Expanding Christmas season leaves no room for Thanksgiving
Ahhh, fall is the season of turkey and stuffing, getting together with all those relatives who you wouldn’t bother with if you weren’t related by blood, brilliantly colored leaves dancing in the wind and the melodious sounds of Christmas music timed to the dancing lights at the…
Christmas lights? Hey, what happened to Thanksgiving? I haven’t had my turkey yet!
Can’t we wait until we get those pesky relatives out the front door (if they can fit after 23 pounds of roast turkey and trimmings)?
Once upon a time in this place called America there was a tradition to go downtown (or the mall) to watch workers put up the lights and decorations and to see Santa Claus arrive in a sled pulled by real reindeer. It was one of the highlights of my childhood.
I’m not sure when that changed. It just happened. One day I went to the mall on Halloween and realized the kids trick-or-treating were dodging Christmas trees to get at the candy and coupons the stores were giving out. Santa began arriving at the mall the weekend before Thanksgiving.
The stores say that putting up holiday decorations early gets people to shop early, to get presents for those same annoying relatives that left the cranberry stains on your new “peaches and cream” carpet.
Hello, do you know anyone who shops for holiday presents before Thanksgiving? I don’t. I’m lucky to start by Dec. 15. The craft stores have an excuse; they sell supplies to make your own holiday decoration, which takes time. Some people just need a little more time than others. I’m still working on the mantel cover I started in 1998. I have it in the bag right here, tassels and all.
I like holiday music, really I do. I like it once Thanksgiving is over and I don’t like every single song.
When I arrived in Colorado in 1994, I had two favorite radio stations. After Thanksgiving they would play a holiday song every five or so songs, then a week before Christmas they would switch to an all-holiday format.
One day four years ago I turned on the radio on an early November day and heard “Jingle Bells.” Not the song, the sound. Then came songs about angels and holiday loneliness and a certain red-nosed reindeer. Someone got the bright idea to start playing Christmas music from Nov. 1 until New Year’s Day.
I don’t listen to the radio anymore. I replaced it with an iPod.
Meanwhile, has anyone seen Thanksgiving? I’m hoping to celebrate it next week. I just can’t get through all the tinsel to find it on that back shelf.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Arwyn Rice at arwyn.rice@thecampuspress.com
