It’s not two weeks before Christmas. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet. Most wouldn’t even consider it “Christmas time,” and yet Christmas decorations are starting to populate store shelves. Right about now is when joyful people like me, who revel in the lead up to Christmas, receive massive criticism from people who claim the Christmas season may not be celebrated until the few weeks before December 25.

A cornerstone argument of those taking part in the anti-celebratory phenomenon is that the Christmas season shouldn’t be observed until after Thanksgiving as if the oh-so-popular Thanksgiving carols and turkey sweaters might get looked over without their moment of recognition. However, the only decoration the average family has for this fall holiday is a turkey figurine on the coffee table (if that). I don’t know about you, but I know that I am perfectly capable of stuffing myself with pumpkin pie while looking fondly at a lit-up tree and not losing the magic or gratitude of Thanksgiving.

The type of person who says, “you live in Michigan, get used to it” in an attempt to degrade the excitement of the year’s first snow is likely to extend their celebration-limiting beliefs to Christmas. This leads to the conclusion that that the greatest cause of this phenomenon is a lack of holiday joy. As an antidote to this troubling deficit, I propose a movement. To contribute, give a string of Christmas lights to a sad friend. Serenade your favorite teacher. Blast Christmas music in the car. These are surefire ways to cause smiles, which will result in longer, happier lives.