I am a firm believer that Christmas season starts the day after Halloween. On Nov 1., as soon as the pumpkins are taken off the front porch, it is time to replace them with colorful lights.

Many people think this is way too early, but I assure you it’s not. As spooky season comes to an end, the world naturally moves onto the next holiday. There is no “turkey” season, so the only logical answer is Christmas.

This by no means should encourage you to skip over celebrating and appreciating Thanksgiving. This holiday is about being grateful for all that you have while spending time with family and eating lots of food. Thanksgiving is a very important holiday that is unique to American culture.

However, Thanksgiving is not Christmas.

Christmas is celebrated worldwide and promotes a spirit that should be shown year-round. It is about being generous and spreading kindness to everyone around you. Why would you not want this time of year to last as long as possible?

There is no reason to not start the Christmas season as soon as possible. People who complain about “early” Christmas celebrations clearly don’t understand the true meaning of Christmas.

It gives you an excuse to make cookies all the time, drink hot chocolate and be extremely nice to everyone. It should be Christmas season all year round (Illinois decides to snow at the most random times, so it basically is).

Stores start putting up Christmas decorations and radio stations start playing Christmas music as early as October, and that’s the way everyone should be. It is undeniable that colorful lights and festive music bring a smile to everyone’s face.

I will be blasting Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” through November and December, regardless of anyone else’s opinion.