by CHASE WEAVER
Contributing Writer

The season of Halloween is now over, giving way to the brighter side of the fall season. Overloaded on sweets and sugars, we exchange the jack-o-lanterns and spider webs for brightly colored leaves and pumpkin spice. Ready to relax and enjoy the waning days of the autumn season, we turn on our radios and televisions only to be greeted with the all too familiar melodies of winter holiday jingles.

It seems, so far in the twenty first century, that holiday seasons are exponentially being rushed by the ever present pulse of the American media. Department stores begin to stock their Halloween merchandise at the beginning of September then move on to their Christmas decorations sometimes even before October ends.

Carols and Christmas songs flood the airwaves well before Thanksgiving weekend. Primetime shows on network television present their family-centric Thanksgiving episodes which are then followed by a slew of commercials pandering toys and gifts for the winter holidays.

Aside from the holidays themselves, the seasons have all become one huge chunk of commercialism which commands the entire last third of the year.

For the students of Piedmont in particular, this celebratory mash-up is even more muddled. With the semester ending the second week of December and several students living far away from each other, students must celebrate Thanksgiving and the December holidays almost simultaneously if they want to party with friends at all.

For example, my suitemate and I do not get a chance to actually meet up over the break. Instead, we usually decorate for Christmas—tree, lights, the works—in the middle of November so we can enjoy the atmosphere for more than just the days before we leave for home. Then after Thanksgiving break we watch several Christmas movies while finishing off leftovers from the weekend before. Arranging holiday celebrations like these is a fun and effective way to spend the holidays with your friends here at Piedmont without having to travel long distances over the winter break.

Go with a group of friends to a holiday concert, like the Chamber Singers’ Lessons and Carols. Host a holiday movie night. Share a slice of pumpkin pie and a glass of eggnog with your roommate.

So instead of griping about the mixing of autumn and winter this year, why not celebrate both with the friends closest to you?