November - Why does it have to be Thanksgiving OR Christmas?

It's that time of year again, the weather gets colder, the days get shorter, and the shopping skyrockets. In November, we see two sides of one coin: those who sing Christmas carols the minute Halloween is over, and those who seem to boycott any Christmas celebration until after the turkey is gone. But why does it have to be this way?

I agree that the commercialization can be a bit much, I cringe to see Easter bunnies up when Valentines' Day is still not over, and seeing Christmas trees clear into September is excessive to say the least. But before you post on social media about how outraged you are about Christmas being posted before Thanksgiving, such as the following,

consider for a moment if Christ was put in the place of Santa. Does this change your perspective? 

I love Thanksgiving as much as any of you. Gathering with my family and thinking about how many things I've been blessed with in my life makes me emotional and want to be grateful all year round. However, Christmas trees and mistletoe aside, for those of you who want to keep Christ in your life, you should be celebrating Christmas all-year-round. This doesn't mean to have a Christmas tree in the middle of the summer, or during Valentines' Day to hang up stockings, or even singing Christmas carols. Thanksgiving and Christmas should go hand-in-hand, it is the world that has separated the two. In a way, Thanksgiving prepares us to remember the greatest gift we've ever been given.

Celebrating His birth is the true meaning of Christmas. That is one of the best things you can be grateful for on Thanksgiving, the fact that He died for us and rose again! By using His Atonement daily, we can open up a present every day of our lives. 

I know many of you mean well in wanting to give Thanksgiving its own month, and it's hard to see lights strung up a few months ahead of time. Just remember before you are so vocal about your contempt for Christmas before Thanksgiving which Christmas you're trying to keep at bay. Because it's not Santa's holiday, it never was and it never should be, he is just a symbol we associate with Christmas. In Spanish the word más means "more", so Christmas in this way means "more Christ."

The world nowadays is already trying to take Christ out of everything: school, the media, families, politics, and even Christmas with the use of Xmas. Don't push Him further away when He's the one person you should be the most grateful for out of everyone who's ever lived on this Earth. He is the way back to our Heavenly Father, and we would do well to remember that.