Uh, not yet.
I can't quite fathom why people feel the need to decorate for Thanksgiving and Christmas hours after the trick or treaters have stripped off their Halloween costumes. (or so it seems)
According to my calendar, Thanksgiving isn't until November, 27th this year, and Christmas falls on well.... December 25th.
I do understand the retailers getting the holiday stock on the shelves ready to nab as many of those end-of-the-year shopping dollars as possible. (especially in this unstable economy) And I like to start my Christmas shopping early to ease the pressure on my pocketbook. :) But, decorating for Christmas nearly two months early is really too much.
When we were young, the thrill of spotting the first Christmas lights on someones tree or house was really special, and it usually happened the week leading up to Christmas.
I feel sorry for the small children and their parents who have to be assaulted with Christmas advertising, television specials, movies, parties, as well as a Santa Claus waving at us from every mall, store, and street corner. It's beyond my comprehension that any child could actually believe in the existence of "Santa Claus" in this kind of hyped up society.
I say all this because Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year, and it's sad to see it stretched into a two month (or longer) ordeal instead of the special, magical time it could and should be.
Thanks for letting me rant. :)
2 comments:
You're right when you call Christmas an ordeal. It's all about the kids. And if you don't have any, or if they're grown, you're singing a different tune. I try to block out the commercialism part as much as possible. While still enjoying giving gifts, tuning in to the Charlie Brown and Grinch specials, and getting childlike enjoyment out of decorating a tree and watching our cat play with a low-hanging ornament.
I also detest the creeping commercialism of Christmas. This should be a magical time of year and it's often filled with stress and lots of rushing around! In our house, we usually put the tree up around my birthday (Dec. 14). I also love the smells of Christmas: fragrant pine boughs, cookies and breads fresh from the oven, the stinging scent of cold air right before snow starts to fall. Can't wait! Oh yes, I also love my once-a-year viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life."
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