One weekend in mid-November, I am driving to a restaurant to have dinner with my family. We turn a corner, and a forest of twinkling, colored lights dazzles the eye. Christmas lights were up.

After Thanksgiving dinner, I go to stand by my mother as she looks out the window. The street is dark, and we looked out at the familiar houses lit by the soft glow of the street lamps. And the strings of lights that lined the trees and bushes. And the illuminated sleigh and reindeer set on the corner. Christmas lights were up.

I return to campus to find icicle lights lighting the path to the door of my dorm, and a Christmas tree in the lobby. And another tree in O'Shaughnessy. One in the bookstore. Various dorms sport different interpretations of holiday decorations, inside and out. As do various dorm rooms. Even the Dining Hall is decorated, with Christmas carols constantly played over the loudspeaker. Christmas lights were up.

Now, I love Christmas. The decorations, the shopping, the trees, the celebration — all of it. I have fond memories of the family piling into the mini-van to cruise the neighborhood, looking at all the decorations and singing our favorite Christmas songs. But not in November.

Christmas is starting earlier and earlier every year. Some stores have Christmas displays up by Halloween, which is more than a little excessive. All of them have decked their halls by Thanksgiving. How early does the holiday season have to start?

For those who have not checked their calendars lately, Christmas Day is Dec. 25. There is no need to begin the Christmas activities two months beforehand. Walking into a room to here the familiar melodies of Christmas music in October is just plain disconcerting. My roommate is a bit of a Christmas freak, and so it happened to me. We had to make a rule that there was to be no more Christmas activity until after Thanksgiving. It almost worked. Putting up strings of blinking, colored lights in the middle of November will only confuse people, making them wonder if they woke up a month after they went to bed.

The official start of the commercial, er, Christmas season is the Friday after Thanksgiving. Millions of people rush to the mall to get a jump on their holiday activities. And in many cases, it is also the day the Christmas lights go up. They will stay there, burning brightly, for at least a month and half, probably more. But how long will they be noticed? Lights that have become a common part of the general scenery will be much less appreciated on Christmas Eve, especially if they have been up since Thanksgiving Eve.

Most people will agree that Christmas is a very special time, magical even. But part of that magic is that Christmas is fleeting, it comes and it goes every year. To drag out the Christmas season would be to stretch out that magical time. It will only stretch for so far before it breaks.

During her October Christmas music period, my roommate said something to the effect that the spirit of Christmas lives all year long. Well, the spirit may, but the decorations don't have to. Whatever happened to the Twelve Days, anyway?

Contact Katie McKenna at kmckenna@nd.edu

• Christmas in ... October?