This happens every year: Christmas trees, decorations, sales, songs and also Black Friday come out in our local stores weeks – and sometimes months – before Thanksgiving.

Why is it that we always skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas? They’re both equally important, and should be noticed the same.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be about spending time with family and showing appreciation for what you have.

There is no need for Christmas music to be playing a month before Christmas is even here. Don’t get me wrong. I love Christmas and the music that comes with it, but – contrary to popular belief – there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

According to debate.org, 72 percent of people that joined in on the debate titled “Does Christmas start too early?”, agreed that it does while the remaining 28 percent disagreed.

Those who disagreed said they believed Christmas can start at any time and there is no limits. By saying that it comes too early doesn’t mean we don’t love the holiday or don’t get excited for it.

Black Friday contributes to the problem with companies baiting shoppers into visiting their stores earlier and earlier every year. This causes people to spend less time with their families on Thanksgiving and more time spent standing in lines and fighting over the hottest holiday gifts.

Christmas is supposed to be about honoring the birth of Christ. People should spend less time focused on consumerism and more time on what the holidays were originally intended. It’s supposed to be about time to spend with family and coming together in unity.

Consumerism has taken over a lot of our major holidays but especially Christmas. Christmas sales start in September and go all the way through Christmas day. It has taken what the real meaning of it is.

Thanksgiving is not the only holiday that does not receive enough recognition. Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day are non-denominational holidays that get little actual attention to those people they are meant to honor. Instead companies use the holiday as a chance to advertise sales when shoppers have a day off.

So instead of shopping until you drop during the next holiday, consider what the real meaning of the holiday is.