It’s October 2020, and we are all on TikTok; you cannot escape it. If your for-you-page is anything like mine, you have probably fallen into ChristmasTok. However, TikTok is not the point of this article. The point is Christmas. The point has always. been. Christmas. Even though we are just scraping the surface of sweater weather, the desperate desire for the holiday season has encapsulated all of TikTok (and our hearts).

Some may argue that it’s too early to obsess over gingerbread, peppermint, pine needles, sparkling snow, or glimmering lights, but to those people, I say: YOU ARE WRONG. In fact, if I had to guess, I would probably say you are a sad person with no joy in your heart.

But, in all seriousness, the issue is not whether or not you choose to relinquish in all the holiday joy, but rather the relief that the holiday joy provides after the craziness that this year has been. 2020 has been unique for each and every one of us. For some, it has been painful. Quarantine, for one reason or another, has changed the way we live, and it has been hard. For others, it’s been boring. 2020 has been so uneventful that this year has simultaneously been the fastest yet slowest year of our lives.

Bottom line: quarantine kind of sucked. It is because of this suckiness, my friends, that causes teens from all walks of life to crave better times, times full of joy and laughter. In other words, we as teens need an escape from reality, and we have channeled this into a desire for Christmas.

Escapism is nothing new in history. It can manifest itself in any coping mechanism such as over-eating, playing video games, or doing drugs (do not do drugs, kids). It is a fairly simple concept: burying yourself in activities or a concept in order to avoid reality. Maybe it’s not even the intentional avoidance of reality but rather that the activity or concept you escape is just better than real life.

Whether or not escapism is good depends on what you escape to. With that being said, the Christmas spirit is an ideal concept to immerse yourself in. There isn’t a better time of the year or a better feeling than hearing Christmas songs, lighting a Christmassy candle, or drinking hot chocolate under a wintery blanket. The comfort derived from reminiscing over good memories is therapeutic. In fact, learning to look back on times and feelings that made you happy is probably really good for you! Spending time being thankful for your past experiences and those happy feelings is such a good reminder that, no matter how weird things get in 2020, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and that light just happens to be from the bulbs of a Christmas tree.