Christmastime is one of the most decorated seasons of the year with all sorts of bouncy bows, brilliant bells and beloved baubles from all styles of holiday home decor from the minimalistic to the extravagant. This season brings the heated and controversial topics of “when?” and “what?”. When is the right time to pull out mom’s red and green totes and throw up decorations. When do we play the ceremonial “Hark the Herald!” and pour the traditional peppermint cocoa or eggnog in order to announce that the Christmas season has arrived? According to many Northwestern students, the “correct” time to put up Christmas decorations is after Thanksgiving, allowing the holiday its place at the seasonal table, and allowing people to properly transition into the Christmas mood after fall has had its turn. “I just can’t get in the Christmas mood till December,” freshman Madison White said, as a lover of Christmas decor. This seems to be the general view on the “right time” to put up Christmas decor around campus, especially when one takes into consideration that Thanksgiving break provides the perfect time for students to go home and come back with enough Christmas decorations to deck the halls.
Another commonly discussed topic about Christmas decor is what should be put up to celebrate the season. Many students seem to share a common distaste for decorations crowded with elves and Santa. The general consensus on this decorating style is that it’s tacky and pointless, filling the holiday season with random busyness and off-putting brightness. Students on campus who love Christmas decorations find these decorations to be a bit much and a little too extravagant. Some might even argue that tacky decorations such as this rob the holiday season of its depth and personal meaning as they distract from the true definition of Christmas with overpriced balloons and almost creepy interpretations of Santa Claus.
On the other side of things, students on campus generally seem to share a common love for the more classic elements of Christmas such as lights, trees, nativity scenes, greenery and ornaments. Many students also enjoy the symbolism found in some of their favorite Christmas decorations. “Greenery at Christmas has always been a reminder to me of the ‘reason for the season,’ of life, true life, in the midst of a dead world,” freshman Ella Erickson said, about decorating with greenery. Erickson sees greenery as a symbol of what Christmas is all about, the birth of Christ and how He came down to seek and save the lost, bringing us redemption and a chance to truly live with our Heavenly Father as His children. Addison Whipple, another freshman on campus, agrees with this symbolism found in traditional Christmas decor as she claims that the reason for these decorations is to “show the hope of Christmas that Jesus brings to us because in winter its cold and dark, but the light brings joy to us just like Jesus brings to us.” Whipple and Erickson, as well as many other students on campus both believe that the bright and vibrant decorations of the Christmas season can be used as a way to share the reason for the season and spread the gospel message to unbelievers all across the world, ministering to them with love, joy, and peace during the holiday season. After you return from Thanksgiving break, you can expect Christmas decor to come to Northwestern in full force as a way to amplify the beauty of this meaningful season and bring joy and warmth to all.
