At what point do you suppose retailers decided that the earlier they started hawking their holiday wares, playing carols, putting out the decorations, etc., the merrier and more eager to spend money the rest of us will feel? They live in this world too, don't they? Don't they find themselves thinking "Aw crap, it's not even Hallowe'en and here we go with the "Oh Holy Night."? How can they not see that, rather than seeming full of Christmas spirit, they actually come across as rapacious, greedy and cold. It doesn't make any holiday more special or festive by putting out its accoutrements 2 months early. It simply puts us all in a state of holiday fatigue.
One way I celebrate the holidays is by not giving presents. I haven't for decades. And lest you think I'm awfully rapacious myself, I also implore my friends and family not to give me anything, and I mean it. I most absolutely and definitely do not need more stuff in my life. If you want to give me something, write an actual letter, or come for a visit, or take me to the theater or out for a walk to look at decorated houses. Invite me to go caroling with you and your neighbors, or invite me to a night of games and hot spiced cider. These are the things that make the end of the year holidays special, that give the glowy feeling I look forward to. Walking into a coffee shop in early November and seeing red and green, holly and gold glitter, listening to yet another version of Frosty the Snowman, doesn't make me glow at all. It makes me cranky and sad.
I know I'm shouting into the wind. The world is the way it is. In the larger scheme of things, this is a very minor problem. But of course, like most minor problems, it bespeaks the very major problem of consumerism, which threatens a heck of a lot more than my mood.
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