The
Holiday Need
This commentator noticed something strange this year concerning the “Christmas
Creep”.
For those who aren’t really aware of it, the “Christmas Creep” is the
trend to start moving the “Holiday Season” – the festive celebrations that the
Christians are guilty of coveting in blatant violation of the Tenth Commandment
– earlier and earlier in the year.
Usually this is by the stores to get Christmas items on the shelves
earlier. Where traditionally the “Holiday
Season” would start on Thanksgiving, Big Business has been guilty of flipping the
bird on the earlier holidays like Halloween and getting right to the commerical
spirit.
This year, this commentator saw Holiday trees and decorations in some
stores at the end of August. Think about
that! Even before Labor Day! And in previous years this happened as early
as July. July! Put away the red-white-and-blue and start
putting up those lights before you fill up the wading pool!
The most blatant culprits of “Christmas Creep” are the folks at Hallmark,
with their various cable channels running their vast library of cheesy Holiday
movies as part of their “Christmas in July” celebration, and then throwing them
in on various weeknights and weekends just for the hell of it. So instead of seeing recycled crime dramas
and murder mysteries in the middle of summer, you’re watching one of a
gazillion formulaic movies of some doe-eyed woman in a snow parka talking about
how important Christmas is and falling in love.
In years past, most people I’ve known hated the “Christmas Creep”. They would complain about it as much as I did
about the commercial shoving of the season down our collective gullets way
ahead of the calendar.
But... not this year.
This year, I’ve been hearing more people actually eager to start the “Christmas
spirit” early!
Not too eager, of course. They’re
not skipping Halloween. But, certainly,
that seems to be the new marker for the Holiday Season instead of Thanksgiving.
I’ve even heard people outright say: “Halloween is over, now I can put up my Christmas
decorations!”
Of course, this isn’t universal.
If, for instance, you’re living in those passive socialist enclaves
called covenant
neighborhoods, there are usually set rules as to when you can put up your
holiday decorations and when to take them down.
But outside of those places, I’ve noticed a few homes get started earlier
than usual, and local communities putting up the public displays and turning
them on a few weeks before the traditional Thanksgiving start.
And, of course, Big Retail is kicking off their “Black Friday” deals a
whole week before “Black Friday” itself.
They need the money, after all.
And they heard people complain about the creeping up of their manic
deals into Thanksgiving Day itself. So
starting it a week earlier actually makes a little sense since they’re not
driving idiots into being rampaging barbarian hordes waiting for the doors to
open after filling up with turkey and stuffing.
But it’s the general feeling of Holiday “need” right after Halloween that
caught my attention. And, really, this
commentator can understand why.
Let’s get brutally honest here... given all the anger and strife being
driven by hyperpartisan extremists with red hats, given the insecurity of our
economy and a certain narcissist’s trade war, given the mass shootings and
domestic terrorists, it is understandable that people would want to get into
the Yuletide spirit a little earlier than usual. Who wouldn’t want to feel a little happier
given all the crap going on?
We’ve been worrying about how families will handle Thanksgiving when you
put delusional red-hat extremists in the same room as people that are sick of said
delusional red-hat extremists and their orange-skinned phony savior. Can they not talk politics for just a few
hours? I don’t think some people can. This commentator really wouldn’t be surprised
if domestic violence cases shoot up this Thanksgiving simply because of it.
I think, more than in recent years, maybe it would be okay for some of us
to get a little ahead on the calendar and try to bring those feelings of love
and caring and giving a little early.
Maybe not the possessive anarchist commercialism of the season, but
certainly the human side of it. Every
little bit would help, even if for just a month or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment