When Does Christmas Start?

Let me begin my saying I like Christmas…at least most things about it. I like the warm feelings that many people have for their fellow man during the season, love the excitement children get at the thought of Santa coming to their house, am awed at the site of churches decorated to celebrate the significance of Christmas and often just enjoy taking in the sights and smells that go with the holiday. Christmas means different things to different people and I understand and appreciate that. It is for many a wonderful time of year.

With that said who and when made the decision to lengthen the season to where you can get tired of Christmas well before December 25th? It used to be that the “season” so to speak started the day after Thanksgiving. As a matter of fact I seem to remember that you pretty much first heard of Christmas when Santa Claus made his season debut at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. That was your first sighting of the big guy and then of course the next day he was in the Mall or your local shopping center.
Now it seems like Santa and Halloween go hand-in-hand…one ends and the other begins. The holiday really getting the short end is Thanksgiving which is my favorite day of the year because it really comes with no strings attached. But Thanksgiving doesn’t have enough retail value to most….it’s just an interruption between Halloween and Christmas. Thanksgiving actually is like New Jersey as many view us as just that place in between New York and Philadelphia.

It seems like each year we want to move the Christmas season up by at least a few days. Here we haven’t even reached Veterans Day yet and Santa’s been around for a while, every other TV ad seems to have a holiday theme, some have already decorated their house and even put up their tree and yes Christmas music is being heard on the radio. Why do we have to rush this season? Do we like it that much or have we let others influence our own actions? I am one who refuses to give in and will do all I can to boycott the Christmas hype until AFTER Thanksgiving. It’s the turkey not Santa who deserves the headlines for now…give him his due.