Joy to the world and behold! 'Tis the ""Chrismahanukwanzakah"" holiday season! Corporate consumerism for the holidays has begun, but every year Scrooges mumble that this holly jolly season begins earlier and earlier. This negative sentiment is, in fact, not true. Somehow, the general public is annually surprised to see Rudolph, smell fake pine, and hear Mariah Carey and the crunch of tinsel around Halloween—still refusing to accept that the costumed booze fest is now the start to the holiday season. What about Thanksgiving? What about waiting for snow? What about passing me that Starbucks peppermint mocha in the red cup?
Let's accept it. Thanksgiving is now simply a gluttonous prelude to December festivities and an excuse to get two days off from class. And it's Wisconsin, we'll get our snow in due time. So come, all ye faithful celebrators out there, and embrace the tradition of a two-month-long holiday season and recognize that it does indeed have some benefits.
Starting the holidays 50-some days prior to Christmas and about a month away from the start of Hanukkah can have some advantages for students' mental health. Unlike many other colleges, we are all aware that UW-Madison does not have a fall break.
While my friend from Colorado will be flying home for ten days for an uninterrupted Harry Potter marathon, I will be concentrating on writing research papers and studying for a continuous stream of exams. UHS gets busier handling overly-stressed and anxious students this time of year, and the stress level of students hangs around until we finally get the relief of winter break.
Understandably, people fall off their rocker this time of year, but channeling their craziness into the holiday craze can be both comforting and distracting. I met a particularly loony lady whose fanatical antics, in reality, proved to be genius at Target last week.
While I was inspecting Archer Farms' Holiday Milk (Chocolate Mint and Red Velvet), she was seizing as many Archer Farms' holiday yogurts as she could get her hands on. The insane look in her eyes caught my attention, and when she saw my horrified expression, she told me that the Bread Pudding, Sugar Cookie and Gingerbread yogurts were lifesaving and promptly tossed two in my cart. In an effort to escape her quickly, I ended up buying those disgusting dairy products. This week, after two tests and a paper, I found my groggy self reaching for the holiday dairy and was immediately relieved of stress when the sugary goodness met my lips. Savoring the taste of holiday heaven in my mouth, I unthinkingly turned on Bing Crosby's ""I'll Be Home For Christmas."" And just like that, I was invigorated and ready to start studying.
There is some logic in buying into the holidays season early. Dr. Marshall Duke, an expert on the locus of control and the psychology of rituals, claims that rituals themselves are comforting as they present a momentary break from our busy lives and act as a centripetal force that centers us when we feel like we're being pulled in multiple directions.
So, partaking in cultural holiday rituals like ordering that peppermint mocha, chomping on Winter Oreos, buying a party pack of dreidels, preordering the ""Glee Christmas Album"" or watching ""Love Actually"" in the early weeks of November is not that crazy. It promotes sanity. Jingling your bells and decking the halls creates a warm environment that will serve as a safe haven when you come home late from the library. Simply walking down the festive aisle at Walgreens will do the trick too.
Some people seem to be overly festive and extremely caught up in the commercialization and consumerism of the holidays. This can get annoying, especially if you are one of the many stressed out students during this time of year. However, there is a method to the madness and I encourage you to participate in the holiday insanity to aid your sanity. The earlier the better.
Having too much holiday spirit might make you a little bit crazy, like my friend, the Target lady. But when you're about to crack under academic pressure and fervently grasping at your sanity like she grasped at those holiday yogurts, embracing the extreme consumerism culture of the holidays is smart. Don't wait for Black Friday or Cyber Monday to begin your inevitable winter consumption tendencies. Start now and coincide your crazy with ""Chrismahanukwanzakah"" crazy and fill yourself up with the content of the celebration.
Melissa Grau is a sophomore majoring in journalism. We welcome all feedback. Please send responses to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
