It seems that every year, the Christmas season creeps in earlier and earlier. LED lights are sneakily set up just a few days earlier than they were last year. Starbucks starts using their ‘red cups’ just a few ad cycles sooner. Malls begin to pump ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ through the tinny speakers just that much closer to Halloween—more so this year than ever before. But why? Is there a reason for the Christmas craze? Or is it just another side effect of nearly year-long quarantine?

It’s mid-November, and holiday ads have been running on the TV for about two weeks. Is this due to coronavirus? This could be—in such an unexpected, oftentimes scary year we’re all searching for a little yearly happiness. No holiday is more notorious for bringing grins and cheer to everyone than that of Christmas—even to those who might not celebrate it. No matter what you believe in, there’s something about the brisk cold air topped with peppermint and chocolate that brings an inner sense of peace and tradition. Maybe, in the midst of a virus working constantly to keep us apart and keep us wary, we really needed the season that brings us together joyously to come just that much earlier.

Or perhaps 2020 is another element that is at the root of Christmas jumping the gun this year. 2020 has brought about unprecedented partisanship throughout the country—especially so in younger adults. Friends have split apart because of how they voted in this presidential election, rifts have separated families along party lines, and people have lost contact with those in their life who disagree with them. But Christmas has always been—and always will be, for the foreseeable future—nonpartisan. We bring in our political yard signs and replace them with cartoon reindeer or inflatable snowmen. We swap our slogan-printed hats for knit beanies and Santa hats. Even the most outspoken people on either side can agree on the holiday season, and agreements are few and far between these days.

So even though there are many against the thought of hanging up the lights and buying a fresh Christmas tree the week after Halloween, it seems that what the nation really needs right now is the holiday known to make even the Grinch crack a warm smile. It seems that red-and-white striped ribbon is exactly what we need to tie up the family divisions and separated friends, if only for a few short months. So though it may seem crazy to be belting carols before Thanksgiving, it could be a necessary antidote to the year’s non-stop crises. So, this Thanksgiving break, remember what you’re thankful for … and remember to wish your family a Merry Christmas!