Some students are busy decking the halls and singing carols, but others are putting a halt on the festivities.

  The age old question, “Is it okay to start celebrating Christmas before Thanksgiving?” is a hot topic at Susquehannock.

   From the Christmas countdown and ornaments at Walmart to the Giving Tree in the lobby of the school, people are gearing up for the holiday season.

This graph from Statistica shows that holiday spending has increased over recent years.

  Experts say 34 million Americans have started to do their holiday shopping, and retailers say that people have been asking for products earlier and earlier every year.

  Even though Thanksgiving is a month earlier than Christmas, people seem to want to receive gifts more than give thanks.

  Studies show that people get “wrapped” up in the materialistic aspects of Christmas, and the family values of Thanksgiving are lost.

  Sophomores Lily Stockbridge and Jessica Fox, although good friends, have differing opinions on the issue.

  Stockbridge often feels as if family togetherness and Thanksgiving feasts are overshadowed by holiday hype.

  “Thanksgiving is there for a reason, and we have a ton of days off. It’s about being thankful before being greedy on Christmas.” said Stockbridge.

 Fox, however, has had a small evergreen set up in her room since early October and has been ready for Christmas all year.

  “I think Christmas is super duper fun! If Thanksgiving was as good as Christmas, you’d see people wearing turkey sweaters,” said Fox.

  All one can say for sure is that the season is upon us.

  The debate will never be over, but cheesy carols, turkeys, garland, and stuffing will have to learn to coexist among each other for the time being.

  Go vote in the poll on the Courier home screen, and tell us whether or not you are ready for Christmas.