Let the advertising begin. It’s now November 7 and already the ads for Christmas are playing on all channels and all stores are putting up their holiday displays. Most stores have moved most thanksgiving items except for food prep, out of the stores. I mean,who needs that when Christmas is the money-maker. And that’s what this has devolved into, holidays as Merchandising events.
I may be showing my age here, but I refuse to deal with anything Christmas until after Thanksgiving. I’m not in a rush, I don’t feel a desperate need “get things” before the madness of last-minute shopping. In fact I remember when ‘last minute’ was fathers and husbands wandering blearily through stores at the mall on Christmas eve because they waited too long and didn’t want to sleep on the couch. These, of course, are the gentlemen that bought the duster/iron/pots & pans/vacuum the year before and found out that such items are not appropriate Christmas gifts, however much they are needed or would otherwise be appreciated. No, I don’t listen to Christmas Carols until after I’ve had my Thanksgiving turkey. And I don’t prep for the Christmas season before I’ve dealt with Thanksgiving.
November is not a month of prep for a main event, it’s the change of the tide when all the crops are in and we can breathe a sigh of relief that we have enough to carry us through the winter. It’s the time to batton down the hatches and prepare for living indoors while the weather turns to something we don’t want to be out in. It’s a time to watch the leaves turn in a slow motion fireworks display, to see all the plants and animals retreat to winter havens, and look to inward pleasures and good company for entertainment. Before the madness that is the Merchandising Season, let’s take stock of who we are, what we already have, and make conscious choices about how we celebrate our lives and the seasons. And while we’re boycotting the banks, and occupying Wall Street, let’s choose to not buy into the Merchandising of the Holidays.