I am UIC: And so it begins

gift box wrapped in gold paper with bowToday is Nov. 1.

An innocuous Wednesday, like any other, except…it’s the day after Halloween. And no, it’s not just the day that candy is on sale (although, I must admit, that it’s not a bad side effect).

It’s the day that it starts.

What is it you ask? It is the WINTER HOLIDAY season.

Yes, we know Thanksgiving has yet to pass, but this is the day that marks the passage of the revelry of Halloween. Although Thanksgiving is a fun holiday, it is a comfy holiday. It’s full of food and company and gratitude and…well…things that can’t be sold.

It’s not as commercial of a holiday as Halloween or the Winter Holiday season (which include Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, etc.). Therefore, Thanksgiving often gets bypassed in retail. Ergo, starting Nov. 1st, it’s Winter Holiday season.

This is your only warning. Brace yourself.

It starts with snow-themed trinkets and escalates to depictions of ruddy Santa Clauses on rooftops. Don’t get me wrong — I’m not complaining. I, unlike some of my peers, enjoy Winter Holiday season. Although it may be commercial in motivation, the season also inspires a joy that I think is much needed during the otherwise frosty winter.

When all color leaves, and snow has covered everything in sight, the world can seem bleak. Although winter scenes bring peace to some, they bring a sense of loneliness and isolation to others. The “Holiday spirit” counteracts this bleakness. It brings a joy (yes, yes, I know it may be commercially motivated) that breaks this solitary monotony.

This doesn’t mean that I didn’t roll my eyes after I saw the peppermint bark and little candy canes displayed in Mariano’s today. It also doesn’t mean that I was upset about it.

Let the candy canes, jolly St. Nicks, snowflakes, and other paraphernalia reign until January 2nd.

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