“There’ll be much mistletoe-ing, and hearts will be glowing, when loved ones are near – it’s the most wonderful time of the year!” And so the song goes, one of countless tunes of its kind, reminding all of us of the happy spirit of the holiday season.
We all expect to hear the strains of “Jingle Bells” or “White Christmas”, “Joy to the World” or “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” as the holiday season is upon us. But every year, it seems like Christmas is coming just a little bit earlier, with the geese getting fatter in October and the bells ringing in as November carries on.
Despite what the melody may promise, the nights aren’t silent for very long after Halloween. Within mere days, Christmas decorations adorn the shops and lights are strung up in the streets. November 26th of this week sees Oxford host a Christmas light processional– almost exactly a month before the birth of our Lord is officially celebrated. What on earth is the point of this?
One can point to many reasons for the proliferation of decorations so early in advance. It’s a commercial opportunity for vendors, who can coax people into buying irrelevant goods they might otherwise have passed by in order to get a jump on their annual Christmas shopping list. Charities know that people are more likely to give generously in the spirit of the holiday season. Schools sigh as the actual date draws nearer, with children’s attention firmly focused on what will be waiting for them under the tree rather than on their studies.
And Oxford is no exception to this phenomenon. In fact, students celebrate “Oxmas” during the last full week of term in order to savour some of the holiday cheer with friends at university, and numerous colleges and intercollegiate societies hold Christmas parties weeks before the actual date draws near. Nobody save for those cult classics of Ebenezer Scrooge or the Grinch can deny that the holidays are a happy season, or that extending them surely brings more good than harm. But perhaps it’s best to let nature be the guide and celebrate when the first flakes fall. After all, there’s no end in sight otherwise, and we’ll be scouring the Covered Market for Christmas cards in July.
