It is noticeable by many houses throughout Sandpoint during November, and even year round, that people love Christmas. As soon as Halloween ends, people take down the spider webs and ghosts to put up Christmas lights, and the countdown clocks are placed on the windowsills. But does the hype of Christmas need to be tamed until Thanksgiving is over?

The year following the arrival of the Mayflower to Plymouth Rock in 1620, the Pilgrims celebrated their good harvest after a harsh winter with many days of feasts, to give thanks to God for blessings, like making it to the new land. Although now, the American holiday is often filled with turkey, footballs, traditions, and more recently Christmas music.

Many think that Thanksgiving is too important to be blurred out by Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’. No one is able to appreciate their loved ones and all of the food on Thanksgiving if a repetitive Christmas song is on repeat.

The holidays can be a stressful time, but one does not need to resort to christmas music two months before the actual holiday as a coping mechanism. Instead, all should be able to sit side by side on Thanksgiving without stress, or the thoughts of Christmas in mind, and prepare to eat the six servings of food on one’s plate in a single sitting.

While the songs do bring cheer to all during the holidays and really get one into the Christmas spirit, the ideas of snow, mistletoe and Santa Clause are the not the exact ideals that one should have in mind on Thanksgiving. There are other ways to feel cheer on Thanksgiving, possibly by showing love to family or helping make the mashed potatoes. Cheer can stem from those who you are surrounded with on this special holiday, instead of from Christmas music.

The newfound commercialization of Christmas during Thanksgiving has taken over the true meaning of giving, exactly what Thanksgiving is all about. Plus despite the lack of a complete Thanksgiving album or playlist, one should not have complete disregard for an event that gave a new meaning to our nation.

So on this Thanksgiving holiday, be sure to turn down the ‘Mistletoe’ by Justin Bieber, and show appreciation for all the big and small things you have in life, and don’t forget to save room for dessert.