushed everything feels; there are still major concerns about the pandemic and vaccination status of Americans, yet many are eager to get back to normal. This means catching up on traditions and visiting all of the family and friends that people couldn’t last year. The push to finally enjoy ourselves and splurge has shifted the holidays earlier than ever, yet it may be just what the world needs to feel united again.