The Junkification of Christmas

I hate to have to write about Christmas this early in the season, because it only adds to the thing I'm complaining about.

But I'm going to complain anyway.

The Christmas Season starts way too early.

It seems to start earlier and earlier every year. There were Christmas decorations in a local dollar store in AUGUST for crying out loud.

Could the retailers, please please please stop the madness.

At least wait until Halloween is over.

It bothers me because it leads to the "junkification" of Christmas, to coin a word.

I don't mind if people celebrate Christmas in a secular way, so long as they remember it's a religious holiday for many.

What I do mind is the intensification of the commercialisation of Christmas, to the point that you can't get away from it for one quarter of the year.

I figure, any holiday worth the bother will be commercialized. If people enjoy a holiday, they will spend money to observe it.

But if Christmas is but ONE DAY, and the season that exists to sustain it lasts longer and longer, it dilutes the uniqueness of the day. If you're having Christmas parties in November, what's the point of having Christmas in December? It just drags on and on, tiring people out. By the time Christmas does come around, I'm sure a lot of people are sick of it. It's buy, buy, buy, good cheer good cheer, good cheer, endless Christmas carols and people asking for donations, and Christmas plays and on and on. It just doesn't stop. It's a burden and it's one reason many people hate the season, which is really too bad.

I have too many causes to support, and this is not a big priority. But I would love to see someone lobby retailers to put off the retail season until the second half of November. I think it would make Christmas a lot more special if it celebration and observance was curtailed to a mere few weeks. People would savour it more.