Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Battle of the Holidays

Battle+of+the+Holidays

Aren’t October, November and December the greatest months of the year? When they roll around, we are gifted with holidays like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas — each taking place one after the other. Many people feel that these holidays make the last quarter of the year fly by. They are incentives to finish the year strong. However, these months bring a lot of tension as people fight over whether Halloween or Christmas is the better holiday. I find both holidays really fun! As the old Twitter proverb goes, “Why pit two powerful women against each other?”

If you think about it, Halloween and Christmas share a lot in common — there’s no contest! But if there was a contest, it would consist of three categories: sweets, outfits and decorations. Let’s start with sweets: Halloween and Christmas-themed treats take over market shelves when the two holidays are in season. Obviously, Halloween allows the chance for trick-or-treating, and there’s no escaping the fact that candy magically appears everywhere the second September ends. As for Christmas, who doesn’t go crazy when fancy chocolates are suddenly at the entrance of grocery stores? You’d be a liar if you said you’ve never gifted or received sweets as Christmas gifts. I’d say when it comes to sweet treats, Halloween and Christmas tie for first place.

Up next is the outfits category. I know what you’re thinking: There is no reason to dress up for Christmas. Think again. You mean to tell me that you consider your outfit for Christmas dinners, parties or cards as everyday attire? These holidays are a perfect excuse to dress up. Similarly, there’s Halloween, which everyone knows is the prime time to dress in costumes. So these two types of outfits aren’t necessarily the same thing — who cares? These two occasions call for dressing up in a way that you normally wouldn’t. Once again, Halloween and Christmas tie in this category.

Last but not least is the decorations category. Anyone who is a true fan of either holiday knows that this category is the most exciting and important. No one has a better reputation than someone who can deck out their home with the scariest Halloween decorations or the coziest Christmas decorations. Target’s dollar section reaches its peak when October and December come around, and you can’t convince me otherwise! I think the most interesting part about Halloween and Christmas decorations is how similar they are. They both share inflatable lawn decorations, LED/string lights and themed household knick-knacks. With the exception of the famous Christmas tree and a few key characters, decorating your home for Christmas or Halloween is roughly the same thing. You hate to see it folks, but we have another tie.

Spooky season and winter season are both fun in their own ways, but they share many similarities. If you want to go all out for Halloween, go for it! If you’d rather give your energy to Christmas, do it! Why make everything a contest? And to those of you who don’t celebrate either holiday, forgive those of us who take them a little too seriously.

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