Anyone who has visited Downtown Brea since early November might think that Thanksgiving has been canceled entirely. Giant candy canes and ornaments, a towering tree, and other Christmas-themed decorations have adorned Brea’s downtown since the beginning of November, which begs the question: Is Thanksgiving, once one of the most anticipated holidays of the Fall and winter seasons, being overlooked? Wildcat Trends Co-Editors Melea Altermatt and Katie Kudron asked BOHS students for the answer.  

Junior Faith Knapp said that “everyone looks forward to the Christmas spirit with the cold, family, hot cocoa, snow and all the cozy things,” so Thanksgiving tends to be the day stuck in the middle of two major celebrations — Halloween and Christmas. 

“Christmas has a larger precedence over Thanksgiving,” and Thanksgiving tends to be “a pre-Christmas,” Noah Lovcik, freshman, said. 

The Wildcat also asked if Thanksgiving deserves more recognition, and most respondents agreed that it does. 

Kaylor Scovill, junior, believes that Thanksgiving deserves more attention because “for one day it brings everyone one together and reminds us the true meaning of family.” She explained that everyone gets so wrapped up in everyday life and that it’s “nice to be able to just sit down with family and have a good meal.” 

Knapp agreed: “It’s literally one day we just take to give thanks to everything and take a moment to appreciate all the good we have in our lives.” 

Sophie Renfro, junior, agrees that Thanksgiving deserves more attention “because it’s a holiday that celebrates” thankfulness, which “is often overlooked.” 

However, Manny DeBarros, junior, thinks that Thanksgiving is “still a pretty big deal,” in comparison to Christmas.

When asked if people tend to listen to Christmas music before or after Thanksgiving, the results were extremely close. Freshman Megan DuPrey, and Chris Landreth, senior, voted for “before Thanksgiving” because for most, this is the first and easiest way to get into the holiday spirit. However, sophomore Brooklyn Mercado and junior Tori Torres both prefer to listen to Christmas music after Thanksgiving. The poll results were close, with 55% of participants voting for “before Thanksgiving” and 45% for “after Thanksgiving.”

Festive decorations play an important role in preparing for Christmas. Although many listen to Christmas music and start Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving, most don’t decorate until after. 34% of students said they decorate before, and 66% of students said they decorate after. Early decorating definitely affects Thanksgiving’s lack of popularity because it makes it easy to overlook the holiday with festive Christmas music and decorations popping up as soon as Halloween is over. Places such as Downtown Brea and the Brea Mall, for example, had Christmas decorations up in early November. 

Although it might be trendy to set up decorations and listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, there are still many BOHS students who do not overlook this day of giving thanks.