It’s official. The best month of the year is here. November is a magical time and a lawless month. Sandwiched between two of the calendar year’s greatest hits, November offers a time between fall and winter where anything can happen.
Now, I know some people look down on November because of its holiday. And yes, the white colonizer celebration is not the best holiday to ever exist. However, I think it has some redeeming qualities (as a contemporary holiday, not a historical reflection).
Firstly, the food around this time of the year is bound to be good. Christmas flavors are being introduced, Thanksgiving specials come out and there’s still time to gorge on discounted Halloween candy.
Secondly, November has some phenomenal movies. “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” is a feel-good comedy starring an unstoppable duo of John Candy and Steve Martin, with John Hughes directing. With names like those attached, it was destined for greatness. Lesser known, but dare I say funnier, is “Home for the Holidays”. The 1995 movie follows a dysfunctional family celebrating Thanksgiving in Chicago and even stars a young Robert Downey Jr. as the main character’s gay younger brother.
Not to mention the all-star cozy fall movies team of “Knives Out”, “Fantastic Mr Fox”, “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Dead Poets Society”, “When Harry Met Sally” and “Good Will Hunting”. If you haven’t seen any of the movies I just listed, then you haven’t lived.
Not to mention, November has plenty to offer besides Halloween’s leftovers and December’s prerequisites. These are the last few weeks college students can pretend like finals week doesn’t exist and their fall semester isn’t rapidly coming to an end. It’s the perfect time to get nostalgic while getting excited for everything to come.
The air is crisp, the trees are a riot of colors with their leaves littering the sidewalks, and it’s perfectly acceptable to curl up under four blankets with a hot drink. Speaking of, are you a coffee fan? Tea? Hot apple cider? Maybe even hot chocolate? All of it is acceptable in November.
This month won’t judge you or hold you to a stereotype. Its relative blank canvas allows for creativity to run wild. So here’s to all the Friendsgivings, the Native American Heritage celebrations, the Pumpkin Patches, first snows, Friday night football games, s’mores, bonfires and so so much more.
