Picture this: You are in a craft store in early September. The weather is still relatively hot, but for some reason your mind is telling you that it is cold. You are not entirely sure why you feel like you are supposed to feel cold, though. It is not the air conditioning coming at you full blast. It certainly is not the temperature from outside. Then, it hits you. It is those more-than-one-month-too-early holiday decorations covering nearly every square inch of the store.

On Sunday, Nov. 23 the Shops at Legacy held a festival celebrating their annual lighting of the Christmas tree, four days prior to Thanksgiving. This over-the-top celebration of the late December holiday overshadowed the commemoration of the day in which the Native Americans were gracious enough to help the malnourished pilgrims through what was called the Starving Time, the deadly winter of 1609-1610. Unfortunately, the tragic act of Christmas encroaching on Thanksgiving celebrations happens every year. The fact of the matter is that Thanksgiving is a national holiday and deserves to be celebrated properly, rather than taking a week off of school just to fritter away time before Christmas and load up on turkey and cranberry sauce.

However, the eerily early lightning of the Christmas tree in the Shops at Legacy is just one example of America’s habits to overdo holidays. As aforementioned, craft stores, and/or stores in general, have the tendency to stock up their whole stores up with decorations well before the actual date. According to stores, Valentine’s Day begins in January, Easter begins towards the end of February, Independence Day falls somewhere in early June, Halloween in September, Thanksgiving in late October, and yet overshadowed by one of the grandest holidays of them all: Christmas, which people begin furnishing their homes for, sometimes before Halloween is even over. While some happily sing the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas,’ it is clear that due to American tradition, the ‘Twelve Weeks of Christmas’ would be more applicable.

Each year seasonal foods and drinks come out earlier and bigger. For example, the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte, although high in demand, has ceased to maintain a consistent release date. In 2013, Starbucks released their highly popular drink to the public on Sept. 3. This year it was put onto menus on Aug. 25. Around the time that the drink is usually released, nationwide temperatures are painfully warm and humid. The week of Aug. 25 in Texas saw temperatures ranging from 102 degrees Fahrenheit to 96 degrees, which was much too hot for a latte of any kind.

While it is quite comforting to know that the holiday season is quickly coming, there is some slight feeling of sadness when you realize that you are hyped over a single day more than a month away. America, I love you, but you have to tone it down on the premature decorating. Two weeks in advance will suffice.