When does the Christmas season start for you?
1As the title mentions do you have an official start date? When it is ok for you or others to let their Christmas freak flag fly? Are you already going to work everyday dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters?
As a point of reference in the Philippines they celebrate Christmas for 120 days.

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After Thanksgiving.
Walked into work today and lost my mind when Christmas music was playing. They never start until black Friday. I’m so disappointed.
My neighbors turned on their Christmas lights yesterday. I plugged my orange lights back in to remind people that we haven’t gotten to Thanksgiving yet.
When I was in Norway, we decorated the tree on Christmas Eve.
@RiotDemon Ditto. Day after Thanksgiving. And it ends at midnight Christmas. I don’t want to hear one Christmas song after that.
@RiotDemon
When I was a kid, we BOUGHT the tree on Christmas Eve!
@lseeber I don’t listen to Christmas music after Christmas, or hardly any, really, but I do leave my lights until New year’s Eve. That’s how most of my neighborhood does it. There’s one straggler that leaves them until a week into the new year. That’s frustrating for me since everyone else is on the same page.
@aetris thinking back, we probably cut ours down on Christmas Eve. We just walked into our backyard and found an appropriate tree. They weren’t as even and pretty as the ones we find here.
@RiotDemon - Douglas firs just seem to have the best shape at the right height. Especially, of course, if they’re being brought to the market specifically to be sold as Christmas trees!
@RiotDemon Yeah… I leave my tree and stuff up usually til New Yrs, but essentially Christmas is over. When I was younger and lived up north, no one around us ever really put their tree up until about a week before Christmas and took it down day after New Yrs. When I moved to Bama, I was shocked to see trees and lights going up on Thanksgiving day or the day after. I didn’t even know the trees would last that long (most were still real then). One of my daughters’ listens to Christmas music year round. She just loves it and her kids are doing the same now. I. Just. Can’t.
@RiotDemon By the way… do you make lefse for Christmas (noting the Norway)?
@lseeber all year long?

/giphy sad
I have never made lefse. I looked into it a while back and noticed you need a special rolling pin to get the proper texture. I think I’ll attempt it with a regular pin and enjoy the taste. I only remember eating the one with cinnamon, sugar, and butter. That’s what my grandma made.
Many years ago I went to Epcot and Norway has a little cafe. I ordered a piece of lefse and went to the cashier. I said thanks in Norwegian to her. My ex told me that the person that gave me the lefse made some smart remark that I pronounced it wrong, but then was telling the cashier she was surprised when I said thanks to her. I’m not sure how I didn’t hear any of that, but thought it was weird that I said it funny. I thought I said it the way my grandma did.
@RiotDemon Yep… all year long. She loves Christmas. I must have done it up good when she was little, lol!
All I’ve had of the lefse is the same… the butter and cinn ones. My daughter has the tools to do it, the pin and the pan but her husband’s aunt taught her first to do it with a reg rolling pin and whatever pan she had to use. Her husband is Norwegian although, she has never been there.
Did you grow up in Norway? or your Grandma did? Frequently, native speakers can pick up an accent or difference on how someone else uses their language although it’s difficult for us to tell. My other daughter was living in Chile for a while and I went for a visit. Her native friends there said that, even tho she was fluent in Spanish (and Chilean Spanish is a bit different from others) that I had a better accent with it than she did… even tho I only had a vocabulary of probably fewer than 25 words, haha.
And a friend of hers from China that was her roommate in college said that she couldn’t say her name right, but I did. We just looked at each other and thought… heck… we’re saying it exactly the same. Found out later, it was just a bit of inflection that she used that made the girls name entirely wrong, but I said it right. Apparently in Chinese (or at least where she was from) there is NO inflection or it means something else altogether. And sorry… didn’t mean to write a novella here! lol.
@lseeber I was born there and lived there until I was 7. My dad is 100% Norwegian. My mom is American. Granted I don’t speak Norwegian anymore, but I know how to say the common words I used a lot as a kid. My brother has the Norwegian cookbook somewhere and I do peruse some websites that have Norwegian recipes written in English.
There’s many stories I’d like to write, but I’ll have to save them for later.
@RiotDemon Ironically enough, just got Christmas list I asked for from daughter and on it… a new lefse kit.
Right after the last football game on Thanksgiving day.
I’ve started putting up my Exterior Christmas Lighting Extravaganza, but only because the weather is kinda nice. They do not get plugged in (except to test them) until after Thanksgiving.
December 1st.
Never.
Day after Thanksgiving.
We decorate the house (or redecorate, removing fall decor and putting up Christmas) the weekend after Thanksgiving, weather permitting. And I switch the car radio to the all Christmas music station.
Having been raised in the NE (very much enjoying the cold) and now living in FL, it seems I just can’t get into the holiday mood at all until we get our “winter” weather… at least below 65. This week we dipped to the upper 40s… but of course, I can’t enjoy it since I’m on an assignment in the virgin islands where it’s low 80s! [Don’t hate me just yet, I’ve been indoors just about ALL day throughout my stay, and it’s been raining a ton too.]
@jester747 Hey I was down there once. Which island? If you get a chance to see St.Thomas you might enough Duffy’s Love Shack for a fun drink. Pretty sure they still might even offer the fishbowl with the shark toy in it.
@Targaryen St. Croix. From what I hear, St. Thomas is far more touristy (commercialized?), but this island has a lot going for it charm-wise. I like how it has some niceties from the mainland, yet still has its own strong identity to where you feel you’re really someplace else. Driving on the left, with regular American-market cars, is nuts though!
@jester747 It took me a while to get used to the warmer weather on Christmas also. I’m originally from Ct and now in Bama. Eventually you do get used to it. Although, I have been known to turn the air conditioner on for TG or Christmas to run the fireplace.
@jester747 - in THAT case, hoist one for us at Rumrunner’s or Angry Nate’s, or if you’re on the West End, The Blue Moon. And they used to make a great mojito at the Villa Morales!
It is a bit longer than that actually. Christmas season “starts” September 1st and ends on the Feast of the Epiphany (more popularly known as Feast of the Three Kings, which will be on Jan 6, 2019) with a “mid-season break” on Nov 1-2.
December 26th.
Why, I like having my shopping done before Halloween
While the tree does not go up until after Thanksgiving dinner, the kids and I start listening to Christmas music as soon as the main radio station known for Christmas music during the season switches over from pop/80’s-90’s to Christmas which happened Friday at 9 am. We listened starting at 8:50. “Santa” came on, they played Whitney’s version of the National Anthem (the BEST version of that song ever performed and still gives me goosebumps every time I hear it), and then it was declared Christmas time. We enjoy it. Can’t play it in the house when hubbie is home though because he growls if it is on before Thanksgiving dinner.
@tnhillbillygal gal, i’m exactly the same. I am enjoying my first eggnog latte right now too, damn I forgot how much I love eggnog.
Usually about December 23rd. Prior to that I fake it for the sake of Wife and Kids.
September 16th. 100 days before I like to remind people it is practically here. I get alot of eye rolling then panic as the number gets smaller.
I listen to the music in streaks all year round. Favorite decorations stay out too. We have not done outside stuff yet. Our old house was not in a good place for it and we were talking about figuring out something for the new house this year. Last year I lit the picture window from the inside. Maybe I will go crazy on the 26th and be “that” house next year.
I think I figured out the reason why people get bent out of shape over when Christmas starts or is allowed to start. It’s due to the commercialization/over-commercialization of the holiday, I imagine. Christmas doesn’t appear to come sooner because people necessarily enjoy Christmas or to promote the whole friends/family dynamic. Rather, it’s just due to companies wanting to make money. This causes people to feel put upon and extra stress. It’s also the reason why we generally pine for that idealistic, romantic view of Christmas. Which includes the feathery snow with couples strolling down the street packages in hand passing by the Santa outside casually bidding everyone a Merry Christmas and handing out candy canes for donations.
@Targaryen that is part of it, I suppose. I work retail. I don’t care that I see Christmas decorations early in stores. It’s when I see them put out early in people’s houses. I actually heard someone wishing another person Merry Christmas two weeks ago! Nooooooooooooo.
@Targaryen That’s the whole deal with me. The commercialization. That’s why TG is my favorite holiday. A few yrs ago the little town near me (that always puts up Christmas decorations downtown) put them up 2 weeks before Halloween. I wrote a letter to the Chamber and told them, because of their greediness I would be taking my shopping to the next town over. And if they did it again, I would do the same again. They didn’t for 3 yrs, then they did again. Now I moved so they can do what they want.
In my family it was always the first weekend in December at the very earliest, and sometimes the second. That was when we broke out the decorations and brought home a tree.