Three months from today is Christmas. There’s plenty of time to buy the gifts and get the tree and cook the turkey. In fact, when I was little Christmas didn’t come on the radar until the day after Thanksgiving.
Not anymore.
The postal person, Earl, and I have already been inundated for a month with catalogs advertising holiday items. Hammacher Schlemmer, Lenox, and Frontgate sent me their recommendations the end of August, and the onslaught has only gotten stronger since then.
In my mind, this means there are various fall events that no longer receive their due. I mean if holiday (a politically correct euphemism for “Christmas”) catalogues start the end of August, what happens to Labor Day, VJ Day, Columbus Day, Sweetest Day (truly a Hallmark holiday, but what isn’t? ), Halloween, Veteran’s Day, or Thanksgiving?
Each has its special meaning that is getting lost in the rush to holiday.
I understand that many retail operations count on end-of-the-year sales to remain in the black. After all, I worked for one such operation for almost nine years. At the same time, it feels to me as if it’s more about the money and less about honoring various traditions, coming together as families, and generally acknowledging every special event in its own time.
Call me naïve, but I choose that over the money.
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