After an entire Sunday spent being nauseous, I finally found the perfect cure to my Halloweekend hangover: the Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” movie marathon, which starts every year on Oct. 29. 

Unexpectedly, watching white people from 90’s shows finding holiday romance got me thinking—it was not even November yet, but I was already getting the Christmas spirit thrust upon me, and I was super into it. 

Most people do not like how commercialized Christmas often starts before we are even through with Halloween, but that’s the thing: the joy of Christmas is so overwhelming it is difficult not to think of the happiness it brings us as early as possible. 

I mean, yeah, we all love Thanksgiving and the 10 pounds we are going to gain from our grandmas force feeding us every dish known to man, but Thanksgiving just does not have the power to grasp you like Christmas. Let me get to the point—I want Christmas now.

I know, it sounds pretty crazy just to overlook Thanksgiving, but hear me out. Thanksgiving may seem like a family-oriented holiday, but at base, Thanksgiving is a holiday celebrating the pilgrims’ wipe-out of the Native Americans. 

Americans love their history, I know, but as we have seen in recent years, not every historical event is as romantic as we make it out to be.  

Thanksgiving, according to the Manataka American Indian Council was when, “the Pequot Tribe had gathered for their annual Green Corn Festival. In the predawn hours, the sleeping Indians were surrounded by English and Dutch mercenaries, and were then shot or clubbed to death.”  

Treating Thanksgiving as a fun, family holiday glosses over the atrocities committed against Native Americans. We should just scrap it and go straight to the Christmas season.

Christmas embodies all the same familial values as modern, commercialized Thanksgiving. We all enjoy each other’s company, appreciate the things we have, and try to do better for others during both holidays. 

Thus, we should just put it all under the Christmas banner. It would even come with the bonus of earlier Christmas specials.

Speaking of Christmas specials, it would also be more beneficial to have just one holiday from a financial standpoint. Think about it: Thanksgiving is just another reason for businesses to get excited because they know that all these beautiful people are going to want to cook for their families, decorate their homes for fall, and make sure everything is perfect for when the overly critical aunt comes to town. 

This is music to their ears, because they know this will enable them to take your money. We do not need to have two feasts, two sets of decorations, and two family events. Instead, we should just have one big celebration for Christmas. It is the better holiday anyway, your family would appreciate it more, and you would save money in the process.

“But what about Thanksgiving Break?” cry all the college students reading this paper. Well, young people, it’s going to be fine. Schools have to give a certain amount of days off for holiday every year, so you are not going to lose your break. 

Schools will either extend Christmas break or fall break, to compensate for the loss of Thanksgiving days off.  Plus, this will give your parents more time to focus on Christmas shopping. That means better gifts for you and less stressed out moms and dads, which is honestly another benefit to you in itself. 

To the full-time working, childbearing adults reading this, how would you like to have less to worry about in your life? If I know anything, it is that adults are constantly trying to find ways to get stress out of their lives, and that goes double for people who are divorced with children. 

Psych Central has compiled an entire special report of articles under the headline “Coping with Thanksgiving.” The articles featured include titles like “Thankful, but not Happy,” and “Overcoming Emotional Overeating.” Obviously, Thanksgiving is a traumatic time for many. If we as a culture just skipped Thanksgiving, it would be one less family event to stress about. 

Plus, let’s be honest. Family events are SO boring, and get old faster when there are more in the course of a few months. Do not get me wrong—family is the most precious thing we have in this world and we should cherish it. 

However, I advocate that we just cherish it once. That sounds mean, but I think it would lead to us truly appreciating our family’s company more. Everyone with annoying family members would for sure. 

Those with family members they adore, on the other hand, would just be that much more excited to see them. Less is totally more in terms of family gatherings. By extending the Christmas holidays, people will have more time to situate everything they need for the holidays. 

Less stress makes happier families, which in turn makes a more fruitful Christmas season. Plus, skipping Thanksgiving would further justify Hallmark airing Christmas movies before Halloween, which affects my personal life for the better.